DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 



1811 



DIVER 



of the national government, and the people 

 residing in it have no vote. Government em- 

 ployees retain their former places of residence 

 for voting purposes, and many of them travel 

 long distances to vote at important elections. 

 So that they may not lose all influence in their 

 local affairs, the citizens have formed a number 

 of associations which discuss municipal needs. 

 These they present to Congress with petitions, 

 which usually exert considerable influence on 

 that body. In February, 1917, after years of 

 effort, Congress passed a law making the Dis- 

 trict prohibition territory, the measure to take 

 effect November 1 of the same year. 



History. Shortly after the Revolutionary 

 War the Congress of the young republic found 

 it necessary to secure a place in which to es- 

 tablish a permanent home for the government. 

 There were several important offers made, but 

 it was not until July 16, 1790, that Congress 

 voted to accept the tract on the Potomac. Of 

 this land Maryland ceded 69.25 square miles 

 and Virginia 30.75 square miles. George Wash- 

 ington, then President, was authorized to select 

 the site for the Capitol, anywhere between the 

 mouths of the Conogocheague and the eastern 

 branch of the Potomac. Commissioners were 

 appointed in 1791, and Major L'Enfant, a 

 French engineer, was employed to draw up 

 plans for the capital city. This he did on such 

 a far-seeing scale that Washington is to-day 

 one of the most beautiful cities in the world. 

 The commissioners christened the Federal Dis- 

 trict the "Territory of Columbia" and the 

 capital the "City of Washington." The dis- 

 trict was divided into two counties Washing- 

 ton (Md.) and Alexandria (Va.). Later the 

 name was changed to District of Columbia. 



In December, 1800, Congress held its first 

 session in the new Capitol. The first President 

 to be inaugurated in Washington was Thomas 

 Jefferson, in 1801. Mr. Jefferson was very 

 democratic, and it is recorded of him that on 

 the day of his inauguration he rode unattended 

 to Washington, tied his horse to the fence of 

 logs and entered the Senate chamber alone to 

 take the oath of office. In the course of time 

 the great buildings necessary for conducting 



the government were erected ; but as they were 

 all on the Maryland side of the Potomac, the 

 people of Virginia became dissatisfied and 

 asked that the tract of land they had donated 

 be returned to them, which was done in 1846. 

 In 1895 the city of Georgetown became a part 

 of the greater city of Washington. K.A.Q. 



DIVER, or LOON, is a name given to a 

 number of water birds which are skilful divers, 

 especially those related to grebes. Loons, or 

 great northern divers, breed from the Northern 

 United States to the Arctic Circle, and most 

 small, lonely, interior 

 lakes within that zone 

 have at least one or 

 two pairs of loons dur- 

 ing the summer. They 

 are about thirty-six 

 inches long, with black 

 backs and wings spot- 

 ted with white, their 



THE DIVER, OR LOON 



heads and necks being glossy black and green, 

 the latter with a collar of white streaks. The 

 tails are short, but well formed; the feet are 

 black and webbed. They are really the largest 

 and handsomest of diving birds, but their un- 

 canny screams, sometimes resembling rough, 

 jeering laughter, are far from musical, and sug- 

 gested the name loon, although they are by no 

 means stupid. The slang phrase loony was not 

 derived from the name of this bird, as many 

 suppose, but from the word lunatic. 



HOW THE LOON GETS HIS DINNER 



