LETTER TO HON. G. W. WARREN, OF CHARLESTOWN, ON THE ANNEXION TO BOSTON
OF THE SUBURBAN TOWNS, OCTOBER 4, 1873.
COOLIDGE HOUSE, October 4, 1873.
DEAR MR. WARREN,--I should be glad to meet your friends in a
conference on the question, How Boston shall be rounded so as
to be in reality itself. I cannot meet with you, but I unite in
your purpose, as I understand it, and especially with regard to
Charlestown.
I doubt if the future Boston will be content until it holds and
possesses all the territory which hugs the harbor bearing its name,
so that in Boston harbor nobody shall land except in Boston.
Evidently Boston should contain all Bostonians, which it does not
now. I know no better way of accomplishing this result than by
widening the circle of its jurisdiction.
But there is a stronger reason. Every capital is a natural focus
of life, politically, socially, and commercially; and every person
living in this natural focus properly belongs to the capital. So it
is with London, Paris, and Vienna,--each of which is composed of
suburbs and faubourgs grouped about the original city; and so in
reality it is with Boston,--for the places about the city, though
called by different names, are parts of the same unity, which needs
nothing now but a common name.
A capital may be artificial or natural. The artificial body is
that formed by original unchangeable boundaries. The natural body
is that combination, cluster, or expansion which changes with the
developments of time and to meet the growing exigencies.
With these views, I find the various processes of annexion only a
natural manifestation, to be encouraged always, and to be welcomed
under proper conditions of population and public opinion. I say
“annexion” rather than “annexation.” Where a word is so much used,
better save a syllable,--especially as the shorter is the better.
Ever sincerely yours,