The republic. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1849-1853, 1850-09-13


road shares, rs ISL.
tcomMuNItATED.l
Washington National Monument and Wal
ter r. johnson.
Some men seem smitten with species of phrenzy
to make themselves in some manner notorious in
the world, and to transmit their names to posterity
as having done something calculated TO preserve
them from oblivion Empedocles leapt into Etna,
and Erostratus fired the temple of Diana at Ephe-
sus, and now worthy professor of something, in
imitation of those illustrious models Of antiquity is
endcavoring to acquire notoriety by attempting to
stop the further elevation Of the great National
Monument now in the course of erection in this
city in honor of the iustrous Washington. He
has got geological twist in his brain, and fancies
he has discovered that the marble usnsering of hch
the monument is built will be crushed by its own
superintendent weight. This idea is laughed at
by every practical man who has any knowledge of
the fine marble he undertakes to denounce; and
an ounce of practice, it ia said, with great truth,
is worth pound of theory; but scientific as well as
practical men have given their decided opinions in
opposition to the absurd notion of Mr.. Walter F.
johnson respecting this material. This gentle
man, about eighteen months ago, undertook, be-
heve for the first time, to promulge his new dis
covery, but it was supposed that the proofs then
furnished to him had satisfied him of its error.
The board of managers Of the Washington Ma
tonal Monument Society felt it their duty, after
this statement WAS made by one who had the pre-
nomen of professor attached to his name, to submit
the beautiful marble which forms the exterior fac
ing of the obelsk to series Of experiments, which
were made under the superintendent of Professor
Page, of the Patent Office, and Mr.. Mills, the archi-
tcct Of the monument. These experiments were
made with powerful hydrostatic press, construct.
ed by the intelligent superintendent Of machinery
at the navy yard of this city and the result was,
that the marble which this worthy and learned
professor says will not sustain the weight placed
upon it. was equal in strength 10 the grantee, and
that base of la square inches of this marble would
bear pressure of 100000 pounds before it would
be crushed, four times the actual weight of a
column of marble f re hundred feet high. This cal
culntion, too, was based on perpendicular ygs'se,
while, in fact, the face of the obeitk gradually d.
minishes as it rises from square Of fifty five feet
at the base, to square of thirty. five feet at the
apex; consequently the centre Of gravity lie con-
stantly changing, each block Of marble having &C
tually TO bear scarcely third of the superincum-
bent weight. The atmospheric action, too, on this
marble was ascertained TO be the fifteenth part Of
grain, or the moiety Of that Of the large crystal
marble Of New York
Subsequent experiments, made recently with the
press, prove that it will bear much greater
wei ght than was shown by the experiments made
under Professor Page, which may be seen by the
following statement Of Mr. Doughcrty, viz
inch cube crushed at 1000 pounds equal to l2S
tons TO square foot.
8 inch cube, equal TO PAL tons TO a square foot.
4, by inches, inches thick, equal to 3i3 tons
10 square foot.
4. inch square, inches thick, equal to l67 tons
to a square foot.
The fractions omitted.
I inch cube, crushed at 81 200 pounds, or 365
tons.
The actual pressure on the bottom course Of the
Washington Monument will be at an elevation Of
five hundred feet equal to toenty tioo and forty -four
onehundredtsfor' 10 he square foot. The lowest of the
above tests, therefore, will bear foe and half times
the weight Of five hundred feet and the highest will
bear more than srtsen times the weight Of five hun
dred feet. These tests were made by Messrs.
stoughton, Ellis, and Dougherty. and must satisfy
the most incredulous Of the absurdity Of Mr.. w. r.
Jobnsons scientific opinion, without experiments,
in relation to the strength and durability Of this
material.
Mr.. symington, also. thus writes "The monu-
ment is taken almost exclusively from bould-
surface. The surface Of these boulders, with few
exceptions, are pure under the scratch of knife
as at their centre. The exceptions are those that
have been effected probably by Indian camp fires in
by gone ages. few pieces from these affected
ones bad, by mistake, been sent to the monument,
and were condemned by the superintendent -Four
of the nine examples tested by Professor Page were
from surface bouideIs, and is stated la his report
In fact they were from boulder that had been
posed 10 the action Of the atmosphere probably since
the creation. The stone referred to is a. square
crystal limestone, marble, lying in large bould-
or masses, slightly inclined.
1.-The quarry yields blocks Of any desirable size.
The stone fractures alike on eide and edge a cube
may be obtained measuring four feet across the
side, and all its sides will present the same APP
pearancc. II the pressure test be applied, it is i'm.
material which side is uppcrmost. the rcsult will
be nearly the same. In fact, the operator cannot
determine which is the side or edge Of the cube"
Mr.. S. ssserts thatthi marble ia equal in strength
and more durable than granite, aud certainly n
more suitable material for monument After
these proofs from men Of real science, men Of ex-
perience and intelligent mechanics, it is TO be
hoped that Mr.. Johnson will omit, in his future
lectures the blunders he has heretofore committed
respecting the fine marble which forms the facing
OF the obcsk, and inform his hearers that If even
the whole Of this facing were to be crushed, the
monument must stand, because the facing is but
small portion Of the wall which, at the base, is fif
teen feet thick, and formed of Potomac granite as
durable as the everlasting hills. These blunders
are discredtablc to science, and, regret to say,
disreputable TO himself ! would recommend to
him the Spanish proverb-
"Ciencia cs locura sc buen sense no Ia cura"
w.