Daily American organ. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1856, 1855-02-27
The Washington Monument-The Evening
Star.


The Epening Star of yesterday, contains
statement, under the head of " Washingto,
neTs and gossip" to the effect, that an attemp
was made on Saturday last to take forcible pos
session Of the books, affairs, property, &C., O
the Washington Monument Association, which
statement, in this particular is not true, as APP
piled to the new Board, recently elected NO
such attempt was made by the new Board. The
representation of the occurrences on Saturday
at the rooms of tho Washington Monument
Society, as made by the Star, is, in many re-
spccts at variance with the truth. There were
no threats of personal violence made by any
one, as charged by the Star. There was no
"crowd of seventy or eighty persons, with
highly excited countenances, assembled around
and about the door, who, by their conversation,
and behavior, gave evidence that they had
gone there to back the so-called new Board,
in whatever they should do" We neither saw
nor heard Of any such crowd.
Indeed, we may say, that tho whole state
mont of the Star, covering more than column
and half, gives an unfair and unjust account
of the occurrences. Among the most palpabe
msstatemcnts of the Star is this, to wit:
AT one period during this alteration, Mcssrs.
Jones, Fendall, Force, Seaton, Lennox, and their
colleagues, were peremptorily ordered out OF the
room BY McCalla with the threat that if they did
not quietly withdraw violence would be instantly
used to eject them; 80 that the pretended Board
might hold a meeting, take formal possession of
the books, and afterwards lock and bar the Board
out of the premises"
This paragraph is directly at variance with
the fact Instead Of any such "peremptory
order" resolution was adopted by tho new
Board, respectfully requesting those persons
not members of the new Board to withdraw,
and permit said Board to occupy the room"
The old Board were thus respectfully request
ed" SO to do, and declined acceding to the re-
quest
Another Misrepresentation Of the conduct of
the new Board, is this:
"They even ignored the right Of the Board to
make statement OF their twenty years steward
ship of the Associations atfars--to take an in
ventory of the property they would leave in the
hands of those claiming to be elected their sue
cessors-to require receipt therefor, &c. That is,
they denied the right of those gentlemen to the
use of the books to enable them so to do"
The above statement is untrue.
We pass over great portion OF the article
rs not requiring any notice, simply remarking,
that in relation to tho note written by the edi-
tor of this paper to the clerk, there was no
sort of imputation made upon any body there
in, nor was the writer of it called on for any
such explanation as is stated by the Star.
Col. Force remarked once or twice, that the
idea which had been advanced, that the books
&c. might be removed from the custody Of the
clerk, was an imputation upon the Board,
which was promptly disclaimed, because not
SO intended as. to any gentleman then present,
and they we're simply asked to give assurances
that others would not be permitted to roanovo
them
The Star further says:
-----.-.~ : -@y. further that this affair was
arranged out OF Washington Indeed, 1t was
schemed at the Know-Nothing National Council
held some months ago in Cincinnati, letters from
that point from Carlisle, Pa, and from New Jer-
Rey having for some time been in Washington
mentioning the fact that it had been so ordered,
then and there"
To this statement we oppose an unqualified
and absolute denial. We say distinctly and
positively that the affair" Of superseding the
old Board of Managers, was not arranged out
of Washington We knop when, where, and
by whom it was arranged, in this city.
The Star says:
"The most important result Of this effort to
prostitute great national patriotic charity trib-
ute, TO party politics. is the certain defeat Of the
bill now before Congress to appropriate 5000, 900
for the continuance Of the work on the monument
1t was certain TO have been passed by majority
Of FIVE TO one in both Houses. Now, not one In
every ten members Of either House would vote
for it,
We hope that not one IN hundred members
will vote for the proposition above referred to.
There is, in our judgment, no occasion for such
an appropriation, and on the day after the cleo
ton, we in person waited upon and respect
fully requested several Of the American
party" in Congress, to use their best exertions
to defeat the proposition.
The Star says:
"The present Board are for the most part, those
who have had the management Of the work since
it's inception and have abored strictly 10 carry out
the pledge on which they have obtained tho money
they have expended In raising the Monument to its
present height Of "a feet-more than half finished
Ii the present Board have mad the manage
ment Of the work from its inception, nOU Deer
tUenty years. and have raised it only l54 feet
Gas we admit to be true,) how long would 1t
take them to raise It 600 feet high, as contem-
pated2 According to our arithmetic, itwould
require seventy-sevcn years, eleven months,
one day, twenty-five hours, and forty-ive min.
utes Deducting the twenty years already
consumed, and it would require ffty-seven
years more to complete the SHAFT, and probably
fifteen or twenty years, in addition, to finish
the pantheon; SO that in about seventy OF
eighty years hence, our grand children might
possibly have witnessed its completion under
the late dynasty
But the late Board in their memorial to Con
gross, confess their inability TO raise any NOR
funds, and unless Congress were to comply
with their wishes, tho Monument never would