The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1872-10-24
S,raysst0Ec Hssaos--Thc ht"s iva
National Cemetery T"m"s'"" 9,
A Syasb;pr.on letter to the AcW ioih

Ea5l9nal cemetery
A Washington letter to the Nc" '''"
Journal Of Commerce says;
IL g;ayestonc can POSSIBLY l''rn' ;,,. NV NV
h,sa ~ !. ,ola ,,s mrrth-gifing capacity Das
hnen severely tested here WITHIN inc past
fam DAYS. / prominent lawyer here vas
standing a; the front Of your washington
Office TO-DAY. when gentleman from boston
mssed aud nodded to your correspondent
'rhe LAWYER, in answer to question: "'9
told tia: the stranger was from Boston ':,-
fercstcd iii crayeStoucS. Another man passed.
and question resulted III information '' ne
lawyer that the new stranger hhi"a nun
New York, and was also interested III 'h'''
articles ,o
yerv dear 10 him. and had particular aver
lion to the subject, then told Inc tha' Ut '''"
not sacp a stranger here for week VINO WAS
No, interested in craveStouc>. IAN hour
,ro said ne. "for The hundrcth time within
,wo days that the subject has been mentioned
ia me. y man came in and laid two hun
,Ircd-dol)ar bills on my desk, and SUD he
wanted me 10 help him get contract from
the Government to furnish grarcStoncs. !
told him to take his money that | knew
nothing OF his ease, and would no. >iud! 1t
lcr twcnty times two hundred dollars aS Il
retainer"
Last Saturday about three hundred l"opir
assembled at Tie Quartcr'na>tti-Hci'''."
Office to hear The reading Of bids Tor furnish
;n.r 3oo 600 rraye>toncs for soldiers graves
n, the different national cemeteries through
ont the country. The Secretary OF val
commenced atI2 O'Clock noon the r'ai''nG"!
fi,c two hundred bids for III" cnntract.~ lie
read over the dry details for aholH IAN an
hoar, and then. reaching hid thai covered
fourteen foolscap page. he resigned lis post
to the Quart"rmaStc r-Hc"erh, VINO Icf'o OH
with ouiy IN hours inlc:ni>Sicn, till nearly
I, o,.lork ti,u, ri.l,l The bids flied large
ciolhcS-bsSkei.
A di.nitpd person from MaS>a"hI''ct',,
,ame down here. attended with his wife, ana
the couple sat three hours listening TO TIC
reading. He had deliberately come here for
the plrposc of getting that Contract. and cX'
l,ected TO take IT," papers back with HIM
His sample was Il yellow lirc.hrirk sci III 4
red brick. with room for three letters on ire
former. The whole would probably Wel@'
ten po,IDd>, and the man probably intended
to START from Massachusetts with Il few iWG'
horse wagons and distribute them around III
the different cemeteries.
Many Of the specimens accompanying III
bid, are beautiful and the whole display
about two hundred aud fifty ,anp'":-iorT
an interesting study. They are OF All maze
rials-while and black marble, polished ano
plnju sandstone uf varl0ir c"lnlS: WING
aud red clay. yitriiicd and unyilrihcd pore"
laiu. EeiGn toi.nc', and all sort 81 rpinNo'
Ito stone; plintoA iron, malrahc iron. "on;'
positions Of tin and sl''lt"r, copper ant >w'
ter such is brass anl !r"iEc-a"d even
wood is offered. On" specimen is Il net Z"
nr.aud-ti,l.colnpo~iion wiz" sci oil tW'
Irrs of the SANE composition. Ca THIS WIr'
arc The words Unknown soldier. iliN!raH
rf the words "s'nknrWn Soldier. IN,
Invention look. very much like Il p"p.rnr
skillet. There is one Stone from phladripli;
in which the letters are cat by patent" >:Illd
blast" system in seven mnGic". The pro
cess must be 4 wonderful thiu@. Another
interesting process j. tliccltil'% ni letters h.,
machinery in marble - ulhrr +t"!r. y ho>
Ton man has Il method hv which n So" !
bronze uicdallion III composite Sion" III "'rH
n manner thai il SEEM tn i"'"iilt part 81 llI'
stone. III" medallion confirms IL" In.riii'
ton and Il rci Of arms cluii"hrd'r u! ih'
branch If service III WiI''t lie '"hh'l WE
engaged. Tic medallion il IC!tCi'd hN ilr,-
cure. Sonc ot tn" >;rii,- II" hlwi"@ li"a'
the rrint where they ~ IL The GROUND f.
the lower md The ld"a /, intended t" save
expense IL transportation. and L patented.
II i very cydcn: from the Inscriptions on
ilia,c ,e,n;c,lonrs that Nlr. John Smith ill-
,l-raltrd his lite. No les tran one hundred
md fiv Of th"n nlc .s:ci,,l - h'~ ncuory.
Bat if i, >in.l!al with what hoIlu",, each
Youd-hc contractor persist IN il-criNng OF
NJ. Smith. tombstone that h" did in differ
cDt pllc,s. Some 81; hc died 1T Chatta
.tI trS l'i;i.lru and 81 NJ