The new North-west. [volume] (Deer Lodge, Mont.) 1869-1897, 1874-06-13
Grace Greenwood on Monuments
From the New York Times, May Is.

AiohA taG NEW IllleS Itty lJ
have been honored by a gentleman OF
New-Brunswiek, N. J.-one bearing noble
old historic name, and coming honestly by
it, doubt not-with note of fremonstrance
against a paragraph in my last letter,
recommending the completion of the Wash
ington Monument by the Government in
time for the centennial He says: eft
would not do for Congress to do anything
with regard to it's completion, as it would
be establishing a bad precedent. If Con-
gress were to undertake the job, we should,
under cover of such an example, have
monuments to each and every partisan
favorite."
There is truth and sense in that-it terri
fies me, and hasten to withdraw my rash
suggestion. If we get in the monumental
way, as we did in the Lincoln statue way.
we may go ON after our fast, reckless Amer
ican fashion, from the first President to all
the Presidents, till monster shafts shall be
as thick in Washington as chimney stacks
in birmingham, or steeples in Brooklyn.
There would be fourteen monumental
arrearages, and the President that is. and
the Presidents that are to be! Shall the
monuments be of a uniform STYLE like the
monotonous eenotaphs in the Congressional
Burying- ground? VIII it not be better and
prettier, at least after the old Chief Maeis-
trates are handsomely provided for, to have
a variety, something characteristic or SYM
b olic for each man? Let Gen. Grant have
a vast pyramidal pile of captured cannon
Let MI Morton have light, airy-looking
structure, without a very solid base, orna-
mented with graceful bas-reliefs of Loves,
blowing bubbles, Or "little wanton bows
that swim on bladders." Let Mr. Jones,
"the coming man" of Nevada, have a
column, built of silver bricks and gold
bearing quartz. Let Mr.. Butler have an
archie has an arch expression. A neat
little thing in the way of Grecia temple
would suit Mr.. Cenkling. Mr.. Logan should
have an obelisk, inscribed with Arabic
characters or Egyptian hierogly yphics-any-
thing but English; lie has such an oriental
look, you know. Mr.. Blaine should have
model of the Tower of Shinar, in commem-
Grafton of the Babel he has presided over
SO long and well.
Upon reflection, think that if the Wash
ington Monument could be completed to the
sublime height first contemplated, it would
be a tiresome, obtrusive, unpleasant object
in the landscape. lii harmony with nothing
in heaven or earth, it would be, in hot
weather, something intolerable-fou hun
dred and fifty feet of white unmitigated
glare. In cold weather, it would look like
the North Pole tloated down to us-or
winter on end. Or it would be the char
acter of Washington presented as petri-
Notwithstanding, but chilling-pure, hard,
rigid, and awfully respectable. On the
whole, think III not have it go up, but
come down. Mr.. Lot Morrill, proposes to
take it to pieces and build of the material a
fine triumphal arch, to face the eastern
front of the Capitol. 1t were well, only
that is direction from which nobody comes
and toward which nobody goes-for the
Capitol, you know, turns her back ON the
world. do hope, if the arch is built, it
will be formally and solemnly dedicated to
the memory of George Washington, and a
guard set over it, or the Board of Public
Works will think it is put there to COM
memorate their East Capitol street cut, and
appropriate it, and maybe take it to pieces
again, and seize on the beautiful blocks of
marble contributed by the several States,
and "tote them off to make door steps for
the ring masters The best Custodian for
the arch, if he would consent to serve,
would be Senator Edmunds. No Cerberus
could equal him in angry watchtuIness and
fiery faithfulness.