The new Northwest. [volume] (Portland, Or.) 1871-1887, 1874-08-07
The Washington Monument.


the Washington monument, aud all Wis
itors to the national capital have seen
the unsightly and dhalf-completeds struet-
ure, yet many are ignorant of its his
tory, more than that il was designed as
a monument to the memory of Wash
ington and the design never carried out.
The project Of erecting a monument to
General Washington is older than the
government itself. In August, l7SS, the
Continental Congress resolved that an
equestrian statue of the successful COM
mander should be erected tat the place
where the residence of Congress shall be
established but nothing more was
done in the matter. Washington died
on the 18th of December, 1893, and ten
days afterward Congress ordered THAT a
marble monument be erected by the
United States at the city of Washington,
and that the family of General Wash
ington be requested to permit his body
to be deposited under it," The permis-
sion was promptly aud cheerfully ac-
corded by the widow, but everybody
knows that the monument was never
erected, and that the remains of Wash
ington still rest at Mount Vernon. An
attempt was made in 1900 TO secure an
appropriation for the monument, but it
failed, and in 1901 q bill appropriating
100000, which passed the House, did
not secure the sanction of the Senate.
After that, no farther effort seems to
have beel made to fulfill the intention
declared by the Government in the res
Olution passed by Congress.
After lapse Of more than thirty
years, the monument was again brought
TO public attention by the voluntary ac-
tion of the people, entirely independent
of their Representatives in Congress.
The Washington monument society was
founded i'm 1888, with Chief-J Justice
Marshall rs President, and it appealed
to the whole people for the funds neces-
sary to undertake the work. The origi-
nal plan was to give everybody an OPP
pOrtunity to contribute, and the amount
to be received from any one person was
to be limited to q dollar. In three years
SIS, 900 had been collected, but the finan-
cial collapse in 1887 then caused the
temporary abandonment of the enter
prise. In 1915, however, it was again
by the society, and at the
end of two years the amount received
had increased TO $1,000, which was
deemed sufficient to warrant the COM
mencement of the monument. The
work was authorized, and a site ceded
lay a resolution of Congress, passed jan
uary 81, lS4S. a month later the ma
tiOnal monumental society was incor-
porated, and the grant of a reservation
Of thirty acres for the site was confirmed.
Work was then begun, and on the 4th
Of July, 1913, the corner stone was laid
with impressive ceremonies. For six
years the undertaking was pushed with
vigOr, the obelisk in that
lime being raised To a height Of 10 feet.
But the funds of the society, amounting
10 S230,OOO, Were by that time ex-
1t was in 1854, or just twenty years
ago, that the plan of building a mOnu-
ment by popular subscription proved a
total failure. The society having tried
in vain TO raise more money, finally
presented a memorial TO Congress, on
which a report was made by a special
February -, 1850. recon-
mending an appropriation of S2O0, 900 to
complete the structure. 1t is probable
that the appropriation would have been
made, and the monument long ago
had not troubles arisen lust
at this time within the society, which
resulted in a change of management.
These troubles were finally arranged by
the granting of new charter, but put
lie confidence in the society seems to
have been shaken by these events.
Since 1854 ii has been able to add only
four feet TO the unfinished shaft; but,
although ii has been manifest for twenty
years that the society would never be
able To finish the monument, Congress
has not yet taken il i'm hand and made
il a national undertaking.