, 1874-05-30

leoted Wao reservation Of thirty acres, and the
cornoratono was laid July 4, 184s, Robert O. Win
throp, Of massachusetts, delivering tue oration.
Work was at onco begun, and ITO foot OF tho
obotIhk vas oroctod, when att progrcaawna arrcst-
I'd by most extraordinary and remarkable
event.
Tho original plum embraced grand circular |
building 250 foet III diameter aud 100 foot high. |
and from this al obe1isk was to rise GOO foot
high. Tho rotunda forming tho baso Of tho
monument was to 10 surrounded by 90 columns,
oach IL foet In diameter and 45 feot bigh. Out
side this was q terrace 2B feet wide, and tho |
whole was Designed to be ono OF tho flncat works |
of tho kind In tho world. Tho cssimnted cost Of |
tho whole WAS 81 ,25o,o00. Tho innor walls |
Of tha rotundh wero to. bo appropriately I
adorned. Places were resorvod therein for |
such marbles or othor stones az BtateB, 10 |
oeties, or foreign Governments might con-
tribute to commemorate tho namo Of
Washington. Each State and Territory ind con-
tribuked block OF marble or stone inscribed
with its arms or aomo other suitable doyice
various eocotios aud assoclationH In all pnrts Of
the country had dono tho Hamo. Tho Masona
and Odd-FellowB, various fro departments. and
schools and colleges had forwarded blocks Of
marble appropriately marked. Eighty-three Of
these marbles were received. Among tho na-
tions Of Europe there Was alive1y interest to be
represented in tho monument to Washington.
Blocks from Switzerland, Turkey, China, Japan,
Grcooe, and from Bremen and other oitiea in
Europe had boen received. At last there
cnmo "a magnificent stone, takon from
tho column Of Trajan, at Homo, which
had been forwarded by tho Pope. Thia
was in 1876; during the height OF the
Known Nothing excitement. BY 0 general agrco-
mont throughout tho lodges Of TINT society 1t
was resolved TINT no stone roceiyed from the
popo should bo allowed to be placed In that
monument. 30 g midnight expedition was or
ganizod by the 1odgoa in Washington City, Which
proceeded to tho monument grounds, surprised
the watchman, aud in an hour or two succeeded
In breaking the atona from tho Trajan column
into small pieces.
Every man WHO had contributed dollar to the
Association was legal 1nembor Of 1t. The Asao-
oihtion had boon organized for fifteen years, and
its nffairs had been administered by well-known
gentlemen, without compensation. Tho an.
nual election Of officers was fixed for the
,22d Of February, Washington's birthday, md
| seldom moro than half-a-dozon persons were
prosont. On tho 2ad Of February, 1866, there
| waa III attendance Of several hundred men al
the office Of the Society, who proceeded to olect
an entire now sot Of oficors.-all Knov-Noth-
ings. Up to tho c1ono OF 1864, the aum Of
| $230. 900 had been expended, and tho balance Oh
hand Was $272. which, with receipts up to the
laso Of tho Know-Notling revolution, amounted
to 81, ,3S2. Tho receipts from contributions for
1854 wero $1,000 and since laying tho
cornerstone had averaged $25,000 per annuna.
from the date Of tho Know-Nothing coup detat
until 1853. when TINT party voluntarily nban-
donod tho Aold tho history Of tho monument is
blank. Not dollar WAS collected nor n stone
laid The idea Of making the monument IN OK
cluslvoly American" j." affair was not popular,
and tho whole thing was suspended during those
four years, md, as consequence has been
practically suspended ever since.
In 1860, Congress incorporated tho Monument
Association. but from 1868 to tho close Of 1875
the rccoiptH hare been very small, being mainly
contributions made by visitors to the monument
Tho expenditures have been s50 month for
watohwan, and for aomo work to prese1ve th'
property. litter the lapse Of twenty.si1 year
since the cornerstone was laid, an oxaminatio.
Of the shaft as it stands shows a DETECTION o
one inch. It is reported by the engineers tha
1t is not safo to curry the obelisk to tho lleigh
originally intended, and it Is proposed to have Il
but 400 feet above tho foundation. This plar
also, ii ne understand 1t, disponsca with til.
pantheon, and leaves but plain obelsk with :
terrnca.. To complete this will cost s91o, ,680
and It is assumed that it may be completed b,
Mny, 1870, If the money Gun be obtained. Theat
taots are set forth in document just published
by authority Of Congreas.