Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1878-03-27
From our Regular Correspondent
Washington Letter.
WASHINGTON, March %.


WASHINGTON, March %.
1t was both a timely and patriotic thing
for Mr.. "Sunset" Cox to do yesterday. Il
introduce a bill into the house of repre-
sentatives to erect monument over the
grave of Thomas jefferson. While We
are lavishly spending money by tens o
thousands for equestrian statues common
Grating the services of generals and colo
nels of our civil war, the author of the
declaration of independence lies in an
obscure grave. without decent stone to
mark his last resting place. The only
bronze statue in existence of Mr.. Jefferson
was for many years suffered to stand
unnoticed and uncared for in the grounds
surrounding the White House. exposed to
the rains and winds, and covered with
verdigris which had eaten into it and
completely destroyed the inscription (which
was the famous declaration y upon the
bronze parchment he is represented a.
holding in his hand and it is only within
the last year or two that congress made an
appropriation to restore it, and had it re-
moved to to the Sculpture Hall, or old
hall of representatives, where it now
stands, side by side with immortal
George" Yet, his grave was suffered to
remain neglected, in the midst of brambles
and thistles at his old and dismantled
homestead of Monticello. Last summer,
on my way back to Washington from the
Virginia watering places, stopped at
Monticello for the purpose of paying hon.
age and respect at the tomb of the great
est American statesman that ever lived,
and the author of the most famous Ameri-
can document ever written; but it was with
difficulty that fuond the place. A crumb-
ling stone, the inscription upon which was
almost completely obliterated, was all !;
and this was surrounded by shattered and
broken slabs of sandstone, marking the
graves of his relatives. By dint of hard
labor, after first removing the dirt from
the face of the stone, and tracing the faint
outline of such of the letters as could not
be read, with my fingers, made out the
inscription:
HERE WAS BURIED
THOMAS JEFFERSON,
AUTHOR OF THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE.
OF THE STATE OF VIRGINIA.
For Religious Freedom and the Father of the Univer
sity of Virginia"
On the base Of the stone | traced the fol-
lowing:
BORN APRIL ., 1913, o,s.
DIED JULY 4, 1926"
There is no doubt the house will prompt
ly pass the bill and make m appropriation
for the restoration Of the neglected grave
which, with the unfinished Washington
has stood for so many years a
sad and significant commentary upon the
charge so often made by monarchists that
= Republics are ungrateful."
Washington is rarely ever seen without
IN Indian delegation of some sort; and
for the last three weeks onr street urchins
have been amusing themselves. when not
engaged in the more laudable and lucrative
employment of selling newspapers and
boots, by running after and cry
ING Howl" to a Mr.. John d. Beneo,
real live, wild, Indian from the Indian
Territory, with Il Cnristian and pronounce
able name. His name, however, is not
his only difference from other Indians; a
still more marked popularity of his was
that he brought with him seal skin trunk
fifteen hundred dollars in gold
and silver coin. This is the first time in
history since Columbus discovered Amer-
aa that Indians have been known to brin q
''"n"y hnrn. they 9nnn""lly nnrry it away
with them. However, yesterday evening
Mr.. Beneo returning from Il confectioner's
where he had been INDUCING in ice-cream
and hard boilel eggs (a iavorite Indian
was left to bemo IN the loss
of his seal skin trunk and vauabes, which
had been stolen from his room at the
I" Washington House during his absence,
and unless the detectives ferret out the
thief and recover the money, Mr.. Beneo
will have to pawn his tomahawk and moe
casins, and may be (but we hope no) his
5calps, to secure the wherewith to return
to his tribe in the Indian Territory.
The sudden death of Congressman Leon
ard, in Cuba, has caused considerable
excitement among his colleagues in the
house of representatives., many of whom
refuse to accept the statement that he died
of yellow fever, and assert that he has
been the victim Of conspiracy and was
fuully murdered. The secretary of state
has telegraphed our consul general at
Havana to have the body sent to New Or
leans, from where it will be sent by rail
to West Chester, Pa, and Inferred there.
1t is we'll known here that love affair
was at the bottom of Mr.. Leonard's visit
to Cuba; but the exact nature of this is
merely matter OF conjecture. After the
body arrives in the country, Speaker Ran
dali will appoint congressional commit
tee to proceed to New Orleans and escort
the remains from there to the place of in
terment.
Since the silver bill became u law, pro-
ceedings in congress have been rather
tame, with the exception. perhaps, of Sen
ator Blaine's attack, first, upon Mr.. Maur-
ice Delfossc, the Belgian ambassador
in this city, and, a day or two after, upon
Mr.. Schurz, the secretary of the interior.
Neither of these attacks were well timed
or juslifiable and Mr.. Blaine's stoutest
friends regret that he made them. Alto
together the ex-speaker of the house las
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