Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1881-06-30
THE WASHINGTON MONUMENT

THE WASHINGTON MONUMENT.
History of the Movement for Ma
tiORal Memorial.
- Oa the 18th of August, 1883, the Conti-
mental Congress resolved unanimously
that an equestrian statue of Washing
ton be erected at the place where the
residence of Congress shall be establish
ed" In 1858, just seventy years later,
Congress appropriated $4,000 for the
erection of an equestrian statue, which
was completed by Clark Mills and placed
in the circle at the intersection of Penn
sylyania avenue and Twenty
street. On the oath of December, 1899,
after the death of Washington, Congress
passed resolution providing the erec-
tion of a marble monument in the city
of Washington, with the request that
the family of Gen. Washington permit
the body to be deposited under it. On
the request of Congress being formally
communicated to the widow of Wash
ingtOn she consented that the remains
Should be removed from their last rest
ing-place at Mount Vernon, in the fol-
lowing touching words: Taught by the
great example which have long had be-
fore me never to oppose my private
wishes to the public will, need not, 1
cannot say what sacrifice of individual
feeling l make to a sense Of public du-
ty." On the sth of May, 1900. the House
of Representatives passed resolution
that mausoleum be erected to George
Washington in the city of Washington.
and OH January l, 1901, the same body
passed a bill appropriating 100000
for the construction of this mausoleum.
1t does not appear that any action was
taken on either the resolution or the bill
by the Senate, which made them, there
fore. imperative. Strange as it may
seem, net another step was taken to
show the nations gratitude to Wash
ington for the lapse of nearly quarter
of u century.
In 1882, the centenary anniversary of
Washington's birthday, COMMITTEES of
Congress recommended measures to car
ry out the resolution of 1893. The resO-
luton passed the Senate, and would
have been adopted by the House, but
was abandoned there when it became
known that Judge Washington. then
the owner of Mount Vernon, refused to
allow the remains to be removed. The
following year (ls33) 4 voluntary associ-
alton was organized at Washington to
do what Congress for whole genera
ton had failed to do. After variety
of delays aud vicissitudes, the MOnu
mental Association in 1859 issued stir
ring address to the people, and appoint
ed agents in all the States to solicit and
receive contributions. In this way
considerable sum of money was obtain
ed. and the work on the monument went
on, though slowly. The war broke out
in 1851. All further progress in build
ing ceased. and the association used but
faint efforts to collect more money until
1871, when another and more compre-
hensive. appeal was made to individuals,
corporations, States, municipalities and
churches, though with but compare
lively little effect. In 1872 the familiar
resolution appropriating two hundred
Thousand dollars to the monument was
offered in Congress, but it met with as
little success as on previous occasions.
Nothing further was done until 1876,
when finally Congress, by supreme eff
fort, agreed to assume and direct the
completion of the monument and apprO
priated at last, as the first installment of
the work, the two hundred thousand
dollars so often asked for and so often
refused before. Thus ends triumphant
ly at last, after the lapse of more than
three-quarters of a century, the struggle
to build monument to Washington at
the national capital.
But the monument will not be thing
of beauty. Senator Morrill,, of Vermont,
likened it to huge chimney, and Mr..
Greeley once said that it looked like
punkin with stick stuck in it. Amy
one would at first gaze recognize and APP
preciate the oppositeness of the COM
parison of Senator Morrill,. 1t will be
noted for its immense size and height
At the bottom of the shaft it is 55 feet
square; at the top it will be "a. feet
square, and the weight, when completed,
is estimated at 65,Oe0 tons. At the bot
tom it is Is thick; at the height of 200
feet, to be attained, as remarked above.
by the end of this month, it will be I
feet 91S inches thick. From the height
of 200 feet the reduction in the thickness
of the outside layer Of marble will be
one-auarter of an inch to the foot. The
thickness of the inner layer of granite
is to be uniform from the height OF
100 feet.
"SPEAKING of bathing" said Mrs.
Partington, from behind the steam that
arose from her tea as veil to her
bushes when touching upon so delicate
a subject, "some can bathe with perfect
impuritv in water as cold as Greenland's
icy mountains and India's coral strand
but for nv part / prefer to have the