The Press., 1883-07-26
THE WASHINGTON MONUMENT.
INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT THE GRANDEsT
 oBELIsK IN THE WORLD.

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 No one laughs now at the Washington monument, writes a correspondent. The day of its being subject for ridicule is over forever. Its growth is the wonder of Washington, and its beauty the admira- tion of both Americans and foreigners. Already over $50 feet high, it rises from the banks of the Potomac a great white marble shaft piercing the clouds and back ed against the blue of the sky. The mon ument when completed will be 555 feet high, 43 feet higher than the cathedral at Cologne. It will be far different, however, from the needle-like shafts of the great European cathedral each of its sides at the top will be 35 feet in width, and the whole massive tower will seem solid growth of natural rock rising from the earth and reaching to the sky. The width at the base of its four sides is 55 feet, the monument gradually tapering for over 300 feet until it becomes cone, each side of which is 35 feet.
 The work of building is going rapidly on, and it is expected that it will complet- ed within two years at least. The lower part of the monument is granite, with marble facing on the outside. As the monument rises the granite backing di- minishes. A few feet more and it will disappear, and the remainder of the mon- ument will be made entirely of marble. Some of the stones incorporated in it are memorial blocks given by different states and nations. One slab comes from Greece, another from Turkey, ,and others from Chi na and Siam. All are inscribed in the languages and letters of their countries. Other stones ars gifts of the different states of the Union. Others, and none of these should be inserted, come from firms and l m a1l WI tn their business.
 Since 1880, when the foundation was completed, the settlement of the shaft has been 1 l inches, and this though the weight has been increased nearly 30,0OO tons. l The settlement has been remarkably uni form, and there is no danger of the Wash ington monument turning into 8 second tower of Pisa.
 The action of the monument is watched most carefully, and its every movement registered. Two plummets are suspended in its inside, one from height of 2GO feet and the other from a height of 15O feet. The movement of these are compared many times day. The movement of one should be about 1a times that of the other, if there were no irregular internal move ment of the part of the structure. But the register shows that the movement is | Sometimes the top moves little, but its whole sway since the foundation was strengthened has been only one-quarter of an inch. All of these movements are very slight, and some of them can only be de- tected with microscope. The longer plummet line is encased in wooden box, to prevent the atmosphere having any eff feet upon it, and since the finding that the :. spiders had once drawn the line out of the perpendicular, careful investigation is made daily, to see that the lines are not influenced by outside causes. Once, when great consternation was caused by the ir- regularity of the line, it was found that an owl was perched upon the top of the line. It was caught, killed, stuffed, and given to Mrs. Hayes, and is now probably on exhibition at Fremont Col. Casey says the monument will be finished by the 4th of July next. It will probably have an elevator in the interior, and on its top will be had one of the finest views in the world. America will never be ashamed of the Washington monument, and it will go down to posterity as one of the greatest doings of the past. Up to 1856 it had cost $500, ,0OO, and since then the appro- priations have amounted to $500, 900, so that altogether it will, when completed, have cost $1, 100000.