Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1883-04-19
The Washington Monument.

will be 450 feet high. The work of lay
ing the large marble blocks will begin
again at the end of the present month.
This year the marble comes from the
Lee quarries of Massachusetts; last
year it came from Baltimore county.
Maryland. The work of the engineers
in charge will be finished some time in
the fall Of 1884, when the monument
will be SOS feet high. This will IN
clude pyramidiod fifty-five feet high,
which is precisely the width of the
monument at its base. 1t is one of the
Interesting features of this monument
that it tapers SO gradually that when
it shall have reached its great height
its width at the top will be only l3A feet
less than at the bottom.
Now that the column has grown SO
high, it is beginning to be interesting.
1t Is noticeable that not only visitors,
but the people who live in Washington,
and who have watched the growth of
the shaft day after day, are begin
ming to talk about it with respect.
One no longer hears the jokes that
were cracked at its expense when it
was stubby pile of stones, waiting
for Col. Casey to put under it his great
buttresses, which have given it its
proper foundations. Then all the ar
chitects of the country, who had no
special fitness for that kind of work,
used to send suggestion to Rutherford
B. Hayes, until the walls of Captain
Davis's Office were covered with de-
signs unique enough to embellish
chapter in the history of caricature.
The late Clark Mills wanted to round
off the column and set it on platform,
| on which he could set group of his
peculiarly constructed cart horses,
mounted by some of his human ef1i-
gies. Mr.. Larkin Meade wanted to
insert in the sides of the monument
four bronze plaques representing scenes
in WashingtOn's life. General Meigs
wanted to put on top a sort Of cam
panile or lantern, which looks like a
cupola with windows, being a roof
supported By small columns. Green
ough's statue of Washington was to be
put inside this edifice. Other people
wanted to make the monument look
like piece of church or a part of u
factory. Almost every one thought
some kind of decoration necessary.
Fortunately, Captain Davis, who has
charge of the construction, is msn of
fine taste and of large learning on the
subject of Obelisks. He has worked on
the theory that size and dignity are
| the essential elements of SO large a
structure. Therefore he objects to
nything but the severest simplicity.
He believes that there should be moth
ing but graceful massiveness in the
column; that there should certainly be
no decoration that would take the at
tension from the size Of the shaft and
require close observation. So far only
one piece of ornamentation has crept
In; 1t is the vulture wings and the scor-
pion over the doorway, the Egyptian
symbol of Immortality. He would
have even this replaced with straight,
plain band. The engineers hope that
Congress will permit them to finish the
monument with a plain pyramidiod.
1t will then be a very imposing mass;
for even now, when it is more than 200
feet short of completion, it is very i'm
pressive. One sees it miles away down
the Potomac, and it towers above ev-
erything in its neighborhood. Arling-
ton Heights make fine background
ior it, and it shows up against them
splendid1y.
The question to be settled after the
column shall be completed is in regard
to the finish of the approach. There
is now high earth terrace about the
base. One plan is to build about this
a supporting wall. making an esplan-
ade, and guarding it with stone bal
ustrade. In the centre of each Of the
four sides is to be a staircase as beauti-
full as art can make it, and on the
esplanade groups of statues. The OBJ
lection to this is its lack of simplicity.
to rise severely from the ground. He
does not want the simple massiveness
of the monument spoiled by gorgeous
stairways. His idea is that the ground
should fall away from the column in
undulating slopes, and that the ap-
proach should be by paths to the sum-
NIT. On the slope there can be trees
and foliage plants.
It is thought that Captain Davis will
be very lucky if he can secure Con-
gressional assent to bis simple designs.
Most Congressman like to see some
thing carved on such thing, even if
it shall be carved badly.-Neao York
Sun.
II. Davis will repair and put in good run