Omaha daily bee., 1883-07-17
GEORGES MONUMENT.
Sketch Of the washington Shaft,.--lt
Present Beauty and WOnl-
erful Growth,
Its History and Standing In Art
Promised Completion in n Year.

Cleveland Leader.
WASHINGTON, July 10.-No one laughs
now at the Washington monument. The
day of its being n subject for ridicule is
over for ever. Its growth is the wonder
of Washington, and its beauty the admir-
ration 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
backed against the blue of the sky. 1t is
already the grandest obelisk the world
has ever seen, and in the aeons of the
future, should the nations of to-day pass
away, leaving no more records of their
progress than the mighty ones of the
Egyptian past, it will surpass the pyr-
amids in the wonder of its construction.
1t is already higher than the third pyr-
amid, and within 100 feet of the size of
the second. 1t is taller than st. Paul's
Cathedral, and when finished it will be
the highest structure in the world. To-
day the Cathedral of Cologne-512 feet
highs the tallest work in the world;
next comes the great pyramid, 483 feet
high; then the Strasburg Cathedral, 473
feet; then the second pyramid, 453; then
st. Peters, 430; st. Stevens, at Vienna,
443, and st. Pauls at London, 1874. The
monument when completed will be Boo
feet high, forty-three feet higher than the
Cathedral at Cologne. 1t will be far
different, however, from the needle-like
shafts of the great European Cathedral;
each of its sides at the top will be thirty
FIVE feet in width, and the whole massive
tower will seem a solid growth of natural
...1. ..n,,-. f,D,. th, "a null, n,,I -naah,,,
to the sky. The width at the base of
each of its four sides is ifty-fve feet, the
monument gradually tapering for over 800
feet until it becomes a cone each side of
which is thirty-fve.
The work of building is going rapidly
on, and it is expected that it will be com-
pleted within two years at least. The
lower part of the monument is granite,
with a marble facing On the outside. AS
the monument arises, tn, granite back
ing diminishes. A few feet more and it
will disappear, and the remainder of the
monument will be made entirely of mar
BILE. 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 China and Siam. All are inscribed
in the languages and letters of their coun-
tries. Other stones are gifts of differ
states of the Union. Others-and none
of these should be inserted-come from
firms and men who wish to advertise
themselves or their business.
1t is now thirty-five years since the
Washington monument was begun, and
eighty-three since its plan was conceived,
In December, 1879, ten days after the
death of Washington, congress passed
resolutions to erect a monument in his
honor. The plan was to have Washing
toms remains deposited under the monu-
ment. Nothing, however, was done be-
yond passing the resolution, and the mat
ter remained a dead letter up TO 1888.
At this time an association was formed
for the purpose of pushing the matter.
Papers were gotten out and the contribu-
tions solicited. 1t 1847 the sum was
large enough to warrant the beginning of
the work. Mad on July 4, 1848, the cor.
ner stone was laid. John Quincy Adams
was to have delivered the address on this
occasion, but he died q few months be-
fore, and it was spoken
by Robert G. Winthrop, of Mas
sachusetts. The building of the monu
ment was steadily on from this time un.
til 1856, when the funds gave out, and il
was stopped not to be touched again fol
tw%enty-four years. In 1855 the monu
ment was 156 feet high. During the mex
two decades it came to be thought that i
would never be completed, but in 1871
congress decided to take the matter il
hand, and in 1880 the work of buildin,
was resumed. 1t was given into tn
hands of Colonel Casey and a band o
competent engineers. They found be
fore commencing work OH the shaft tina
the foundation was poor, and that i
would not sustain the mass of 80, 900 ton
of stone intended to be placed upon it
The monument already weighed 80, IL
tons. Now look at what Colonel Case,
did. He went down in the foundation a
built in 1848 and dug from under it al
around a block of earth forty-four fee
square. This was directly under tn
monument, which, with it's $4,000 tons
stood above it. Around this, thrice
feet deep and 1876 feet square, asolid wa
was built. Part of the old ~foundatio
was then torn away md a new and bet
ter one built, gradually reaching outwar
and uniting with the new foundation, s
that the pressure is now exerted upon
base 1876 feet square instead of 80 feet, a
formerly. The total pressure now res
ing on this foundation is estimated q
about 70, 900 tons. Since 1880, when tn
foundation was completed, the settlemer
of the shaft has been II inches, and thi
though the weight has been increase
nessSy 80, 900 tons. The settlement ha
kssa Semarkable' uniform, and there is II
dssgor of the Washington monumcr
turning into a second tower of Pisa.
The action of the monument is watche
most carefully and its every movement
registered. Two plummets are suspend
ed in its inside, one from a height of 20
feet and the other from a height of 10
feet. The movements of these are CON
pared many times a day. The movement
of one should be about one and one-hal
times that of the other if there were II
irregular internal movement of the par
of the structure. But the register show
that the movement is irregular in bot
direction and in size. Sometimes tn
plummets move in opposite direction
and sometimes in the same. Sometime
the top moves a little, but its whole swa
since the foundation was Strengthens
has been only ~one-qurter of an inch. A
of these movements are very slight, an
some of them can only be detected wit
a microscope. The longer plummet lin
is incased in a wooden box, to proven
the atmosphere having any effect upon il
a,d a;noa HnIinu that tba upi1aru ba