The spirit of democracy. [volume] (Woodsfield, Ohio) 1844-1994, 1884-12-16
The History of the Monument, Elk
tending Over q Century, Brief.

over q century ago. On August7, 1888,
the Continental Congress passed res
oIution providing for the erection Of an
equestrian statute Of George Washing
ton at the place where the Congress OF
the United States should be established
Subsequently, December "a, 1900, Con.
gress resolved that marble monument
should be erected at Washington, and
the family of the dead patriot was re-.
quested to permit bis remains to be de-
posted under the shaft A select Con-
gressional Committee, with Mr.. Lee as
Chairman, il May, 1900. submitted q
series Of resolution proposing.an appro.
pria'ion Of Sl00 600 to begin the work
on The monument; but the Senate did
not concur in the suggestion, which.
however, went through the House OF
Representatives.
c tizens OF Washington took charge
OF the matter in 1888, and formed an as
sociation for the erection OF great Ma
tional monument to the memory OF
Washington, and the aid was invoked Of
the people OF the United States to raise
the sum reqnired to complete the mon.
ument, no one to contribute more than
one dollar. Chief Justice Marshall was
the first President of the association,
and he was succeeded by ex-President
Madison.
Very little progress was made, aud in
1847 the collections footed up only S87
600. With this amount, however, it was
determined to initiate the work. and
January 81, 1S4S. Congress passed a
resolution authorizing the Washington
Monument Society to erect the monu
ment to Washington upon any portion
Of the public grounds in the District OF
Columbia not otherwise occupied.
The site selected was that where the
finished monument now stands, and the
Alb Of July, l84S. the corner stone was
laid in the presence OF an immense con.
course of spectators. The site is his
toric for tits the same as that chosen by
Maj. L'Enfant and approved by Gen.
Washington for the proposed statue in
honor of the American Revolution
Between lS4S and 1854 the Monument
Society expended $780, 900 on the obe
lsk, and height OF Ito feet was at
tanned, which was increased to l74 feet,
where it remained till ahont six years
ago, when Congress assumed charge OF
the work. On August %, 1875, Con-
gress passed an act cresting a joint COM
mission for the continuance and COM
pletion Of The monument aud made the
necessary appropriation, which has been
continued annually Before resumine
work on the old shaft, it was deemed
best to strengthen The foundation bv
placing under it an additional mass Of
cement concrete to depth OF twelve
feet four inches. This mass was extern
ded twenty-tbree feet three inches be-
vond The old foundation, or one hun.
dred and twenty.six feet SIX inches
square. The weight Of The mass then
worked under Was. 32.l76 tons. The
total pressure Of the foundation, ohelisk
and earth on top Of and within the foun.
daiion as 1t stands is SO,37s tons, or q
mean pressure Of over five tons to the
square foot:
A DETECTION of l 4-10 inches OF the
axis of the shaft Of the old structure
was corrected. and the total settlement
of the completed shaft has been but
inches, Of which 24 inches occurred du
ring the under. printing. The shalt from
the zero mark, or brass bolt set in tn,
masonry of the foundation at the south
west corner, is 555 feet 4 inches high
being 70 feet inches higher than th
spires Of the great Cathedral at Cologne
Germany, and 20 feet 4 il ches highe
THAN the proposed tower Of lhs new Cit