The Evening critic., 1884-11-26

ClNlllICu WOIlu HhNo NlSlIcu anu HsCeuucu
the Monument and expressed the deepest
interest and keenest apprecia tion Of the
work ON its pyramidal top. The ingenious
joints and grooves and rivets and provisions
against the possible introduction Of mois-
ture and the dangers from freezing arc
perhaps the most interesting features to
scientific eye, while the minute calcula-
tions as to the power and effect Of the
wind pressure cannot fail to attract tho at
tention Of student. The Monument roof
although "as thin as an eggshell," as one
Of the workmen expressed 1t, is calculated
to resist wind Of velocity that would de-
molish any brick building In this city and
scatter it in every direction. 1t is not
thought possible for the wind in this lati-
tude to attain velocity that would i'm
peril the Monument.
"The Monument remarked one of tho
engineers yesterday, twill not last forever.
No piece Of masonry can. 1t will not last
as long as an obelisk quarried from q single
piece, but it will last for many centuries
as long as any structure of stone that was
ever erected. 1t will attain as great an age as
the Oldest masonry standing in Egypt. The
foundations will never settle or give way;
the wind will never shake the shaft. It
will require the decaying influences OF un-
told ages to destroy the Monument, and 1t
will some time, perhaps, have TO be taken
down to prevent its crumbling TO pieces.
"There is an exaggerated idea about the
atmospheric condition and phenomena on
the Monument-top.
1T Is ordinarily cooler up there than II is
on the ground. It is generally purer,
freer, more wholesome air, just as it is on
hilltop, but the men do not ordinarily have
20 hnl 20 hot ahat,
selves to the rafters or carry c0okstoves
and 1t is not true that 1t is always clear at
the Monument-top when it Is raining in
torrents at its base, and vice versa. Ordi-
narily it is the same kind of weather up
there that it is down here-only little
more so. If 1t is cold here it is generally
colder there, and the same is true as to heat
and rain, but there are exceptions. have
known it to be raining In the city when it
was clear up there two or three times, and
electrical storms have great fury up there
that seem very mild at lower levels.
Hail and snowstorms are sometimes
rather lighter there than down below, and
wipdstorms are sometimes moro severe, but
nine times out of ten the weather Is tho
same at the top Of tho shaft as at the
bottom, a few degrees Of temperature maxi
ing the only difference. The men can work
up there in the coolest weather without
much discomfort If they have enough coffee
to drink. II is tho danger to tho stone and
not the discomfort to the workmen that
prevent operations in freezing weather.
They can set stone up there at pretty much
any time when workmen could build a
stone wall in the city.
1.-THE most striking sight over seen from
the Monument-top in the way of phe-
| nomena Is when cloud spreads out all ovei
| the city three or four hundred feet abov,
| the ground, and you can look down on Il
| from the Monument and see it spread out
like billowy, white-capped sea or roll
ing, snowy prairie.
II have seen it so thick and so perfect
that it looked like canopy or son8thing
of that sort; like desert of white sand,
for instance, with nothing to break tho de-
fusion and nothing to break the cloud ex-
cept the Monument itself and the statue
on the dome. have seen the cloud-sea
just on level of the feet Of the statue o.
Liberty, and while the whole city and the
| Capitol was hidden the bronze figure stood
out ON the cloud. at knocks spots out o
| the silver lining story, though, for we car
| see the clouds from both points of view.
| Then there's another thing you might a
| well tell the people now and save them ,
heap of disappointment, and that is that
| you can't see all around the world from
| the Top OF the monument.
| "There used to be somebody come up tn,
shaft every day who wanted to see Balti
| more or Harper's Ferry, or tho Atlanti
Ocean, or Chesapeake Bay; but they didn'
see them to any great extent. When the
were told that they could see q mountai
peak fifty miles away, and couldn't SEQ tn
flag over Mount Vernon few miles dow
the river, they thought we'were maxim
fun Of them; but it was true, just tn
same"
"There is something about the Monu
ment that is not generally known" re
marked o prominent architect to CRrTI
man yesterday "and that is, that Colont
Casey is very much dissatisfied with som
things about the Monument, and will nc
be satisfied until some material changes al
made.
1.-THE principal idea of the chaste an
severe outlines of tho Monument was tina
il should be an obelisk; that ii should cor
form to the antique design and be th
proper thing from high art and nsthetl
standpoint. In this respect Colonel Case
thinks it fails, although he don't say niue
about it; he alleges that an obelisk is
solid shaft made of single block, an
while you can't get that kind of an obelisb
you can initiate 1t closely. Tho antiqu
pattern is abandoned, and the artist
| Ndluo VI buo W Al
door and its windows. Without them
would conform TO the externpl appearance
Of an obelisk; with them it is confessed
| hollow and tower or spire instead of
solid pillar or shaft.
His point Is that, as classic and an
tique structure, it should have no opening
and he will be very likely to close up an
wall up the door, put marble shutters
the windows and fix an underground OF
trance through the foundations. Then h
would have his obelisk correctly repr
sented when his windows were closed, an
when they were open the people could OF
joy the view. 1t is very probable that Il
Colonel will carry this idea into effect. NJ
body will mourn the loss of the door, tn
looks like rathole and has an utterly IL
appropriate sun-worshiper device over
and it would be an Improvement TO the a
pearance of the monument to plug up I'll
windows. The window.slabswil be putup
once; the walling up Of the door will HAY
to be a subject Of future consideration.
is said that Oscar Wilde during his visit
Washington had series of convulslol
when he was shown an obelisk with
door in Ii.
ut Is generally conceded that there wi
be two years work on the Monument afGe
its dedication in February.
Elevators, stairways, electric lights al
memorial stones must all be placed In p
sition, and the entire interior must
| mastered.