Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1884-08-03
INTO THE CLOUDS.
The Washington National Monument
Getting Higher and Higher.
The Column Already Within Ten Feet of the
Highest Tower in the World.
How the Work on il
Has Progressed.

Seventeenth street, just back Of the grand
new State building, is small sign, which
reads: "Offce of Construction of the State,
War and Navy Building and the Washing
ton Monument" went in there the other
day, and, finding an urbane official BEND a
desk, the following talk happened:
Il would like to get permit to visit The
monument"
You can see that without permit" he
replied.
Eyes, but want to go to the top Of it. "
ave cannot issue any more permits. We
have shut down on that till next Novem'
Der"
And then We stared very hard at each
other, but the urbane official remained firm.
We'll, | guess it is just as vel" | replied
resignedly. 81 am afraid would jump of
anyway." This time he did some able
bodied, interrogatory staring, as if he would
inquire whether i had Just escaped from
Saint Elizabeths Insane Asylum, or had
been looking upon the red wine cup. 1t
was neither. unfortunately belong to
that large class of persons upon whom a
giddy height has the effect of making them
want to Jump And this is giddy height.
Think of it, and take it in if you can. Five
hundred feet straight up in the air That
is its height from the general level though
it to-day counts but four hundred and
ninety from the top of the terrace. Five
hundred feet never seems 80 great a dis
lance as it does to one standing at the base
Of that cleaning mass of shaft and follow.
Ing its long AID graceful lines until
the top seems lost in the heecy clouds that
90 scurrying by. 1t is immense. 1t is alb
solutely oppressive. A moments steady
upward gaze will make one giddy, and Gre
ates the illusion that the massive column is
in the very act Of tumbling over on the OBJ
server.
1t is now the highest human structure in
the known world, with one exception, the
Cathedral of Cologne, and it lacks but a
few feet Of being up to that. When fin
ished it will overtop all other earthly struc-
lures by many feet, Other American build
ings reach the following altitude: The
Washington Monument, at Baltimore, 1913
feet; Bunker Hill Monument, 22l feet; the
Capitol. in Washington, 800 feet. Old
world buildings range as follows st.
Pauls Cathedral London, $50 feet; st.
Peters, in Rome, 43S feet; the Cathedral
of Milan, 355 feet; the Great Pyramid of
Cheops, in Egypt $50, originally $50 feet;
the Cathedral of Rouen 489 feet; the Ca
l. - ro1oo,o gin Got
The Work of Century.
The history of this structure is almost
coeval with that of the Republic itself AL
most Immediately upon the close of the
Revolution, the subject of erecting a me-
mortal in honor of the hero of Mount Yer
non was brought up in Congress. Our
m mister to France was authorized in one
Of the earliest sessions to purchase bronze
statue of Washington. ltwas not done for
want of funds. In 1899 joint resolution
was passed directing that marble monu-
ment to George Washington be erected by
the United States. In 1900 Congress passed
an act appropriating 100000 for the erec-
ton of mausoleum, and in 1901 bill ap-
propriating 5000, passed the House; but
none of these early bills and resolutions
seem to have ever chrystahzed into hard
cash.
1t was not till 1888 that the matter took
definite shape by the organization of the
Washington Monument Society" OF this
association Chief Justice John Marshall be-
came the first president. On the 18th Of
July, lS4S, the cornerstone was laid, with
imposing ceremonies, in the presence of the
President and Vice President of the United
States, both Houses OF Congress, tc gether
with vast concourse of people. Hon.
Robert c. Winthrop, then Speaker of the
House, delivered the address The grand
master oficiated on the occasion used the
same apron and gavel used by Washington
when he laid the cornerstone of the Capt.
tol. Two years later, being 18th Of July,
1850, the people Of Washington again cele-
brated Independence day by holding ap-
pirate ceremonies at the monument upon
which some progress had been made. The
speeches were made by Henry S. Foote, of
Tennessee and G. W. Parke Curtis of Ar
lington. President Taylor and his Cabinet
were present and occupied seats upon the
shaded platform. Just as the ceremonies
were over and they were about to return to
the White House, the announcement was
made that some traveller had bought hand
full of the dust from the tomb of Kosciusco,
and that the same would be deposited, with
appropriate ceremonies, in niche prepared
for it in the monument To witness this
the presidential party stood in the broiling
sun for an hour, at the end of which time
the President was completely exhausted.
Going home he indiscreetly drang copiously
of ice water This brought on an attack
which speedily ended his life. 1t was this
and not the worry of office-seekers, that car
ried off the hero of Palo Alto.
Slow Progress for Years.
The building progressed slowly. Funds
were raised BY subscription all over the
country. Its completion seemed among
the remote uncertainties of the future. At
the outbreak of the war it had reached the
height of $50 feet, more or less. There it
stood, for years and years, forlorn, neglect
ed; an eye-sore to the city and reproach
to our people. Some four or five years ago
Congress again took hold of the matter, and
made an appropriation for the examina-
ton and strengthening of the foundations.
In this connection one of the most remark
able feats of engineering skin ever known
was performed. A new foundation 1861
feet square and 40 feet in depth, composed
Of broken stone and cement, was placed
under the entire structure. Not only that,
but il was found that in the years It had
been standing it had settled an inch or two
out of the perpendicular. In putting in the
new foundation this was corrected, and not
Aithstanding the thousands Of tons in
weight that have since been added, it has
not varied line from the perpendicular.
The body of structure is ffty-Gye feet
square at the base, with walls fifteen feet in
thickness. At the top the walls will be
eighteen inches in thickness. From the
top Of the terrace the body of the building
viii be 500 feet high, and upon this win be
a pyramidal roof fifty FIVE feet from the cor
nice to the apex. This room will be COM
posed Of fat marble slabs about eight
inches thick. In laying the stones the very
best Portland cement is used. The work is
now progressing at the rate of. three feet
per day. By October those in charge ex-
pect to have the work completed