New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1885-02-15
wAsH1NGToN's MONUMENT.
rpJrIrrEs TO THE FIRST PRESIDENT


r,ox or THE MONUMENT
Tho Nation has com pleted its monumental " ash
,,,,o, II was first proposed lO2 years aeo'
This nonumeat is to be dedicated by III soiemhit'o'
ON Saturd w. the 2lst The history OF It's puild'ns
ia instructive and characteristic. IL ls' ihuceo'
tvpical of the wav in which democratic co'hiu'"-
wealth likes to do things Your autocrd' oo''',"H
TO build n pyramid an obeSk, saws SUN, 10y
when he is goo1-1aturad. "Lot II De oh'i', "
SIGNS a hit of paper to that purpose anu 'ho''
practcolly the thing is done. For II IL ~ no' ooo
the autocrat may have III OF i'i-ha'u'o, ~"
remembering some day the monument VIII "sN
WHY il is not built He NAV even cn' y" INV
heads of the people he thinks guilty of negligence
But Republic moves bv different methou" -"
WAYS are more like those O. a family ,,,,,
Tins the mother of a ia ily SAYS: ta'ha WIN
shonla have fur cap" The father says; nav
,vould he q rood thing Thon the snbjeot drops,
The next dav at breakfast she says: " "'h wou'"
70, lie q furcapY' Will SAYS: " That woula DO
bu,lv. .yabez Boudno. has got one lhsh INV
snbiect drops again The noxt daY ne SAYS
went IN Mr. Baigor's shop and saw hrS'-rate cup
II cost fen dollars" But his father has lost money
that d,v bv , corner in oil. and says: " Its all
no,so,se. he ms. wear his Old one" Then the
mother secretly finds Mrs. Fedora Ga'inSki
a delicate Polish lady, who knows now
to dress and sew furs. Sho hh"s 'ha'
she can buy four mink skins for twenty cents cach
and proposes that the cap shall he maze oE N''''
Fenoro The father saws that this is all nonsense
that they will not have O cheap cap, ANYWAY. ne
whole family gives the cap M. But the next week
there ,s =. rise in wheat and he is prospered. lie
comes II from the Office early, buys the cap on the
xroy and TINA on the coolest day In the yeai,
Will has IT to go skating
This il n parable to show how democratic r'pno
lies do their business. And il is to DO OBSERVER
that they generally do 1T W ell. For EVERYBODY Is
interested, more less, as the occasion requires
When the exigency is real, everybody Is "'uon
inter .ted and So practically after great deai oi
talk, the right thing is done.
The Washington monument was proposed III mo
veor 1888. The Continental Congress. which
never had money enough to buy It's own quiii'' Il
il paid its honest debts, always lavish in vot-
ing monuments.
On the 7th of August. 1873. Congress re-
solved unanimously g that an equestrian statue
of General Washington be erected at the place
where the residence Of Congress shall be es-
tablisbed :" and directed that the statue should
he supported by q marble PEDESTAL. on when
should be represented four principal events OF inc
Revolutionary War in which he commanded I'D
person. On the pedestal were to be engraved the
following words: " The United states. In Congress
assembled ordered this statue to be erected IN inc
wear of our Lord 1893, in honor OF George WASH
ington the ilustrous Commander-n-Chief OF INC
Armies OF the United States of America during the
war which vndicatei and scared theH hoo'9'
sovereignty, and independence"
But nothing was done under this resolution. iu
the first place, no seat of Government was hxed
mill the wear 1900 so that TIL then. there was no
nl.cs for the statue to stand In 1893 Washington
himself died and IN the next year committee
reported that 1" a mausOleum be erected Tor ueotge
Washington in the city OF Washington anu
on the LIST of January next an appropriation
of 100000 was made for tnat PurpoSo
When the new Capitol was begun IN 1919
the same which msn nOw call tho ola Cap'-
toll place was reserved for sarcopha"us iol
the boly of Washington under the who". IL
is even said that till lately there has oeen AL ocer
called Keeper Of the Crypt" whose
busness 1t was to take care VI
this sarcophagus. But neither sarcophagus nor
bodv was ever there. Madam Washington con-
ss,ted TO the removal of the body saying neeo
NOT cannot saw what sacrifice OF lndlvldua
failing make 10 a sense of public duty but Ihe
sacrifice was never exacted, and the body remains
where II should remain. at Mount vernon
Meanwhile the City of Washington had been lad
ont OF this city George lshin gton Is really the
founder, and in the beauty and grandeur whlch IL
is now assuming it is "A monument not unworthy VI
him. IF YOU AK for his monument, LOOK round
NAV well be said of the city and OF him. On one oi
the earliest plans of the city, the spot where the
monument now stands. is designated as the sle 1oi
+be eouestriap ST tue ordered in the Congressional
resolution of 1900. The precise place ID
st the intersection of the parallel and meridian
lines which pass through tie centre of the Capito
and the centre of the White House. In all the
CITY of Washington there is good deal OF ricl
mathematical and astronomical suggestion, due u
thu fancy of LEnfant, tho French engineer. VINO
made the plans aud now generally forgotten.
In this case if the symbolism means anything, II
means that in George Washington the Executive
and Legislative of the land were as one.
President Buchanan was fond of reoollectDg II
his later DAYS. that when he was in what he called
his sophomoric stage of life, he brought up the
monument for consideration for the hrs'
time in q quarter of a century On
the 18th of January. 1924. when he
was young member OF the HOUSE o'
Representatives. he offered the following rcsolu-
ton:
{" Resolrcd, That committee be appointed whose
anty il shall be 60 inquire in what the reso
buttons of Congress, passed on the oath of Decem-
her. 1893 relative to the erection of n marble
monument in tho Capitol, at the City OF Washing
ton to com,ue the great events OF the mill
tary and political life OF General Washington. may
be best accomplished. and that they have leave tc
report by bill or otherwise"
But this resolution, after discussion was laid
upon the table.
Congress either forgot or disregarGcd the vote
for an equestrian statue. When the reputation OF
Horatio Greenough was fairly established. Con
gress ordered from him statue, which was com
pieted In 1889. aud is now in the public square
"A L. Gyau nnU
terwriter still given to tins style of art winch rover
suces cooked hats aud buckskIn brooches. writes
letter, abusing it, which in after years he regrets
But the permanent judgment of tho world will