Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1885-02-27

and brought the audience down to the
period Of the civil war, speaking Of the
monument at that time as follows
THE PERIOD OF THE CIVIL WAR.
GLOW shall depict the sorry spectacle
which those first one hundred and seventy
four feet, in their seeming hopeless, help
less condition, with that dismal derrick
still standing ~ In mOckery upOp their
summit, presented TO the eye OF every
conner 10 the Capitol for nearly a quarter
of % century No wonder the unsightly
/ pile beraule the subject of pity and dcri-
sion. No wonder there were periodical
panics about the security Of its foundation
and a chronic condemnation Of the Origi-
nal design. No wonder that suggestions
for tearing it all down began to be enter
/ tanned in many minds, and were advocated
| by many pens and tongues. The trnncated
/ shaft, with its untdy surroundi 1gs looked
! only like an insult to the memOI of Wash
/ ington. IL symbolized nothing but an un-
| grateful country, not destined-a4, God
| be thanked, it still Aas-to growth and
! grandeur and imperishable glory, but
doomed 10 premature decay, TO discord,
strife, and ultimate disuniOn. Its very
presence was calculated to discourage
many hearts from other things, as well "a
from itself IL was an abOmination Of
desOlation standing where it ought not.
All that followed of confusion and conten-
tion in our country's history seemed fore
Swallowed and preiigured in that humliia-
ting spectacle, aud one could almost read
on is side in letters of blood, Divided.
Weighed in the balance. Found wanting"
"And well might that crude aud undi-
gested mass have stood 80 forever, or until
the hand of man or the operation of the
elements should have crushed and crumb-
led il into dust, if our Union had then
persisted. An unfinished, iragmentary,
crnmbling monument 10 Washington
would have been iit emblem of a divided
aud ruined country. Washington him self
would not have had it finished. lie wC I'D
have desired no tribute, however impO-
sing, from either half of disunited repub-
lie. He would have turned with abhOr-
renee from being thought the Father Of
anything less than one country, with one
constitution and one destiny.
"And how cheering aud how inspiring
the reflection, how grand and glorious the
fact, that no sooner were our unhappy
contentious at an end, no sooner were
union and liberty, one and inseparable,
once more and, ~ we trust and believe,
forever rea,s.rtcd and treasured, than this
monument 10 Washington gave signs OF
fresh lie, began 20 attract new interest
and new effort, and soon was seen rising
again slowly but steadily towards the
skies stone after stone, course upon
course, piled mp in peace, with foundations
extended to the full demand Of the snor-
nous weight 10 be placed upon them, until
We can now hail it as complete"
EPLURIBUs UNUM.
Mr.. Winthrop paid handsome tribute
to Col. Casey, who superintendent the com
plction Of the monument, and, abiding to
the design, said "America is certainly
NJ liberty TO present new models in art ~
well rs in government, or to improve upon
old ones; and, as | ventured to suggest
some years ago, our monument TO Wash
ingtOn will be all the more significant aud
symbolic in cmbodying, as it does, the idea
of oar cherished national motto, + Pluri-
bus Unum. That compact, consolidated
structure, with its countless blocks, inside
aud outside, held firmly in position by
their own weight and pressure, will ever
be an instructive type of the national
strength and grandeur which can only be
secured by the union Of many into one
Does not-does not, repeat, that colossal
unit remind all who gaze no il, more for
chilly than any arch or statue could do,
that there is one name in American his
tory above all other names, one character
more exalted than all other characters,
one example to be- studied and reverenced
beyond all other examples, one bright par
tlcular star in the clear upper sky Of our
armament, whose guiding light aud peer
less lnstre are for all men and all ages,
never to be lost sight of, never TO be UNI
needed OF that name, Of that character,
of that example, Of that glorious guid ng
light, our Obclisk standing on the very
spot selected by Washington himself for a
MONUMENT t. the American RevOint ION,
and ON the site which marks our national
meridian, viii be unique memorial aud
symbol forever
Continuing, the speaker made many
beautiful illusions 10 the early life and
subsequent public career of Washington,
and quoted from distinguished statesmen,
generals orators and poets Of different ma
tons TO show what the world thought OF
him, and drew the following As his own
portrait Of the first Presidents
THE CHARACTER OF wAsHINGT ~.
Modest, disutcresied, generous, just,
Of clean hands, and pure heart, self do
nying and self-sacriiicing, seeking nothing
for himself, declining all remuneration be-
yOud the reimbursement OF his OUTLAWS,
,erupnlous to farihing in keeping his ac-
counts, OF spotless integrity, scorning gifts,
charitable to the needy, forgiying injuries
and njustices brave, fearless, heroic, with
a prudence ever governing his impulses
and wisdom ever guiding his yalor, true
to his friends, true to his whole country,
true to himself, fearing God, believing in
Christ, no stranger ~ private devotion or
public worship or TO the hottest offices Of
the church to which no belonged, but ever
gratefully recognizing a Divine aid and
direction in all that he attempted and in
all that he accomplished, what epithet,
what attribute, could be added to that
consummato character to commend it as
an example above all other characters in
merely human history.
"FrOm first to last he never solicited or
sought an Office, military or civil. kvory
Office stood candidate for him, and was en-
nOblcd by his acceptance of it, llOnOrs
clustered around him as if by the force of
first Intention Responsibilities heaped
themselves on his shoulders as if by the
law OF grayitation. They could rest safely
nowhere else. and they found him ever
ready 10 bear them all, ever equal to dis
charge them all. To what is called perso-
nal magnetism he could have had little
pretcnsion A vein of digniiied reserve,
which loud0n and Stuart have rightly
mado his peculiar characteristic In marble
and on canvas, repressed all famIliarities
with him. His magnetism was that of
merit-superior, surprising nerit-the
merit of spoiless integrity, of recognized
ability, and OF unwearicd willingness to
spend and be spent in the service of his
country. That was sufficient 10 attract
rresistably to his support, not only the
great mass of the people, but the wisest
and best Of his contemporaries in all quar-
tiers of the Union, and from them be
selected, with signal discrimination, such
advisers and counselers, in war and in
peace, a. have never surrounded any other
American leader. No jealousy of their
abilities and their accomplishments ever
ruilled his breast, aud with them he
achieved oar independence, organized our
constitutional government, and stamped
his name indclibly on the age in which he
lived as the age Of Washington
TRIBUTE TO VIRGINIA.
Tho speaker paid the following splendid |
compliment to Virginia;
/ am myself New Highlander by birth !
"A son of NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. by the |
strongest ties of affection and of blood to /
honor and vcnerate the earlier aud the |
later worthless Of the old Puritan common
wealth, jealous Of their fair fame, and ever |
ready to assert and ylndicato their just !
rcnown. Hut turn reyerently to the Old |
Dominion to-day, and salute her as the
mother of the pre-eminent and comparable |
American, the Father OF his Country, and
the foremost figure in all merely human
history. In the words Of our own poet,
Lowell
Virginia gave rs this imperial man,