St. Landry democrat., 1885-03-07
WASHINGTON LETTER.
From Our Regular Correspondent
WASHINGTON, Feb. a3d., 1885

The Washington Monument has been
turned over! was the startling an
nouncement on the street yesterday at
10 o'clock. This did not mean that it
had been overturned, but that it had
been turned Over-transferred from the
monument committee, who have had it
in charge for 36 years, to the people of
the United States. The ceremonial
programme has now been completed,
and the monument stands alone in its
peerless grandeur, divinely tall and
most divinely fair" the noblest tribute
to the noblest man.
The six thousand who composed the
civic and military procession, and who
we're out from 10 A. NJ. until P. NJ,
standing for most of the time massed
in square about the monument, had a
toretaste of the horrors of war. It was
bitter weather and many, chilled to the
bone, we're Frustrated with cold.
The procession from the monument
to the Capitol was well ordered and i'm
posing. have seen many professions
move along Pennsylvania avenue, but
never before have seen the police sue
ceed in keeping the streets clear, and
their success on this occasion argues
we'll for the much larger procession
which will move along the same route
next week, on the 4th, of March. The
side walks of Pennsylvania avenue are
very wide, but the spectators have been
disposed to encroacil upon the street,
to crowd the column in procession, and
break the view from all but the front
line. By successful disposition of
mounted policemen, the avenue was
kept perfectly clear, and all were en-
abled to enjoy the spectacle. Major
Dye, the chief of police, received a let
ter of thanks from the President for
his success in managing the crowd.
First came General Sheridan in full
uniform, mounted on black horse.
He was followed by four aids, and a
large body of mounted men. Next in
order came the U. S. infantry and artil
lery, and then the volunteer military
and civic organiza tions. These were
followed by long line of carriages,
decorated with the stars and stripes, in
which were members of Congress and
Justices of the Supreme Court. The
President sat in carriage drawn by
four horses. Conspicuous at the lead
of the southern visiting military COM
panies was Gen. Fitzhugh Lee, mounted
on a superb dark bay stallion.
The ceremonies at the monument
were very brief, the weather was so
cold that not even the speakers un-
covered their bald heads, and the au-
dience sat with their hats on and moved
their beuumbed feet constantly. AT |
tho Capital, from which all but favor |
ed two thousand were excluded, tile |
ceremonies were prOtracted, the speech
es were longer, but were endured by
the audience with fortitude. The first
oration was written by Mr.. Winthrop,
who was the orator thirty seven years
ago, when the corner stone was laid.
It was in the somewhat heavy and re-
dundant style of rolling periods that
was considered fine rhetoric forty years
ago. Mr.. Gladstone, Monsieur Gam
beta, Lord, Macauicy, or Mr.. Villas
would have said more in half as many
words. The Grafton was read by Mr..
Long, of Massachusetts, the writer be-
ing too feeble to be present.
The oration of Col. Daniels of Vir-
ginia was flowery and brilliant, sopho-
norical and portentious. The best
orators of the day practice different
style, and the orators of the future
will not find models in the orations of
last Saturday, except of some faults
they should avoid. Life is too short,
and modern common sense and culture
is too practical, to be cheated and
Sickled by words, words, words. This
view does not exclude eloquence, but it
1oes exclude grandiloquence, which
vaunts itself and substitutes gaudy
sentences for a chaste and simple ex-
preston of thought. If old Mr.. Win
.hrop and Young Mr.. Daniels viii take
ARE to revise their orations before :
leliverys and carefully cut out all the
inc things they have dotted on, they
nay yet make pretty good orators, but
he old stYle of soaring the American {