The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1891-04-28
Breaking the Ground for the Monument.

NEW YORK, April 27.-Amidst the plaud-
its OF thousands of citizens, the blare Of
trumpets, the beating Of drums, booming of
cannon, melody of children's voices and the
eloquence of orators, ground was broken
to-day Tor the monument which is to be
raised at the tomb at Riverside park where
rests all that is mortal of General Grant.
Members of the Alexander Hamilton post.
Grand Army of the Republic, and other
societies participated, and the Yantic.
United States Steamship anchored near
by IN the Hudson, fired salute of twenty
one guns before the regular ceremonies
commenced. Three hundred children frohs
the Sheltering Arms Institution and drum
and fife corps playing America" marched
past the tomb with flags dropped. Each
child carried boquet Of forget me-nots''
which was cast upon the tomb. The Ma
rlne band played an overture, after which
Rev. DR.. Clark Wright, chaplain of De-
partment Commander Freeman's staff, Of
tered prayer, and the chorus sang
1.-The Star Spangled Banner" Com
mander Freeman presided. Fe in
troduced General Horace Porter.
who said Sixty nine,yeers ago to-day there
issued Into the world a being who was
OF his country and whose fame was to
reach into the uttermost parts of the earth.
The most conspicuous characters in history
have risen into prominence by gradual ad-
Vances. but Ulysses S. Grant came before
the people with sudden bound. Almost
the HrSt sight caught of him was in the
blaze of his camp fires and the flashes OF
his guns during those wintery DAYS and
nights in front of Donaldson. From that
time until the browning triumph OF Apppo-
mattOX he was the leader whose name was
the harbinger of victory. From the final
sheathing of his sword till his ashes were
laid to rest in yonder tomb, he was the
chief citizen Of the republic and the great
central figure of the world"
General Porter then in an epigrammatio
way contrasted the obscurity of Grants
early life with the fame Of his later years.
He touched upon the salient features OF his
character as soldier and chief magistrate,
and sketched the prominent acts of his
presidential career. The speaker said that
his unbounded generosity for his friends.
and his magnanimity to his foes will be- re-
WONDERED as long as his manly qualities.
He never tired of giving uns tinted praise
to worthy subordinates for the work that
they did. Like the chief artists who
weave the Gobelin tapestries, he was con
tent to work behind the cloth, letting those
in front appear to be the principal con-
LrIUuLOrS 10 GHS beauty OF fabric.
The orator said that one word which
more characterized General Grant than
any other was loyalty; loyalty to his coun-
try, to his friends, to his God. For this
reason chiefly men were loyal to him. she
was created for great emergencies. In or
binary matters he was an ordinary man; in
momentous affairs he lowered as giant
The speaker closed by saying: ''No effort
of human hands can add single laurel to
his brow; all honors that earth can give
have been bestowed on him. The people
whom he served have resolved to fashion
tomb worthy Of his ashes and rear in
monument of rock fitting tribute to his
fame"
The chorus then sang America"
When Commander Freeman arose 10 Ia
itiate the particular ceremony of the day
the breaking of ground for the monument
the spade which he used was fine speci-
men of American handicraft, bearing an
inscription giving the chief events of Con-,
eral Grants career. Before turning uD
the sod Commander Freeman said: 1--WE
gather to-day not simply as the represents
tives OF the hundreds of thousands, living
and dead, whom he led to victory, but of
the entire nation, the men who wore the
gray as well as the men who wore the
blue. Now, in the presence OF Almighty
God and these witnesses, we, the repre-
sentatiyes of the Grand Army of the Re-
public, break this sod preparatory to lay
ing the foundation of monument which
shall stand as slight expression Of the
love this nation has for its great chieftain
and shall tell to all the world that the
United States of America does not forget
her heroic dead"
at the close of his remarks Commander
Freeman took the spade in his hand and
with it tossed up the earth. This ended
the ceremonies and the crowd dispersed.