The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1893-12-26

ROWS OF CESoTAPHs IN THE CoEGREssIoS AL
CEMETERY.
old, fresh and quaint, famous and COM
mouplace. make a strange combination
on each side of its narrow paths and little
frequented drives. Its very name is an
oddly. for, from its inception, it has never
been a strictly congressional cemetery. 1t
was originally q private enterprise, and
when congress determined to favor il with
its patronage when distinguished men
were to be buried at the public expense the
owners named il the Congressional ceme-
terry, on much the same principle on
(which the London haberdasher writes
"Purveyor to the Prince of Wales" at the
head Of his business announcement. The
circumstances which. moved congress 10
select an official burial place was the ne
cessity (due to the excessive cost of trans
portation at that time) of burying at the
capitol members of congress who died
there in the discharge of their public du-
ties. And the fathers tunlike the Western
desperate who never does anything by
halyes) did not feel themselves warranted
In stocking private graveyard. so they Sc
iected the most convenient final resting
place near the capitol and allowed it to be
christened ''The Congressional Gene
terry" According to the original plan.
monuments Of a modest character were
erected over the remains of all the SEN
ators and representatives who were buried
there, but this was soon modified by the
addition of provision under which
cenotaphs of a similar design ana harac-
ter were 10 be erected in memory o men,
bers of congress who might be l,uried
elsewhere. As the government reservation
in the original cemetery was not well de-
fined, the graves of the distinguished dead
were very irregularly arranged, and, but
for the peculiar style of the monument
which marks each of them il would be
difficult To distinguish them at a distance
from the last resting places, ancient and
modern, which lie between and about
them. The congressional milestone on
the road to eternity rested on a brick
foundation. Its base was a square block
OF sandstone on which rested another
square block of the same stone somew at
smaller in size. On these rested a
cube, or die" on whose paneled
side was inscribed the name of the
deceased, together with his official title,
his age and the date of his death
They stand side by side in long rows in
the Congressional cemetery as bare and a.
meaningless as the little footstones that
mark the graves of the soldier dead at
Arlington; more meaningless, in fact, for
the footstones mark q grave while most
OF the blocks of stone in the Congressional
cemetery mark nothing but a memory.
The cenotaphs are about As intelligent as
the enitaph in the English churchy ard
grown famous by repetition, which runs
something like this:
Here lies my wife and four children dear
Two OF them are 81 Hampstead and two are
here.
| can hardly believe that, in making thi.
bargain with immortality, the fathers
foresaw the possible DEVELOPMENT of this
country and of the American congress
Some OF these cenotaphs were erected be-
fore the men they were 10 commemorate
had died. On some of them today the
word died" is followed by blank space
Suppose that the $50 members of the last
congress and the members of the con-
gress before and the membes OF the con-
gress now in session had undertaken
10 erect cenotaphs IN anticipation
of their death. They could furnish
enough material TO stock falr-sized mem
orial cemetery without going any further
back in the history of our country. When
the Congressional cemetery was started.
are today. With the demonstration Of
the mpraoticability of the idea OF erectin =
memorials TO all the members of the con-
gress Of the United States. the ambition
for poSt.mortem fame OF this character
| died out. No senator or representative CT
the nltsd States III congress has been
! buried IN the Congressiona. cemetery since
lSt4, When Senstor Lemuel J. Bogden, of
/ Virginia. was laid 10 rest: and he would
not have been buried there but fer the fact
that he died IN the District of Columbia Of
smallpox and the removal OF his body to
his home in Virginia va. thought to be
| dangerous. There are cenoiaphs of later
Gate than this, the last, think. being that
! 81 DAVID Heatoa, representative from
North Carolina, who died June -. 1870.
The ABANDON ment of the custom OF
/ erecting cenotaphs in the Congressional
cemetery came an 1916 Ia December, ls-5.
LdNaEd Mcpherson, the retiring clerk OF
/ tie Aouae Of representatives, presented TO
/ tae house report on the subject, showing
! That The previous congress had appropri-
/ Eted IL. 90 Tor the erection in the oeneterv
/ Of monuments in memory Of those renr.-
ssnIaslves Who have died since the cree
ton 81 those last authorized said nonu-
msnts 10 ee OF marble or granite and of
uniform style and size with those rrevt-
/ oGs4y erected. etc. The loves. bid which
/ Ar. Nc Phegson had been able to get under
N'7 @@N'sSAA's vas sAVAJo eacn, and as
seventeen representatives had put In .
silent claim for monuments before thu
oAds were opened IL as impossible Tor the
e.erk TO MAKE the limited appropriation 20
around. SO be applied 10 the house for
further appropriation. Whea tie
matter came mp for debate the
bouss very promptly determined
sbai vas time 70 put stop 70
the eEeciioa o( useless monument. in
memory Of those Who we're not hs,risd A.,
TIE Congressional cemetery. and An act
= - pssset, and approved BY the prssl-
Gent, May -, 1876 providing that where
81 sexual saiertaenI Of member OF The
aHAse o. representative or The senate took
ace "a the Congregational cemetery, the
So svant-As-aF Of tie legislative body Of
e+ea &c Vas member should cause a