The herald., 1896-04-26


ing the broad waters of the Hudson at the
northerly end of Riverside park. but many
delays in the work have made this impos-
sible.
The mausoleum is rapidly nearing COM
pletion, however, and while it is the wish
of many to postpone the final dedication
until April 27, 1897, as it has always been
the custom to hold the ceremonies in con-
nection with the monument on Grants
birthdays. the great structure will probably
he in readiness to receive it's charge before
the summer is over.
Much of the exterior work has been com.
pleted, and it is already possible to gain an
accurate idea of how the finished structure
will appear. judged from the building as it
stands today. By June all of the outside
work will have been done and then will be-
gin the laying of the marble flooring, the
pastering and interior decorating. This
will take a comparatively short time, and
it may be that the remains of the general
will be placed in the mausoleum some time
in the fall.
Nothing as to this has been definitely set
tied by the commission in charge of the
monument, but it is known that the men,
bers of the Grant family are desirous of
having the generals body removed to it's
final resting place as speedily as possible.
and this desire will have considerable
weight with the commission.
1t is the intention of the latter to make
the final dedication ceremonies the most
magnificent that the country has ever seen.
No effort has yet been made to outline
them in detail, but 1t is understood that
. great feature will be military and naval
pageant on a larger scale than any ever
before attempted. Particular pains will be
taken to have the veterans of the Confed-
eracy actively participate in the exercises,
and owing to the friendly feeling for Grant
throughout the south it is believed that
NIL ho Ilchn ,iv1u 0f fnrr
wearers of the gray in the procession.
From some quarters adverse criticism
has been directed against the commission
because of the long delay in building the
monument, but delay has been part of its
policy. On this subject Gen. Horace Por-
ter. chairman of the Grant Monument as
sociation. said:
''The masonry is one of the few speci-
mems of fiawless granite. Every stone is
rejected which has a dark mark of over
one-quarter of an inch in diameter. If the
structure had been rushed up there would
have been serious defects in it. A longer
time was spent on the foundation, which is
twenty-seven feet deep, so as to be sure of
absolute solidity. Great masses of con-
crete have been used and put in slowly and
allowed time to settle and harden. Then
specimens have from time to time been
taken and subjected to crushing tests by
mining school and United States engineer
officers.
"When heavy masses of masonry have
been put in as backing work was always
stopped for ninety days to let the masonry
settle and harden. and be absolutely sure
there was no shrinkage, crack or undue
settling which would defect or crack the
granite against it.
'There were some delays at the start,
such a. strike among the granite cutters.
1t required seven months to select a proper
quarry and open deeper beds, to be sure
h0 nifa flo
could be cut in sufficiently large blocks.
"In the mean time the uneXpended por-
ton OF the funds draws per cent interest
in the leading trust companies, and the
grading around the tomb and the work on
the approach will be going on. 1t has been
to make haste slowly on q national memo-
rial of such Importance. 1t 10 built not for
short period, but for all time"
That the public interest in General Grant
is today greater than at any time since his
death is shown by the vast crowds which
visit the little tomb in which his remains
now rest. On Easter Sunday the police of
Riverside park estimated that between
$4,000 and 10000 persons crowded dur
ing the day around the small tomb. 1t ,s
(. very seldom that less than 10000 persons
visit the spot on Sunday when the weather
is fair, and when the mausoleum is COM
pleted it Is certain to rank in popular inter-
est with the tomb of Napoleon in the Inva-
lides, which cost 100000 francs. more
than double what the completed Grant
monument will cost. and the latter prom.
ises in every way to be superior.
The records of the association show that
more than $4,000 persons contributed to
the $500. 900 fund raised for building the
monument. The smallest contribution is
ono cent and the largest $4,000. The av-
Z erAge is $3.50 and all but $4,000 was
contributed by citizens of New York.
BROOKLYN. Chicago and Washington con.
tributed the bulk of the $2S,OOO.
One of the great features of the monu-
ment and one which will give New York a
fair rival to the beautiful Champs EIysees
Of Paris will be the approach to the mauso-
I leum. AZ the monument rests on q high
hill, it affords q splendid opportunity for q
msguifcent approach, and this has been
taken advantage Of in the plans of the
Supervising architects.
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