The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1897-04-28


Guilty would be found in collecting ST.
900. 900. In February, 1886, then the
Grant Monument association was or
ganized under an act Of the Legislature,
$4,000 had already been raised.
Scarcely a week after this date how
ever. ex-President Arthur was forced
to resign as president of the associa-
ton because of the Illness which short
ly after proved fatal. Sidney Dillon
was then elected president, and was
succeeded by Cornelius Vanderbilt in
the early part OF 1887. In February,
1883, Wilton Il. Grace, eX-mayor be-
came president.
When subscriptions began to move
slowly many plans were followed out
for the collection of money. The mem
bers of the Grand Army Of the Repub-
lie in this city worked with untlring
energy from the start and subscription
boxes were placed in all OF the post
quarters; collectors representing vari-
Gus enterprising periodicals solicited
funds in every quarter. and the news
papers of the city kept the urgency OF
raising money quickly ever before the
people, publishing from day to day the
names OF subscribers and amounts SUBJ
scribed.
With the year following the creation
of the Grant Monument association,
prominent architects were requested to
submit designs for q monumental tomb,
but because of the general desire to
obtain q design which should at once
be work of art, picturesque to the
popular eye, and durable enough to
last through the ages great caution
was taken and ideas and plans were
criticized from every standpoint. It
was not ntil September, 1890, that the
| plans of ]. II. Duncan, of New York,
were accepted by the association. and
on the anniversary of General Grants
birthday in 1891 ground was broken,
with appropriate ceremonies, for the
! construction of a tomb to cost between
100000 and 100000.
by January, 1892. with the work of
construction under way, the fund had
lanEuished. Despite all effort the fund
had for several months remained sta
| tioncry at $l55,000. From other states
where there had been strong opposi-
tion to the burial of General Grant in
New York, protests came that the city
had not fulfilled its promises to erect
n suitable tomb. growing sentiment
| that the remains should have been de-
| posted in the National cemetery re-
suited finally in the introduction of
| bill in congress by which the removal
was to have been made from New
! York to Washington.
Prominent citizens became alive to
| the situation and an organized move
| ment resulted in the election of General
| Horace Porter, who had been Grants
| chief-of-staf, as president of the
| Grant Monument association. Freder-
lex d. Tappen, (pre sident of the Gal
! latin National tani, was made treas
urer. This was 3 February, 1892, and
at the same time the legislature amend
| ed the charter of the association so
that one hundred citizens took the
place of the former committee of thlr-
! ty-three. All officers of the newly or
| gauized association served without
compensation, d. o. Mills provided Of
| fees free and the expense of collecting
the fund became nominal, although the
work-because Of the immense amount
| Of detail and the smallness OF individ-
| ual donations-was onerous.
They began the memorable campaign
Of sixty days in which time it was
| proposed to raise the remaining $780,,
| 900. The actual work began in the
| early Gays OF ApT1I, loSZ, ana IN d week
such he'd been the effort that the city
fairly rang with the name and deeds
of the dead general; school children
were writing prize essays, meetings
were being held and announcements
made in churches as well as clubs and
schools. In order that all classes of
people should be interested, the asso-
citation brought its cause before the
two hundred trades and professions
represented in the city, and was sue
cessful in inducing them to hold meet
ings and to appoint committees for the
receiving of subscriptions. Two hun
dred and ten committees, numbering
2.4Si people, were formed; subscription
boxes We're placed on elevated railroad
stations, in stores and banks, and sub
| scription books opened in business Of.
| fees. AS a result of this stirring up
of public feeling, when half the allot-
ted sixty days had expired, on April
27, the day the corner stone of the
monument was laid, the Grant Monu"