Evening star., 1901-11-16

Augustus st. Gaudens, the noted sculptor.
The idea in this plan has been to take the
existing monumental structures, such as
the Capitol, White House and Washington
monument, and to bring them into relation
one to another, and also to provide for GER
tain new memorials which are expected to
be built within the near future In TINS
connection the location of future pubic
buildings and the treatment of the south
side of Pennsylvania avenue are being con-
sidered.
Mr. D. II. Burnham chairman of the
commission, has passed upon every detail
of these plans, and the report of the COM
mission is being prepared by him. 1t was
Mr. Burnham who took up with President
Cassatt of the Pennsylvania railroad the
question of the removal of the railroad
tracks from the mall. He secured from
Mr. CasSatt the assurance of his hearty
cooperation in the plans of the comms-
sion.
One of the very notable features of the
work as it has progressed has been the abb
solute harmony which has existed. not
only among the commissioners themselves.
but also between the commissioners and
the various authorities in the District with
whom they have come in contact The at
titude of the commission may be expressed
as a sincere desire on their part to be CT
assistance to all of the various persons
connected with the District and govern
ment who have problems to solve that re-
late to the building up and beautify.ng of
the capital city. 1t is not at all to be Won
dered at that the commissioners have
worked in harmony far their oWn
meetings are concerned, for at the time of
the worlds Columbian exposition at Chi
cago they formed intimate friendships
which have been perpetuated and extended
in the establishment and maintenance,
largely at their own private expense, CT the
American Academy in Rome, which fur
nishes a sort of postgraduate course for
American painters, sculptors and archi-
tects.
Importance of the Work.
The members of the commission also
have realized fully the extreme import
ance of the work they have been called
upon to do, and they have felt that the
nature of this work was so great and was
calculated to be of such an enduring char
acter as to rise above all personal con-
siderations, that while they have been
called upon to formulate the general plans,
it is expected that as the various portions
of the work shall be undertaken from year
to year the very best talent which the
country can produce will be called upon for
it's execution in accordance with the gen
eral scheme.
In preparing their plans the members of
the commission have had before them the
views of the various representative bodies
of the District, such as the Board of Trade
and the various citizens associations, and
have endeavored to meet the valuable slg-
gestions offered in the spirit in which they
were given. The commission has fully
realized the national character of it's un-
dertaking, and will endeavor to present the
results of its studies in such a way that
the public will understand fully the nature
of the propositions. 1t has been the ex-
perience of the members of the COM
mission in doing large work of a public
character that 1t is absolutely necessary,
in order to prevent serious mistakes, to
have relief models made of the more i'm
portant portions of the work This is by
no means modern invention. for when the
state of Virginia proposed to build it's tap-
toll Thomas Jefferson after selecting TIE
design, had model of it made in Paris.
This plan has also been carried out by the
metropolitan park commission of Boston,
which has had models constructed of the
entire park system of that city. One # the
models to be used here is being cen
structed in Boston by Mr. George Carroll
Curtiss, the geographical sculptor. TEis
model will be ten feet wide and seventeen
feet long, and will show the exact present
condition of that section of the city lying
west from the Congressional Library to the
Potomac, and from the Interior Depart
ment through the mall. The model will be
in plaster, and will include both public ard
private buildings, parks and reservations
and all other improvements. Mr.. Curtiss
is making another model in New York of
the same dimensions. This model will show
this same section of the city treated ac-
cording to the recommendations of the
commission.
Models to Be Shown.
By looking at these models one can OBJ
tain the necessary contrasts and see at a
glance exactly what is proposed by the
commission, not only as to park treatment,
but also to the location of public build
ings. The second model is being made un-
der the immediate direction of Mr.. McKim
Necessarily the scale of the model is small
In seventeen feet of space is represented
section very nearly two and half miles in
length. This makes it necessary to supple
ment the model with drawings showing on
a larger scale what Is proposed. These
will refer principally to the monument