Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1902-09-09
Liberality Shown to Veterans by
United States Government.
CHANGED WASHINGTON MONUMENT
Was Strengthened During Days of Its
Construction by George w. Davis,
Now Major General in the United
States Army.
Washington, d. c., Sept. 6.

palgn republican orators VIII nave d
very ready reply to give, either to vet
Grams or those who favor keeping a
close account of the government eX-
penditures for its soldiers. Since the
time when there were numerous as
saults on the administration OF the pen
sion Office by certain persons in the
Grand Army there has been an IN
creased liberality toward the veterans,
but it has been brought about by spe- !
ciaI and general legislation and not
by the loosening of any machinery IN
the pension Office, by which claims
have been allowed TO slip through by
undue liberal Interpretation OF the pen
sion laws.
On July there were 999,446 pen
soners on the rolls. That was the
high water mark in pensions. rms
number has been reached by gradu-
al growth and the best informed men
about the pension office believe that II
will not be exceeded, though the last
congress was unprecedented in its I'D
erality in pension legislation. This Isl
for the reason that the death rate
among pensioners now is very great,
the annual death rate being estimated
for the next year at about 4O,O0U. Inc
last congress passed LOO special pen
sion bills and passed two acts winch,
within twelve months 1t IS belleVed,
will add 10000 pensioners to the rolls.
One of these acts is to pension the
survivors of the Indian wars and tne
other is to pension those veterans VINO
served in the confederate service prior
to their entrance into the Union army.
| 1t is believed by some officials at the
pension office that the liberallty or
congress toward pensioners has done
much toward lessening the attacks on
4 the pension Office, which We're former
| ly of such common occurrence. 1t is
! this congressional action that has IN
creased the net number OF pension
ers from 991,519 in 1899 to 999,446 at
the end of the last fiscal year.although
| this period was one in which the death
rate among aged pensioners was very
large The increase between these
| two dates was very gradual. From
I 99l ,519 in 1899 the number increased
to 993. 500 in 1900, to 997,735 in 1901,
and to 999,446 in 1902.
Any one who ever saw the Wash
! ingtcn monument will hardly believe
4 that it was at one time found TO lean
1 slightly and that the task OF straight
en;ng it was undertaken and success
/ fully concluded by an army officer
4 The man who did it is General George
/ w. Davis who has been promoted to
i major general and ordered 10 relieve
j General Chaffee in the Philippines. II
was while On detached service and
only a captain OF the line that he per-
L.. Of .iY,r
/ was when about 200 feet OF the monu
ment had been erected that the build
ers were astounded to find it appeared
to hc cut of plumb, but they could not
decide how many feet. Major Davis
solved the difficulty that had puzzled
goct, many engineers. This was to
cause the plumb bob or weights at the
end OF a string 200 feet long to remain
l al, .aryations were being made. He
! did this in very simple but perfectly
| correct way from scientific point 81
, view. He got barrel of molasses
ard transferred it into a glass vesse
allowed the variations of the plumb tt
Z be frliy observed. 1t was then found
that the shaft was 1--WE feet out o.
piumb, its variation being toward the
!. northwest. How to straighten it was
. the question. The engineers looked
!. askance at the proposition and want
ed nothing to do with it, but Major
Davis said that it could be straighten
Ell and carried to the proposed height
I of 500 feet. His remark in some wa,
t reached the ears of the President
n The latter called the major up aut
: coolly assigned the job to him. Maio
7 Davis was not at all nonplussed bu
went about the work and with a sim
j. pl, engineering device of his own con
+ sfrrctlcn did Just as he said he coulC
J. do. consequently making possible tn;
completion of the monument which il
{ probably the most attractive sight o
i Washington.
The Washington monument was be
h gun during the early '40's and was tn
e result of agitation on the part of TIL
It patriotic women of the country. Ate
Il much talk it was decided that it shoul
h be an obelisk in design. When 10
feet had been constructed the none
on hand gave out. and there the thin
was half built, and looking more lik
q big factory chimney than mont
n luell III ihcIioly VI lllS fdtiSF vi III
country. This, of course, would nc
do, and in 1884 congress made an az
< preparation of 100000 for material an
j labor to complete the monument l
! is the highest stone tower in the worl
and is second in height only to tn
Eiffel tower in Paris. 1t is $50 fee
high and the walls are 55 feet sQuar
at the base and "a feet at the poin
u near the top where the pyramid BIZ
y gins and runs to a point. The NOM
Z ment was finally completed Februar
q, 1885, thirty-seven years after
was begun. The total cost was $1,000
5 000 There are 179 memorial stones i
c the tower that We're contributed by tn
different states of the Union and man
foreign countries. To see all these
is necessary to walk up 900 steps. Du
J. ing the year Just past l62,410 person
y visited the top of the monument.
) Harold j. Mahin.
FIRE DISASTER in OHIO.
e Cincinnati ordeon Theater Destroye
ct0n mn