Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1902-07-04
D. A. R. CENTENNIAL HALL.
Daughters Congratulate Themselves
on the Fine Site Secured for Build


ing the good judgment and foresight of
the committee in securing $1,000 square
feet of ground i'm the most desirable To-
cation for such a purpose in Washington.
A number of sites had been under adj
vlsement, majority of the committee
which had been empowered by the con-
gress to make the selection was at first
favorable to the old Corcoran Gardens.
a beautiful spot in the heart of the city.
The old Beall-Decatur place was con
sidered desirable by many--it was his
torical and attractive-but when the mo-
men for final action came wise counsels
of practical men and women prevailed
and $4,000 of the permanent fund of the
organization was invested in Seventeenth
street, two blocks below the new Cor
coran Art Gallery and facing the beau
tiful monument grounds.
The plans for beautifying Washington
which are already being put into effect
and which will make It in few years
one of the most attractive cities i'm the
world. will place the Continental Hall of
the Daughters i'm the midst Of broad
boulevards and parks and fine buildings.
and increase the value OF their propcrtv
holdings to "A large extent.
Before n great while i'm that Immediate
vicinity will be placed the projected
monuments to Lincoln and Grant. lead
ing on to the great Memorial Bridge
Continental Hall will have a whole
, things happened before this delightful
contamination was reached Some time
. in the spring, in response to the call for
full committee meeting to ratify the
, acts Of the subcommittee, women came
from all over the country. Under the
constitution Of the national organization
: 1t seems that the call must be given fif-
teen days before the meeting The wo-
men gathered. and though there was
large majority in favor of immediate
/ ratification. there was. as always in so
large committee, some who were in op-
position, and one of these threw a bomb
and blocked ratification by the startling
announcement that the fifteen DAYS had
not elapsed Ga few hours lacking) and
that. therefore. the meeting was illegal
/ and the ratification could not stand. Just
about that time the General Federation
of Clubs met. and many of the committee
had to attend and make long trip out
to California, and the women went their
several ways; but another call was is
sued, this time with due regard as to the
whole fifteen days, and on June B. fifty
one Daughters, from north, east. south
and west came again to Washington, and
| forty-eight Of them voted for the site
| Mrs. Mary S Lockwood. regent of the
! District of Columbia, and one of the
J founders of the national society, who in
| deed sounded the call for orga MIA ton,
| could not refrain from addressing the
! committee on the subject of the patriot
| ism displayed by the Daughters in thus
again congregating for the purpose of
ratification. She dwelt upon the fact
| that such a display of sentiment could
| not have sprung from any other organ
| iZation In the country. The weather was
| warm, and the sessions of the conference
! long and wearying. but with untiring de-
voton the members held out. until now
| Continental Hall. long the dream of the
Of he
/ and the subject which yearly creates
| tremendous enthusiasm in the Continent
| tai Congress, is an accomplished fact.
| Architectural plans were gone over, and
so much accomplished that Mrs. Terry.
| of New York. remarked that never had
she much business done in so
| short n time.
| Now will come the struggle to get the
money for the building. which IL is esti
mated will cost about $1,000 The per-
manent fund of the society is devoted to
| Continental Hall. II amounts to $780,
! 00O, and $4,000 has been paid for the
| ground. leaving $4,000 with which to start
the building. This permanent fund has
/ been gathered from contributions from
| individual members and chapters, a part
| of all life membership fees going to it.
! and a part of certain other fees and
| the charter fees. The rivalry among
| chapters in raising money for the fund
| has been generally friendly. sometimes
| little bitter, but the fund has steadily
! grown. From this time on loyal daugh-
/ tiers will be full of schemes for raising
money for the building, and already
many things are planned by chapters
throughout the country, and the officers
are hoping for many large contributions
| from individual members of wealth.
| The Daughters have the satisfaction of
| knowing that the ground recently pur-
chased is theirs through their own eff
! forts, as the building will be. Some
| years ago It will be remembered. lot
! was given them by Congress for the pur-
! pose of erecting a memorial building.
| It. however, was in the monumental
| ground, a government reservation. and
some technicality about the title inter-
| fered with its transfer to the society;
| after that the organization decided to
acquire both land and building independ-
! emily.
In building Continental Hall, as a me-
| mortal to the men and women of the Rev
olution. the Daughters know they are
| CARRYING out a wish of George Wash
| ngton. In delving among historic pa
pers Mrs. Lockwood found that in Cen
eral Washingtons plans for the city We're
included thirteen memorial buildings of
the thirteen original states, which he
hoped the several states would erect,
His idea in that direction never material
lied. and now, after one hundred years,
the Daughters of the American Revo-
luton are to put up the first memorial
building to the great heroes and heroines
of Washingtons time.
on October II ground will be broken
for Continental Hall. The president
general, Mrs. Fairbanks. who has been
so helpful to the site committee and such
a support and comfort to the women in
their jealous efforts to secure the best
that Washington could give and all the
officers and members of the national So
ciety look forward to that day with high
hope and courage. 1t is always a sa-
: cred anniversary to them. for on 1t the
national society was organized, it being
the date on which Columbus discovered
land, and in the future 1t will have ad'
ded significance as the day which will
institute the frution of the hope tina
has long animated the breast of every
loyal Daughter-the building of a me
mortal hall. 1t will have a convention
hall, in which will be held the Cont
mental congresses and all other conven
tions of societies of women that may
meet in Washington; a veritable hall o
? fame and museum, in which will b'
I kept the treasures of Revolutionary
? value, and a library, of which there Il
already a nucleus, that, 1t is said, will
, be second to none in the country in his
/ toric value
William F. Webster, c. of Brush Val
\ ley, Warwick, committed suicide Sunda!
E by taking paris green, his death occurring