The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1904-03-29
PROPOSED IMPROVEMENT
OF ARLINGTON CEMETERY
Plans That VIII Destroy the
Historic Beauty of This
Famous Place.

Washington Letter in Chicago Post.
The Chicago pilgrim was standing under
a huge oak that must have been old in CO.
lonial days. The grass beyond was just
turning green, and was literally covered
with robins and slate-colored snowbirds
A road wound round at the right and dis
appeared behind a patch of natural wood
land. The stranger approached and said:
watching the birds and admiring the
beauty of the place, I SUPPOSE"
The Chicagoan assented.
WELL said the stranger. you come
here after a while and you won't find either
birds or beauty. The birds will clear out
from sheer motives of self-respeet. They
won't come to such a place
What's going To happen?'
We'll. III tell you what's going TO hap
pen. I'm in one of the departments; We
seen the plans and J know what I'm talk
ing about Some man over in New York is
going to try his hand at improving this
spot that God Almighty already has made
the most beautiful on His footstool. Man
mas done something here. but he hash
hurt II much. Where he put in roads he
made them follow the curved line Of
beauty and he left the rest pretty much
to God and nature.
Now the government. unless il wakes
up some morning with a little sense in its
head, is going to let a New York nature
artist who was brought UP in a planning
mill, where everything goes on straight
lines, take a hand at improving Arlington
by making checker board out of IL
tell you I've seen the plans and there 5
nothing but right lines and ninety-degree
angles in EN-. If one of the lines hits this
oak tree. that the Indians snapped toma-
hawks under three hundred years ago,
down the tree will come It's sacrllege,
vandalism and brutality TO beauty all in
one.
You don't live in Washington. do you?
Chicago? Well. / didn't think you knew
much about beauty out there in the West.
but l got over that idea the other day
when man named Burnham came down
here and helped save our Mall. Daniel is
his first name, / think, and / wish he'd be
a Daniel come to judgment again and come
down here and save Arlington from this
New Yorker
Are they going to do anything else TO
the old placer
Are they, Listen to this When the
G. A. r. wants a thing done it's going TO
be done. Congress is afraid of the old fell
lows and viii continue to be afraid of 'em
until they're dead and can't vote. You've
seen that beautiful amphitheater near the
house with the white columns and the
er OF beauty of it? Well the G. A. r. says
that isn't fancy enough Think of that.
will you? Isn't fancy enoughi Why, there
isn't anything more simply and impressive
ly beautiful on the continent Those col
umns are to be knocked down, the wlstaria
is to be uprooted and gingerbread palace
is 10 De STUCK UP somewhere else.
IF there's a single true artist comrade
of these living G.. A. r. men lying at rest
under these trees here he'll get UP and
shake his skeleton fist at 'em while they're
dedicating their fancy work monstrously.
II his old Sprir gfield's buried with him he'll
shoot. / would - quick Excuse me.
but this thing makes me mad
ANY other troubles in store for Airing
TOM"
well, yes; what you might call minor
trouble, perhaps, and woman is going to
have a hand in il. Either the Daughters
of the Revolution or the Colonial Dames-l
forget which-are going to put a marble
abomination of some kind i'm the drawing
room of the old Custis mansion on the hill
| Why can't they leave the place alone? Ev-
| erybody knows what the house is, and it's
| memorial enough as it stancs. The ladies
will have great powwow. l suppose, when
| they dedicate the thing. They'll have to
| walk from the cars to the house, and
hope it rains pitchforks and spoils their
bonnets.
Then the stranger walked away and left
| the Chicago visitor thoughtful and de-
| pressed. An attache of the War Depart
ment told him later that plans were being
made for the identifying of Arlington
| by making the roads and the paths straight
! and doing some other things-just what, he
| did not know.
Why Is 1t that man, and woman, too, can
| let the well enough in nature alone?