Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-02-14
ROWS OF GRAVES FOUND
SEEKING THE BONES OF JOHN
PAUL JONES.
Ambassador Porter Cables That Traces
Have Been Discovered Of the
Sought-For Cemetery.

Ambassador Porter has already justified
the faith he expressed to the State De-
partment in his ability to find some trace
of the remains of the famous American
raval officer, John Paul Jones. He cablsd
the State Department from Paris under
yesterdays date as follows:
Sunk shaft. Found rows of graves I'M
disturbed at depth of seventeen feet"
This refers to the preliminary examination
which the ambassador has been making of
the ground which once formed the site of
the cemetery to which the remains of John
Paul Jones were traced. The extraordinary
depth of the graves, evidently far below
the foundations of the houses which now
stand on the cemetery site, can be ac-
counted for here only by the assumption
that the ground was originally very low
and has, since the abandonment of the
cemetery, been much elevated in grade.
Mr.. Porter who was himself a civil en-
g!neer of no mean order of ability aas
projected plan for searching the cemetery
site for the remains of John Paul Jones
by means of a system of shafts and lat
efal drifts and tunnels, whereby the sn-
quiry can be prosecuted without involving
the heaVy expense of purchasing and Ge-
mollshing the houses now on the site of
the cemetery. Funds are urgently n aeded
to prosecute this work, and the en+ira
United states navy is interested in speedy
recommendation made yesterday that an
appropriation of $4,000 be provided at once
10 defray the cost of the work
The Presidents Message.
President Roosevelt in Transmitting 70
Congress the report of Ambassador Porter.
concerning the efforts to locate the re-
mains OF Admiral John Paul Jones, has
urged the erection of monuments for both
Paul Jones and John Barry, Ito emphasize
the value set by our people upon the
achievements of the naval commanders in
our war of independence" The President
lldorses the work of Ambassador Porter
ana asks Congress to appropriate the 5000
needed to conduct the search for Paul
Jones body in the abandoned cemetery of
ST Louis, where it is believed to have been
buried in 1892 The Presidents oonoponn;
cation follows:
For number of years efforts have heen
made to confirm the historic statement that
the remains of Admiral John Paul Jones
We're inferred in certain piece of ground
IN the city of Paris, then owned by the
government and used at the time as a
burial place for foreign Professionals These
EFFORTS have at last resulted in documen-
tary proof that John Paul Jones was buried
on July 20, 1892, between s and o O'clock
pm, in the now abandoned cemetery of ST
Louis, in the northeastern section of Paris
About 500 bodies were inferred there and
the body of the admiral probably was
among the last hundred buried 1t was in
cased in a leaden coffin, calculated to with
stand the ravages of time.
The cemetery was about 90 feet long by
10 feet wide. Since it's disuse as a burial
place the soil has been filed to a level and
covered almost completely by buildings
most of them of an inferior class.
The Ambassadors Efforts.
1.-The American ambassador in Paris,
hai, t,rEoI
cover and identify the remains of John
Paul Jones, has. after prolonged negotia-
tions with the present holders of the prop
erty, and the tenants thereof, secured from
them options which give him the right to
dig in all parts of the property during the
period of three months for the purpose of
making the necessary excavations and
searches, upon condition of a stated COM
pensation for the damage and annoyance
caused by the work. The actual search is
to be conducted by the chief engineer of the
municipal department of Paris, having
charge of subterranean works. at cost
which has been carefully estimated. The
amba ssador gives the entire cost of the
work, including the options, compensation,
cost of eXcavating and caring for the re-
mains, as not exceeding 10000 francs, or
$4,000, on the suppostion that the body
may not be found until the whole area has
been searched. If discovered earlier the
expense would be proportionately less.
The great interest which our people feel
in the story of Paul Jones' life, the a
tional sense of gratitude for the great serv
ice done by him toward the achievement of
independence and the sentiment of mingled
distress and regret felt because the body
of one of our greatest heroes lies, forgotten
and unmarked, in foreign soil, lead me to
approve the ambassadors suggestion that
Congress should take advantage of this I'M
expected opportunity to do proper honor to
the memory of Paul Jones, and appropriate
the sum of $4,000, or SO much thereof as
may be necessary, for the purposes above
described, to be expended under direction
of the Secretary of State.
1.-The report of Ambassador Porter with
the plans and photographs of the property,
is annexed hereto.
Monuments Urged.
'In addition to the foregoing recon-
mendation l urge that Congress emphasize
the value set by our people upon the
achievements of the naval commanders in
our war of independence, by providing for
the creation of appropriate monuments of
two at least, of those who now lie in I'M
John Barry.
These two men hold unique positions in
the history of the birth of our navy. Their
services were of the highest moment to the
young republic in the days when it re-
NAMED to be determined whether or not
she should win out in her struggle for indie
pendence. 1t is eminently fitting that these
services should now be commemorated i'm
suitable manner"
cEEKS PnTING