The Washington herald., 1907-11-21
GRAVES OF OUR PRESIDENTS.
BY FREDERIC J. HASKTN.

The grave OF the huablest soldier Of
the United States is marked and cared
for by a grateful country, but until now
the national government has not under
taken the care Of one Of the burial places
Of the men who have served the nation
as chief magistrate. The last Congress
took the first step in this direction when
il accepted as a gift the burial place of
Andrew Johnson, constituted II national
cemetery, and, AZ the instance OF Repre-
sentative Walter F. Brownlow, appro-
prated So 600 for it's Improvement. The
contract for the walls. roads. and lodge
house Will be let to-day. This may be
the beginning OF a movement by which
Congress viii provide for the care OF the
graves Of ali the Presidents
The next Congress VIII be asked by
Representative John Lamb. OF Richmond.
10 appropriate money 20 erect a monu-
ment to John Tyler, who is buried IN
Hollywood Cemetery az Richmond. and
whose grave is marked only by a wooden
slab. placed by the sexton Of the ceme-
terry 10 Identify the spot where rests the
body Of the tenth President Of the United
States. Only a few feet distant is the
tomb Of James Monroe, a handsome mon
Ument.
When President Roosevelt made his pill
grimage 70 the tomb OF Andrew Jackson
NJ the Hermitage, near Nashville, Tenn.
a month ago. he said: ~On behalf OF the
nation l wish 10 thank the ladies' asso-
Citations who have taken hold Of this prop
erty and have preserved il: but I do not
think il just or fair that the burden
which should be supported by the nation
should be n drain upon private purses. I
shall do all that I can 10 see that the
nation relieves YOU not OF the manage
ment, but Of the expense OF the manage
ment hereafter. Surely no use OF public
money can be better, can be wiser, than
in keeping up as an inspiration for the
future the homes Of the great statesmen
OF the past"
II the President desires are needed by
Congress. the Jackson tomb Will be the
second for which the government VIII
care. it being a coincidence that both are
in Tennessee. OF course. the national gov
ernment has done much for the Mount
Vernon property, and as it is under the
very eyes of Congress il will never suffer.
II. however, the Congress was TO go fur
ther and provide for the care of the
graves Of all the Presidents Il would find
much Of the work already done by States
or by patriotic societies although in some
Instances nothing at all has been done
The most magnificent memorials which
mark the last resting places Of our Pres
idents are those in honor OF the three
Presidents who met their death by the
bullets Of assassins and one who was the
greatest Of our military heroes. Abra-
ham Lincoln's body is buried at Spring
field. Ill. and his monument there is one
of the most imposing which the country
has erected. James a. Garfields body
lies In Cleveland. and William Mckinley 5
at Canton. OHIO. The monuments at their
graves are splendid testimonials 10 the
worth Of the men and typify the patriot
Ism of the Americans who gave literally
of their means for their erection. The
tomb of Ulysses S. Grant. on Riverside
drive, in New York, is the tribute of a
great people 10 a great hero. Other Pres
idents Of the period since the civil war lie
in the cemeteries of their home towns.
their graves marked with monuments ft-
ting their high position in life. Hayes is
buried at Fremont. Ohio; Arthur. in Al
bany, n. Y, and Benjamin Harrison, in
Crown Hill Cemetery. AT indianapolis.
George Washington lies buried at Mount
Vernon. under the windows Of his old
mansion. His tomb is the most sacred in
America, and is visited by thousands of
American patriots and foreign admirers
every year. But the government is not
-
place. The patriotic women of the coUn-
try, organized as Ladies Of the Mount
Vernon Association. bought the property
in 1856. when the heirs of the Washington
family were forced 10 part with II, and
they have cared for IL until this day.
John Adams. who succeeded Washing
ton. an his son, John Quincy Adams. who
became President while his father still
lived, lie side by side under the Unitarian
Church at Quincy, Mass. Tablets on either
side of the church tell the story of this
great man and his great son. OF John
Adams, "On the Fourth OF July, 1776, he
pledged his life, his fortune, and his sa-
cred honor to the independence OF his
country On the Fourth OF July, 1926, he
was summoned to the independence of i'm
mortality and 10 the judgment OF his
God" Busts of father and son surmount
the tablets.
Thomas Jefferson lies near his home
at Monticello, in a wild spot he himself
selected, and under a stone on which is
carved the inscription which he dictated
The author Of the Declaration Of Inde-
pendence. of the Virginia statute for re-
1fe~fo
sity Of Virginia" The first stone set up
with this Legged was broken into bits by
vandals. In 1913 Congress appropriated
money for a new monument, and William
w. Corcoran, endowed chair In the Uni