The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-09-26
Building the Washington Monument

By Frederic J. Haskin.

h@H0MMW = H'@ nm = hi WM8 hh1N8W8auty 1 The state of Virginia was the next
 to attempt to provide suitable mem
 orial to the great Wash ington. In
 lsl6 the state asked to be permitted to l remove the body of It's most illustri-
 ous son to the capitol at Richmond
 While this proposal was being con-
 sidered by Bushrod Washington, then
 next of kin to the General, Congress
 adopted resolution providing for the
 construction Of vault beneath the
 center of the dome of the national capitol The vault was prepared, and
 IS now shown to curious strangers as 1 the place wlere Washington was to 1 be buried. But Bushrod Washington l refused to assent to the removal of
 the body. saying: Tt is his own will.
 and mat is to me 8 law which I dare not disobey."
 Tn 1892 Congress again asked the Washington family. then represented by John Washington and George Washington Parke Custis, to permit l the removal of the bodies of General l and Mrs. Washington to the capitol. MT. Custis consented. but Colonel | Washington refused.
 l Then Henry Clay took up the matter ana declared that there ought to be a
 statue Of Washington in every city of
 the country. but more especially in
 the Capitol. New York, Baltimore.
 Richmond. and other cities had hon.
 pred the great First Citizen, but the
 nation had not. As the result of 1 Clays campaign. Congress ordered a 1 marble statue Of Washington to be I placed in the capitol The famous Greenough statue was the result. It
 was nrst placed In the rotunda of the
 capitol then removed to it's present
 position facing the east front of the
 capl.oi and 1t soon will be removed
 to the National Museum.
 | But the red-letter date in ths cal.
 ender of the Washington monument
 was September 26. 1888. The public
 spirited people of Washington met
 and organized the Washington National Monument Association. John Marshall.
 chief justice of the United States
 supreme Court. was its first president
 It planned to erect great national
 memorial. the fugds to be raised by
 public subscriptien. Collectors were l appointed to solicit money but after three years of diligent work, only
 s2S0o0 had been secured. The panic of
 1887 suspended collections for several years.
 In 1887 charges of grating and em-
 bezzlement were made. When Senator
 Allen of Ohio heard that only S30. GOO had been raised he said that he believed | that the people of Ohio alone had given
 more than that. Senator Bayard of
 Delaware was opposed to the whole 1 scheme because he thought the monu~
 ment would ruin the Mall already de- signed at Washington's most beautiful park. Still the association kept plugg- ing away at it's work. Prior to ts45 all
 subscriptions were limited to one dollar
 but when the restriction was removed 1 larger domationg began to come in, Appeal after appeal was made. but the collections were very slow. By | 1S47 the total amount was ss7.000. and | the actual work of building began to be considered. Congress did not grant l the site until 1S4S. After many ob-
 jections the request of the association | for the site which Washington himself I had selected for monument to Revolu- | tionary soldiers was granted.
 The cornerstone was laid on July 4 | l84s. One would think that the great | est of orators would have been honorsd | by an invitation to speak on that occas-
 ion. John Quincy Adams was asked l first. but he declined on account of the state of his health. He died in the House of Representatives before the day of the ceremonial. Then Daniel Webster was invited. but he said he
 was too busy. The third invitation was sent Robert Winthrop and he accepted and delivered the oration.
 For a time there was great public interest and stones to he used in the building were sent from all parts of the world. and from every state in the Union. Masonic lodges sent blocks of stone from all over the country. The Pope sent block bearing the legend, From Rome to the United States" The Know Nothing political movement was white-hot at the time and In 1854 the Pope's contribution to the Washing tfon Monument was destroyed by over- zealous anti-Cathoiics.
 The result was a cessation of sub- scriptions. The total amount received up to that time was s230.000. Hope of raising enough money to complete the | Monument was abandoned and an an- peal was made to Congress. bill carrying s200.000 appropriation was favorabiy reported. when another as. section was formed by persons who thought the popular subscription Idea ought to be carried out This put an end to Congressional action for the | time being. The new association strug- Rled on until 1858. when it gave up the l struggle and the original association again took charge of the work. Then | came the Civil War and for many years the project stood still. In the seven ties 1t was the habit to make fun of the Monument that would never be completed. The New York Tribune cail- 1 ed 1t Dig furnace chimney" and an Abortion" There was harsh criticism | of the design. and it was seriously pro- posed to tear away the unfinished l shaft.
 Then Congress greatly to the sur. | prise of evrybody. appropriated $e00. 900 | to resuma its construction. The bill | was signed by President Grant on | August 2. 1878. After this came the | strengthening of the foundation. the | structure was brought int1 nlumb and l the whole thing was twisted around to square with the points of the compass.
 The Monument was completed on | December 6. 1884. and the ceremonial | of its dedication was presided over by | President Arthur. The orator was delivered by Senator John W. Daniel of Virginia and his speech that day ranks as one of the greatest historical 'eulo- eies ever delivered. The total cost was sI.Is7.00O. When 1t was completed 1t was the highest structure in the world. although since that time the Eiffel Tower in Paris and the Singer and Metropolitan office building in New York have lowered above It.
 Washington has been greatly honored It is said that there are more likenesses of him extant than of any other human being. One state thirty-eiEht cities and twons, thirty-one counties and 1O5 colleges and schools bear his name There are scores of monu- ments and statues to his memory. most of them in the United States. but sev- eral in Europe and Latin America Yet the greatest of all memorials to Wash ington is the great obeltsk in the capi- tai city Its building was like the life