The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1908-08-26
MONUMENT TO JOHN D.
A Texas Farmer Pays Unique
Tribute to Rockefeller.
SEVERAL HUNDRED FEET HIGH

Believes the Oil King Is One of the
Greatest Public BenefactOrs the
World Ever Produced. The Tes-
tim0nial Will BE at Big Cost of
Money and Labor.
A. G. Lee, a wealthy farmer of
Denton county, Texas, is making sat
isfactory progress in his work of
erecting a monument to John d.
Rockefeller. He is now laying the
stones of the monument 1t will be
a pyramidal structure of enormous
size. Mr.. Lee will spend most of his
fortune in erecting this unique testi-
monial to the man who he believes
is one of the greatest public bene-
factors the world ever produced. Mr..
Lee is such an admirer of Mr.. Rock
efeller that he calls his farm the
Rockefeller farm and his country
home Philanthropy" The site of
the monument is upon an eminence
mile south of the town of Denton.
When finished the monument will be
several hundred feet high and can be
seen for many miles around. Mr.
Lee is well educated and keeps in
close touch with the current events
of the day. He has a high standing
in the community where he lives. In
speaking Of the monument the other
day Mr. Lee said:
q he
gan March 10, 1907, and has been
pushed as rapidly as possible ever
since, and is progressing very nicely
at present, as weather and other con-
ditions are favorable to the work
just now.
The reason I took the initiative
in the building of this monument at
so great cost of labor and money is
that | was deeply touched by the
great good that Mr.. Rockefeller is
doing in the world. He is giving
good for evil-that is, going on in
his great work of philanthropy just
as though the world was appreciat-
ing what he was doing, when, in
fact, he was being abused for the
good he was doing. He went deafy
and blindly on with his good work,
paying no attention to the hard
things that were being said about
him in the press, in the pulpit, in
the political field, on the street cor
ners and elsewhere. 1t struck me
that he must be an extraordinary
man, or he would have become dis
gusted with the people for being Sc
ungrateful; that he would have stop
ped his philanthropic work, and the
fact that he did not made me think
he deserved the greatest monument
that was ever erected, and | set out
to build it.
1T looks like fortune has favored
me so far in accomplishing my pur-
pose. Just as Mr.. Rockefeller's I'M
just critics relegated oil from the
category of commercial commodities,
not subject to the fuctuation like
other commodities, such as meat,
flour, sugar and coffee, and if oil
should slightly advance at any time
accuse him OF increasing the price to
recoup an amount of money he had
given to some worthy object, I have
been charged with a sinister or i'm
pure motive in erecting this monu-
ment. But knowing that my object
is good, and hoping that my work
may influence people when l am
dead and gone and cause them to
look upon Mr.. Rockefeller's life and
work in the true light gives me cour-
age and inspiration to go on"
The monument is already one Of
the greatest curiosities of that part
of Texas. 1t presents an imposing
sight as viewed from distance of
several miles. Many men and teams
are constantly employed in its con-
,struction.