The Democratic advocate., 1908-09-04
THE LINCOLN MEMORIAL HIGHWAY
What Its Suggester Thinks of the Proposed BouIe-
ward from Washington to Gettysburg

klnd! we already have the Smith
sonian Institution and the National
Museum, each filing it's own field
well. Should the memorial be some
thing in the way of structure that
could be called, say Temple of Lib
erty? How should it be constructed ?
What should it contain? How could
1T be made to have the proper signifi-
canoe, aside from it's name? 1t is
hard to see or say.
Some magnificent structures have
been erected as memorials,-the ma
tional memorial to Victor Emmanuel,
the first king Of United Italy, now be-
ing completed in Rome, for example.
Its memorial character is revealed
by its imposing front. Incidentally,
and as part of the memorial idea, the
structure is to house and protect
museum illustrative of the progress
of Italy since unification. 1t is a
beautiful building, but we already
have a large number of handsome
public buildings in Washington, and
in the natural course of events we
shall have many more. A building
would hardly be distinctive enough
for our purpose.
Should the memorial take the form
OF bridge, say across the Potomac
to connect Washington and Arlington,
with its National Cemetery? There
is something to be said for this sug-
gestion. More could be said in favor
of this idea than for any of the others
that have been mentioned
But to use a building or a bridge,
a shaft or an arch, or any other fixed
and completed thing as the memorial,
would be to overlook the vital fact
about Abraham Lincoln's fame
namely, that his is growing fame,
not a fading fame. His fame will in
crease as the centuries roll. Hun
dreds of years from now Lincoln will
loom large" in the worlds opinion,
even larger than he does now. The
governing thought in selecting his
memorial, then, is that for Lincoln
a finished memorial is not a fit MEM
orial. AS his fame is living, growing
one, his memorial should be of such
character that eachs generation can
contribute something to it's improve
ment and establishment. Genera
tions yet unborn will be grateful to
us if we are considerate enough to
so plan this memorial as to afford
them opportunity to join hands with
us who knew him personally in doing
honor to this unique being.
Can anything be devised that will
meet all the conditions of fitness as
a memorial to Lincoln? To be fit
ting, this memorial must recognize
and symbolic the essentials of Lin
coins life and fame. 1t must have
about it the Lincoln atmosphere
Nothing cold or austers or merely
ornamental would do as men,
orial Of him. His was kind
ly and useful and helpful
life. The humblest soldier in the
army felt that if he could see Lincoln
himself, that strong and big-hearted
man would listen sympathetically to
his troubles and lend a hand" to
help him out of them. AS the poet
Markham has beautifully said of Lin
coin, he had "the loving kindness of
the wayside we'll" His shoulders
were bent in bearing the burdens of
the nation. Lincoln was born and
reared in the country and always re-
| tained something Of it's wholesome
! flavor. He always felt himself one of
"the common people" His aim was
to be of service to them.
| Lncoln's character was unique; so
should his memorial be. His life was
| a glorification of the 1owly and the
common; so should his memorial be.
After spending several months in
Europe in 1905, as the special repre-
sentative of the Abraham Lincoln
Memorial Commission appointed by
Congress, in search of ideas for this
national memorial, after seeing the
best memorial creations of many
Countries,-archeS, shafts, bridges,
buildings, not to mention statues and
other memorials the writer returned
home profoundly impressed with the
idea that the finest memorial in Eu-
rope is something which was not
constructed with the idea of its being
monument, but for a wholly different
purpose, yet which fulfills most ad-
mirably the memorial purpose in that
it perpetuates name and an act
That impressive memorial is the Ap-
plan Way. Three hundred years be-
fore Christ, the Roman Consul Ap-
plus Claudius built great road from
Rome to Capua, which was afterward
extended to Brindisi This road
named after it's builder the Via Appia
or Appian Way, was celebrated for
the beautiful monuments, the magnifi-
cent temples, and the Sumptuous viii
las that arose on either side of it.
Cicero, Horace, and others were in the
habit of calling this the Queen OF
Roads"
The temples have fallen, the monu-
iments have been destroyed, the villas
are in ruins; but today, twenty-five
centuries after Appius Claudius built
/ it, the road is still in use, bearing
the burdens of commerce and the
name of it's founder. What memor-
I ial! How worthy! How enduring!
i Appius Claudius was one of Rome's
greatest generals; but how many now
/ living can even name one of his vic
tories? He was a very wise ruler;
but how many now living can recount
his civil achievements? He was one
of Rome's foremost writer's; but how
many now living have ever read one
of his many books? All of these
things gave him temporary fame, but
all failed to give him permanent fame
But he built a great highway, and
who has not heard of the Appian Way
While riding along the Appiar
Way the writer remembered sug-
i gestion that he had heard but had moi
needed much, that a great highway
would be the most suitable memoria
} to Lincoln. The more the Suggestion
has been thought over, however. the
more significant and valuable it has
become.
From the White House to Gettys'
iyn i0IlrnaVG0