The Democratic advocate., 1908-09-04

and affection for Abraham Lincoln.
Gettysburg is itself a memorial,
eloquent of things done and of things
said. Here was fought the most inn
portant battle of the greatest of wars.
Here was exhibited valor unsurpass-
ed in the annals of military prowess.
The men who wore the blue and the
men who wore the gray, their des-
cendants and their countrymen, can
all properly exult as Americans in the
valiant deeds that were here perform
ed. Here, too, was pronounced Lin
coins matchless speech, which "crys-
talized the spirit of the Republic into
a paragraph"
The battlefield of Gettysburg is only
in very small part cemetery. In
the main it is a magnificent park, on
the adornment of which over seven
millions Of dollars have been expend-
ed-"and the end is not yet" No one
who has not seen this most richly
endowed place can have any idea how
wonderfully interesting and attractive
it is. 1t is by far the finest battlefield
park in the world.
Though money has thus been gener-
ously expended in beautifyfng the
battlefield of Gettysburg and in suit
ably marking it's scenes of heroic
deeds, it is so inaccessible that COM
paratively few people are able to Wis
it it. Of all the hosts of travellers of
this end other countries who visit
Washington every year, not one in
ten thousand ever gets to Gettysburg,
though nearly all of them would like
to visit this historic field.
Gettysburg lies almost due north of
Washington and about seventy-two
miles away, as this road would run.
What a fitting memorial to Lincoln
would be a noble highway, splen-
did boulevard, from the White House
to Gettysburg, from the house where
his record for craftsmanship was
achieved to the spot where he struck
the highest note of human eloquence.
The seventy-two miles would give
sufficient, length to the highway to
justify it's use as national memorial.
The country to be traversed offers
no special engineering difficulties. 1t
is just about sufficiently rolling to at
ford fine landscape effects and to
furnish opportunity for a handsome
bridge here and there. The width of
the road should comport with it's
memorial character. Let us say tent
atively that the width should be 200
feet.
AS a suggestion, the following plan
for 'The Lincoln Road" is submit
ted:
Down the middle of the road let
there be a greensward forty or fifty
feet wide, a we'll kept lawn looking
like beautiful green carpet of vel
vet. To lend variety to this central
line of beauty, here and there flower
gardens and other decorative features
could be introduced. At intervals
could be erected fountains and other
monumental embellishments that
might be appropriate.
On each side of this Central line
of beauty let there be smooth road
way forty or fifty feet wide, construct
ed according to the highest engineer
ing standard of good roads," One of
these roadways may be reserved for
swift-moving vehicles like automo-
biles, and the other for slow-moving
vehicles like carriages and wagons.
Outside of these driveways could
be double-tracked electric railways,
occupying a width of twenty feet each
and separated from the driveways
by hedges. One of these railways
could be for express trains of high
speed and stopping only at intervals
of ten or fifteen miles; the other
could be for local trains moving
slowly and stopping at short intervals.
Bordering "The Lincoln Road" on
each side there should be a row or
rows Of stately trees, the rows broken
at points where could be obtained
fine views of mountain or valley or
river
In order that 'The Lincoln Way
may be built with certainty and with
out delay, it should be constructed
under the direction of a national COM
mission and should be- paid for out
of the national Treasury. But full
opportunity should then be given to
the individual States to express their
regard for Lincoln. To each State in
the Union may be allotted a portion
cf THE Lincoln Way" to be embell-
ished in accordance with its taste and
means, subject to the approval of the
national commission. Other spaces
could be allotted for establishment
to national patriotic societies. OPP
portunity should be afforded to sue
ceeding generations to add something
to beauty of "The Lincoln Way" So
long as patriotism glows in the hearts
of the American people, it will be for
them labor Of love to add from time
to time to this expression of national
affection, keeping "The Lincoln Way
at the forefront as the best and most
attractive highway in the entire world.
! Having in mind the possibilities of
electrical illumination, the beauty of
this boulevard when lit up at night
may be left to the Imagination.
What is really proposed is not so
much a perpetuation of the fame of
Abraham Lincoln, which is already
secure, as an appropriate expression
of our appreciation of him. 1t is of
the essence of this memorial that it
be a living and growing memorial,
instinct with the spirit of him whom
! it is to commemorate. That there
will be maintenance cost is in har-
mony with the governing idea. And
it would be entirely fitting that this
cost of maintenance should be borne
out of the national Treasury. But it
is the opinion of experts who have
been consulted that, in view of the
hundreds of thousands of tourists who
may be expected to make the trip from
Washington to Gettysburg yearly, the
road can be made largely, If not