Evening star., 1908-02-04
The Grant Monument.

The hnal verdict OF life or death Tor the
Botanic Garden trees menaced by the
proposed location of the Grant monu-
ment remains to be rendered by Con-
sress. The original effort was to save
a few historic trees from destruction.
They have been preserved until now. but
there is nothing in the facts which have
developed or in the representations which
have been made in any action taken
which relieves these trees from their
threatened fate. To be sure, the mon
ument commission says it will trans
plant the trees and not cut them down.
but transplanting means destruction. ac-
cording to the best authorities. The YER
dict of the commission. which Congress
has not yet overruled. is death. even If
a little slower than by the ak.
The effort to save these few historic
trees has resulted in the discovery that
many other trees are menaced by the
grand plan of which the emplacement of
the Grant monument in its proposed site
is but a single feature. The monument
will be hidden in a depression, tucked
away i'm obscure and entirely insult
able location, if placed in the proposed
site and nothing further is done. But
this is not all that is proposed at that
point. Streets are TO be cut through the
Botanic Garden, destroying trees and even
the garden itself as a garden. Then
wide boulevard or vista is to he cut
through the Mall. destroying many fine
forest trees. in place of which are to be
planted straight. stiff rows of Noah's Ark
growths. This proposition Of the park
commission is that one of its numerous
suggestions of public improvement which
has received the severest criticism.
Thus the question which Congress is to
decide affects the fate of not a few, but
of many trees. According to Chairman
Tawney. Congress did not intend to au
thorize tree butcherins when it permitted
the locating of the Grant monument in
some "unoccupied'' site in the Botanic
Garden. But il Congress may be imag-
incl as persuaded by the monument COM
mission to pardon the little deception and
TO sacrifice the few trees doomed by the
actual erection of the monument in the
garden, ii is impossible to conceive of the
House as asserting to the wholesale
slaughter involved in carrying out the
remainder of the park commissions Mall
boulevard plan, of which the location o.
the monument constitutes only the first
step.
II the House does not agree to the OPEN
ing of Second street and cutting through
the grass and trees of the vista there
will be no possible defense of the Bo-
tanic Garden. site for the monument In
stead of being in a conspicuous and hon.
orable location. befitting the great SOL
der it viii be in an out-Of-the-way spot.
hidden from public gaze. on the lowest
ground in the city, a reclaimed bog over
a sewer.
civil war and to the American public for
the suit able location Of the Grant monu-
ment would do we'll TO ascertain not
merely whether the House will permit
the use of the Botanic Garden site. but
whether 1t will authorize the other steps
proposed by the park commission, involv-
ing wholesale tree butchery and natural
park destruction. which are necessary to
prevent Grants exile to the Botanic Gar
den from being an undeserved humiliation
and reproach to the memory of one of
the nations heroes. If Congress will not
carry out the whole plan of which the
Grant monument location is part then
no one who cares a particle about Grants
memory will expose him to the ignominy
% tho Botanic Garden site.
The park commission doomed Gen.
Sherman TO the ignominious obscurity of
the Botanic Garden site, but he escaped.
and his statue is conspicuous in the pub
lie eye in the fine location south of the
Treasury. Can not the same patriotic
service be rendered to the memory and
the statue of Gen. Grant?