The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1909-04-09
TO RESTORE DAVIS NAME.
Name of President of Confederacy
To Be Replaced in Cabin John
Bridge.

Proposals were opened at the OF
flee of the engineer in charge Of the
Washington Aqueduct for restoring
the name of Jefferson Davis to the
stone tablet on Cabin Johns Bridge,
six miles west of Washington, from
which it was expunged during Presi-
dent Lincoln's administration. The
name is ito be restored in accordance
with orders given by President Roose-
velt on Washington's birthday, less
than two weeks before he left the Of
flee of chief executive. Although the
amount Of work to be done is compar-
atively small and the cost very little,
yet it took considerable time to get
the orders through the various chan
nels to the officer directly in charge
Of the work, who at once went about
completing the necessary details. The
bridge is a high structure and consld-
erable scaffolding has had to be
erected where the mechanics will do
their work. The restoration Of Mr..
Davis name to the tablet will mark
the elimination Of many efforts with
that object in view, which, however,
will finally be accomplished without
the immediate appeal Of any organi-
cation or individual but by the direct
orders of Mr.. Roosevelt himself. An
allotment of $3.50 was made for the
work by the engineers office. The
specifications asking bids for the res
toration of the name read as follows:
Restoring the name Of Jefferson
Davis on the granite tablet on the
west abutment on Cabin John s
Bridge by removing the entire face
of the stone about five feet by eleven
feet to a depth approximately l inch,
or sufficiently to for ma new, clean,
smooth bushed surface, and recuttmg
the legend now upon the tablet with
the addition Of the name Of Jefferson
Davis as shown upon the rubbing
with HV" cut letters. The present
ogee marginal border around the tab
let is to be bushed to clean beVel
cut l 1-2 inches wide"
Two stone tablets are built in the
bridge, one on eithe abutment, (south
face.) One bears the inscription:
"Union areh''
Chief Engineer, Capt. Montgomery.
c. Meigs, q. S. Corps Of Engineers,
Esto Perpetua.
The other;
"Washington AQueduct
Begun A. D. 1858, President Of the
Us.
Franklin Pierce, Secretary Of War.
Building A. D., 1861. =.
President of the Q. S., Abraham Lin
.- coin.
Secretary Of War, Simon Cameron.
The. blank space in the above de-
scription indicates the place former
ly, filled by Mr. Davis name. It's abb
sence from the tablet all these years
has always stimulated curiosity on
the part Of sightseers, who made in
quiries as to Why the space was blank
and whose name, if any, had filled it.
The presence Of the name there, as
an army officer pointed out today, will
put Mr.. Davis name in the same cat
egory as ssne others now on the tab
let, which because of its comparative
ly ineonspicuous position will not at
tract the attention that it heretofore
has, and will relieve the ubiquitous
guide of one of his subjects for COM
ment and an object Of interest to be
pointed out to tourists ..
1t will probably take workman
two weeks to do the work required by
the specifications. The use Of the
"F" shaped letters to be ehiseled in
the tablet is less expensive and less
laborious than the square cut letters
usually adopted, but at the same time
they are now conspicuous.
Nine bids in all were submitted for
restoring the name Of Mr.. Davis to
the tablet. They ranged from $14?.75
to $3.50. An award will be made
in a few days.