The Hattiesburg news. (Hattiesburg, Miss.) 1908-1917, 1909-04-06
name OF DAVIS
TO Be RESTORED
BIDS OPENED TODAY BY THE
WAR DEPARTMENT..
Name of Confederate President Strick-
en- From Cabin John Bridge During
the Administration of Lincoln
Roosevelt's Act.
Roosevelt's Act.

WASHINGTON, April 6.-Today
proposals were opened at the office OF
the engineer in charge of the Wash
ington Aqueduct for restoring the
name of Jefferson Davis to the stone
tablet on Cabin John Bridge, six miles
west of the city from which it was
expunged during President Lincoln S
| administration. The name is to be re-
stored in accordance with orders Civ
en- by President Roosevelt on Wash
ington's birthday, less than two weeks
! before he left the office of Chief
Executive. Although the amount of
work to be done is comparatively
small and the cost very little, yet it
took considerable time to get the Or
ders through the various channels to
| the officer directly in charge of the
work who at once went about com
pleting the necessary details. The
bridge is a high structure and con-
siderable scalfoldng has had to be
erected whore the mechanics will do
their work. The restoration of Mr..
Davis name to the tablet will mark
the elimination of many efforts with
this object IN view which however, will
object in view which. however. will
finally be accomplished without the
immediate appeal Of any organization
or individual but by the direct orders
of Mr. Roosevelt. An allotment of
$3.50 was made for the work by the
engineers office. The specifications
asking bids for the restoration of the
name read as follows:
Restoring the name of jefferson
Davis on the granite tablet on the
west abutment of Cabin Johns Bridge
by removing the entire face of the
stone about feet by II feet to a depth
approximately 1 inch or sufficient to
form new, clean, smooth pushed
surface and recruiting the legend now
upon the tablet with the addition of
the name Jefferson Davis as shown
upon the rubbing with "V' cut letters.
The present ogee marginal border
around the tablet is to be pushed to
a clean bevel cut 1 10 inches wide"
Two @,
bridge, one on either abutment( south
face). One bears the inscription:
Union arch"
Chief Engineer, Capt Montgomery
c, Meigs U. s. Corps of Engineers
Este Perpetua.
The other
Washington Aqueduct
Begun A. d. 1853, President Of the U.
S, Franklin Pierce, Secretary of War
- Building A. d. 1861
President of the L. s. Abraham Lin
coin, Secretary of War Simon
Cameron
The blank space in the above de-
scription indicates the place formerly
filled by MIR. Davis name. It's abb
sence from the tablet all these years
has always stimulated curiosity on the
part of sisatseers who made injuries
as to why the space was blank and |
whose name ii any had filled it. The |
presence Of HE name there as an army |
officer pointed out today will put Mr..
Davis name in the same category as
the others now on the tablet which
because Of its comparatively incon-
'picuous position will not attract the
attention that it heretofore has and
VIII remove the ubiquitous guide of
me of his subjects for comment and l
IN object Of interest to be pointed
nut to tourists.
1t will probably take a workman
wo weeks to do the work required by
he specifications. The use of the "V7
haped letters to be chiseled in the
ablet is less expensive and less labor
Gus than the square cut letters usu-
llN adopted but at the same time they
re now CONSPICUOUS.