El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1911-04-27

W. HILE the people of hundreds
~ Of cities and towns in the
United States are today hon
oring the seth birthday of Gen. Ulysses
s. Grant, great sculptor is at work
on an image Of him which will sur
mount what probably will be the sec
ond most costly statue to a public
man ever erected in America-the
Grant memorial in the Botanical gar
dens at Washington Completed. il
will represent an outlay of $3.50, 900,
and full decade will be required from
the date OF its beginning to the hour
Of its unwilling With the exception
OF the Washington monument, it will
probably overshadcw every other
structure of its kind for several years
to come. 1t may be that the contem-
plated Lincoln memorial will excel IT,
but whether that is to be monument
or great memorial like a magnificent
peace bridge across the river that
separated the Confederacy from the
Union, has not been determined It
may even take the form of a great
national highway from Washington to
Gettysburg, sort of Appian way Of
America.
PEDESTAL Completed.
The pedestal of the Grant monument
in the Botanical gardens is completed,
even down to the four huge bronze
lions which guard the approaches The
work remaining TO be done is the com
pletion Of the statue Of Gen. Grant the
two great bas-reliefs that will adorn
the sides Of the pedestal and the two
great groups-one of cavalry and one
OF artillery-which viii be imposed
upon the pedestals al the two ends Of
the large monument platform The
quarter size models of the bas-reliefs
and the models Of the artillery group
have been approved.
1t is not known definitely when the
monument will be ready for unwilling.
Under the contract as revised and ex-
tended from time to time, the memorial
is scheduled for completion on the 10th
day of next August, but it is believed
that 1T will not be ready for some time
after that date. 1t is barely possible
that 1t may be ready to unveil a year
from today, which would be Just 90
years after the birth of the man whose
memory it is to commemorate.
VIII Be Great Display.
The occasion OF the unwilling Of the
monument will likely be the browning
display of American comment
cratiye history. Having commanded
both the armies Of the Tennessee and
of the Potomac in the field, and hav-
ing rea ched the rank Of general, to
which but few men have attained in
American military history, it is certain
that the fitness of things will, bring
TO Washington a vast military spec
tacle. AS the Society of the Army of
the Tennessee was instrumental in
bringing about the legislation which
has made the monument possible. 1t
will hold the post Of honor in the eele-
bration. although il was the army OF
the Potomac which Grant led to VIC
tory at Appomattox.
The work of erecting. a monument
has seldom passed through so many |
as has been experienced I
in the erection Of the Grant memorial. |
It was at first designed for the White |
lot, directly between the Washington .
monument and the south front of the /
white house. 1t was planned q the !
dominating feature of parade +
ground. but president Roosevelt and /
many others thought there should be i
10 interrupted view between the white |
house and the Washington monument, /
10 the commission having the selection /
4 site in charge. was requested to Sc {
ect another site. They looked all over
he city, but found no other site avail
Lble than the one in the Botanical gar
- 90 oo''O " tic SoPieOA , ouANS-
This was chosen, in midsummer of 1907.
supplemental contract was entered in
o with the architect and the sculptor
or a change of plans such as would
make the memorial harmonic. with the
Historic Trees in the Way.
A few months later il was discovered
hat the site chosen would necessitate
he removal of some historical trees.
nd it was proposed TO cut them down.
friends of the trees heard Of this and
appealed to the courts for an order
estraining the commission from pro-