The Washington herald., 1911-08-09
CLARK SUPPORTS
BOULEVARD IDEA
Speaker Recommends Lin
coin Memorial Highway.
DECISION WILL BE DELAYED
Plans of Artist VIII Not BE Ready
for Six Months-Taft Assures
cisiOn VIII Be Rendered for
Some Time-Visit the PIcsident.

President Taft yesterday assured rep
resentatives OF the Lincoln Highway
Memorial Association, who are support
ing a proposition to have the 5000, 900
memorial to the great emancipator take
the form of boulevard from Washing
ton to Gettysburg. that no final decision
had been reached as to the ultimate loca-
ton of the memorial. and that no such
decision could be reached for about six
months.
4 delegation of the Gettysburg sup
pOrters, headed by Representative Will
lam p. BOrland, OF Missouri. who intro
dUCed the House resolution faVoring the
Gettysburg boulevard iGea, were invited
to meet the President and other men,
bers of the Lincoln memorial committee
in the executive offices of the White
House yesterday afternoon.
Among those present were Repre-
sentatives d. J. Lewis of Maryland.
Daniel Lafean of Pennsylvania; State
representatives of Maryland, Judge Ad-
vocate General Hopkins, and Col. John
McElroy. representing the G. A. R.:
]. II. Ralston, counsel for the Central
Labor Union; Secretary f. c. McCleary
and Lewis Cass White, of the Lincoln
Memorial Highway Association. and
Charles Muir and Henry NJ. Martin, of
Artists Working on Plans.
President Taft. when the Gettysburg
supporters had placed before him their
request that no final action be taken
on the question until the country had
had time to express its preference in
the premises, replied that the artists
who had been asked to submit designs
for the memorial could not complete
their labors within six months time,
and that no definite action could be
taken until these artists had presented
their designs.
The Lincoln Memorial Commission is
not committed to any location" said
Representative Borland after the con-
ference yesterday. There is a large
and growing sentiment in the District
and in such sections of the country as
have heard of the Gettysburg plan in
favor OF the boulevard memorial idea.
We have figured out that it will cost
about $4,000 a mile to prepare the road
bed of a boulevard between Washing
ton and Gettysburg. That will mean a
total cost of $75O.00O for the highway,
leaving S1,25C,000 for the decorative fea-
lures.
We plan to start a nationwide propa-
ganda in favor of the Gettysburg plan
at once. The campaign will be carried
OH largely through tne ITdnQ ARMY
posts throughout the country. Before
the designs for a monumental memorial
have been submitted, we hope to have
aroused sufficient sentiment to insure
the success of our plan.
Survey VIII BE Made.
LAS soon as Congress adjourns officials
of the Lincoln Memorial Highway Asso-
citation, including Secretary McCleary,
and Gen. Hopkins and Col McElroy, of
the G. a. R., will make a survey trip
over the proposed route of the Washing
ton-Gettysburg boulevard in order to re-
port in detail on its possibilities and ad-
vantages."
Speaker Clark is in favor of a Lincoln
memorial highway from Washington to
Gettysburg in preference to shaft or
monument to Lincoln. Congress has au-
thorized 100000 for the memorial.
The Speaker was asked yesterday where
he favored the location of the memorial.
AT present." said he, the law restricts
the location of the memorial to Washing
ton. II il Is to be built here, I favor
either Meridian Hill or the North Capitol
street entrance to the Soldiers Home. II
the law should be changed so that the
memorial could go outside the District, I
am in favor of the Gettysburg road"