Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1912-05-23

by the influence Of many OF the pa
tTiotic organizations Of the country,
organizations of all kinds from the
Grand Army of the Republic TO the
Daughters of the Confederacy. II
might be said that the Daughters OF
the American Revolution do about as
much work In this line of endeavor
as any other two organizations.
There are in Washington many
women and men who make a study Of
the work Of discovering objects which
have historic interest and it is their
endeavor to save them either by o n.
gressional action or by private sub
scription. They make use of the print
ed material which the libraries afford
and by reading old papers, magazines
and documents they make many
finds" of value.
Braddock's Rock Marked.
Not long ago it was discovered that
what is known as Braddock's Roch
was unmarked. This was the rock
on which General Braddock larded at
Georgetown when he was on his way
with George Washington as a lieuten.
ant overland to meet the French In
western Pennsylvania, an expedition
In which Braddock was defeated, the
remnant Of his forces being saved by
the %generalship of Washington. This
rock has now been marked, an inter-
est In Its marking, being taken by
James Bryce, the British ambassador,
who was present on the occasion.
AS fast as it can be done, the old
houses which have historic interest
are being marked with bronze tablets
bearing inscriptions to show in what
their chief interest lies. 1t has been
feared always that the needs Of bust
ness would make the destruction Of
old landmarks inevitable, but the
Washington people who are interested
In preservation matters seem to be
Just as much alive to the work as were
the Boston people who insisted that
the Old South church and the Old
North church should be saved when
1t was proposed that they be demol-
ished to make room for commercial
houses. 1t is said that in Boston
$250,000 was subscribed in twelve
hours to be used to save the odd
South where the fiery Otis preached
resistance to tyranny.
Famous Washington Churches.
The most famous church in Wash
ington is the ancient Saint Johns Of
the Protestant Episcopal communion,
situated on Lafayette square. 1t is
an old building and long since its
congregations have outgrown the edi-
flee, but there is no present intention
of the parish authorities to move else
where or to demolish the structure.
st. Johns is the church which Mrs.
Taft attends and which was attended
by Mrs. Roosevelt and, prior to the
Roosevelt administration, by many
presidents and their families.
One of the Oldest Roman Catholic
churches In Washington was Saint
Mathews, which was situated at FIT.
teenth and H streets. The congrega-
ton outgrew its quarters and after a
good many heart-burnings and consid.
cradle opposition the old building was
given up and a new one was built on
Rhode Island avenue. The original
property was sold and there now
stands on its site a great structure
known as the Southern buildings, in
which are located the headquarters of
the organization devoted to the devel.
oprnent Of the natural and business
resources Of the southern states.
There are other old edifces in
Washington which have been written
about time and again and probably
the publicity has helped in saving
them from destruction, for Washing.
ton business men realize that the
more attractions in a historic way
the city has the greater will be the
throng Of visitors. Examples Of old
buildings which have been preserved
by a popular sentiment are the homes
OF Commodore Decatur and Of Mrs.
Madison. The two most prominent his.
torical houses In the vicinity of Wash.
ington Of course will be preserved. IF
they can be, for all time. They are
Washington's home at Mount Vernon
and the home of the Gusts and later
Of the Lee family at Arlington.
Many Contests to Be Settled.
Politicians in Washington of both
parties are looking forward with
tho keenest interest to the forth.
coming meeting Of the national com.
mittee Of their parties, one of
which is to meet in Chicago and
the other in Baltimore prior to the
assembling Of the great party conven-
tons.
The sharpest interest at this writ,
ing centers in the meeting Of the Re
publican national committee, solely
for the reason that 1t must pass judg.
ment upon a far greater number OF
contests than win be presented for
consideration to the committee OF the
other party. The convention system
OF selecting district delegates, and
state delegates. too, for that matter,
which still prevails in most OF the
states-although 1t is likely to give
way to a pure primary system before
long-is held to be responsible for the
many contests which the Republican
national committeeman will have to
decide.