The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1912-04-13
A FITTING MEMORIAL.
Building at Washington to Perpetu-
ate Memory Of Loyal Women of
the Civil War-To be Home of
American Red Cross.

!
A monument to the memory of the
loyal women Of the civil war will be-
come an enduring reality if congress
! cnacts INFO law joint resolution in.
! troduced Hon. Elihu Root of New
| York in the senate and Hon. James
| L. Slayden of Texas in the house.
This project, which has lain dormant
| in the minds of the people for. almost
half century, has been put into
concrete form by the generosity and
patriotism Of the Commandery of the
State of New York of the Military
Order of the Loyal Legion of the
United States.
It is not proposed to make the
monument merely a remembrance of
persons and deeds, not merely a
memorial of lifeless stone or bronze.
but a 11Dble building full of the s,ySit
of ha<-fulness, of tender sympaallv.
of humane and patriotic devotion
that lived in the women to whom
this monument will be erected. This
spirit is the spirit OF the Red Cross.
and for this reason the memorial is
to be given to the Red Cross in per-
petuity for it's headquarters in Wash
ington
Toward the carrying out of this
purpose, the Commandery has pledged
itself to secure and give the sum
of 100000, on condition that con-
gress appropriate an equal amount
as a contribution Of the United
States toward the purchase of a
suitable site in the. city of Washing
ton, the improvement of the grounds,
etc. Thus the memorial will be-
made truly national, the tribute Of
all the people to the sacred memory
of the loyal women of the war. The
Red Cross, on its part, is to agree to
secure an endowment fund, the in
come of which will be sufficient to
maintain the building. for all time.
At the banquet of the Loyal Legion
in New York, Hon. James M. Beck,
in urging the, creation of this monu-
ment, deliy@hd an addreAaI from
which the following tribute is issquoted:
1--WE need not fear the verdict of
the future as to what we now plan
to do. There are many memorials to
the deathless valor Of the brave men
who in the four years from 1861 toI
1855 responded to the call OF their
country and in many cases laid down |
their lives for its preservation; but |
not less worthy Of commemorative |
art is the equal patriotism of the
women of America, who as truly
threw their haprts into tn fl great
for tE,l Union, and Mlo free
ly gave their lives at the no less
dangerous posts of duty Of the fever
stricken camps, which followed with
he scythe of death the march of our
mighty armies.
y x Il
sTo the mothers who gave their
sons, to the wives who gave their
husbands. to the sisters who gave
heir brothers, to the women who
became nurses, to those who
n the privacy of their home gave
heir earnings and all the work of
heir hands, to one and ALL let us
erect this noble memorial, and in pay
nent Of a long-deferred debt let our
memorial be more beautiful than any
memorial known to man. Let it
stand for all that woman has been in
American history. y
The resolution introduced by Mr.
Root and Mr.. Slayden is the first
tep on the part of congress toward
he acceptance of the generous pro-
)osal of the Loyal Legion of New
York, Appealing as the project does
0 all that is tender and sacred in the
nemorieskeof the old and the gr2si-
ude of g. young, 1t is believed III |
viii receive the hearty support of a
arge. majority Of both houses of con-
,ress.