Evening star., 1914-01-27
Contracts in Secretary's Hands.

The contracts for the superstructure
and the foundations have been made out
and sent to the Secretary of War for
| signature. They have been prepared in
the office of Col Harts engineer officer
in charge Of public buildings and
grounds, who is also the executive Of
ncer OF the Lincoln memorial commits
sion. Secretary Garrison said today
that he considers February l. Il suitable
| day to break ground for the memorial
and similar view was expressed by
Champ Clark. Speaker of the House of
! Representatives., member of the Lin
coin memorial commission.
Senator Martin of Virginia. another
member of the commission, also declared
that February l. will be a most suitable
daye to break ground for the memorial
and that. in common with other members
OF the commission. he hopes the formali-
ties of signing the contracts and executing
the bonds may be carried out in time
Therefore. owing to the illness of former
Senator Shelby NJ. Cullom. resident COM
missioner of the Lincoln memorial, who
| mas been the executive of the commission
! AT Washington. he is not expected to be
iDie TO oversee the details OF the ground
pfea hlnS, III case II is decided to carry
out ceremony in honor of the occasion
| IL such d plan is pursued the out-of-
town members OF the commission, of
which former President William H. Taft
4
! Washington for the event
| Under the law, the foundations must
pc completed within one year of the
| time the contract is signed, and the
superstructure must be complet ed
within three years of the coInnIetiop
of the foundations Builders in Wash
! ington say that the foundations can be
constructed in less than a year and at
the offices OF the Fuller Company to-
day il was stated the company homes
70 hot. ns.c ctrtl.
| ing happens. in less than the three
! years allowed
| The quarry in Colorado from which
| the luIe marble decided on is to be
taken IS the largest marble quarry
/ with the exception of the Vermont
quarries, in the United States, with
more than a sufficient force of men to
! turn out the marble as rapidly as
needed. The contractors are planning
| to begin at once the shipment To Wash
| ington of equipment and machinery
which will be used in the construction
| of the memorial
Opinion of Fine Arts Commission.
| The commission of fine arts on whose
opinion the Secretar- of War has decided
to execute the contracts recommended by
the Lincoln meIpcrial commission wrot.
| to the Secretary as follows:
| The commission OF fine arts d, their
meeting held today, gave most careful
consid Grafton TO your letter of January
Il. 1914 requesting their advice upon GER
tain questions arising in connection with
the selection of suitable marble for the
| construction of the Lincoln memorial
The commission made d careful inspec-
ton Of all the samples of marble sub
mitted and have the honor TO transmit
the following replies 10 your Inquiries:
| Il In the opinion of the commission
not all of the samples of marble sub
Initted with the bids. regarded from an
artistic standpoint, appropriate for
such "A memorial.
| 80 In the opinion of the commission
/ there are more than one of th.. ma rhl.s
! out of which the memorial might be con =
! strljcted without serious sacrifice of its
| artistic quality. Tn. distinction between
| these marbles and those which are
i artiStically unacceptable is Il matter of
| degree. and it is very difficult TO draN
. an arbitrary line hetWeen tht. two classes.
! Because of this. and in view of the pre-
| eminent artistic fitness of of the NOR.
| acceptable marbles, the commission feels
| that il is unwise and unnecessary arbi-
| trarily to place all of the marbles in
| sel,trat.. lists, as acceptable and unac-
ceptablc.
-; The artistic qualities of the colo
rs,do viIie marble compared with III,
otll,.rS submitted. in the opinion OF the
! commission of fine arts tit il prc-eni-
ucntl. for Il structure of the character of
;itc iiflcola memorial
cr, respectfully
DANIEL. e. FRENCH. c'l:aitinaii.