Evening star., 1914-02-12
Formal Beginning Of Magnifi-
cent Structure to Memory
of Abraham Lincoln.
SENATOR BLACKBURN
LAUDS EMANClPAT0R
Was Officer in Confederate Army.
Only Small Crowd Sees
Simple Exercises.

PIE act the formal beginning was made
on the classically magnificent memorial
or pure white marble which in q few
years Will rise on the bank of the Poto-
n &C as outward evidence of the Amer1-
can nations love and veneration for
Abraham Lincoln, the great cmanctpator
Commemorating the 1o5th anniversary
OF the birthday Of the greatest American
since the revolution, the unostentat,ous
ceremony about the site of the corner
stone of the great memorial took on add
ed Significance and made this recurrence
of Lincoln's natal day one TO be long re-
membered
a small group Of men and wom"a
braved the intense cold and stood with
bowed heads within a few yards Of the
freezing river as the ground WAS broken
for the great two-rnillion-dollar structure
which is TO take Its place not far from
the towering monument to Washington
and within easy view from the white
pill AIRED home of Robert l.. Leo at ar
lington.
Simple Act Impressive.
No elaborate services with the booming
of ms and the music OF bands could
have been more impressive than tn. sim
pie ceremony Of the turning of the earth.
NJ L. Conner of Toledo. Ohio. the con
tractor who is to have charge OF the
building Of the foundation for the memo
rial; former Senator Joseph {. :. Black
burn of kentucky, resident member of
the Lincoln memorial commission. and
Henry Bacon. designer of the structure,
each dug few spadefuls OF earth, and
then the exercises were over.
Former Senator Blackburn. a southerner.
an officer in the Confederate army who
fought against what Lincoln stood dur
ing the civil war, opened the exercises With
a brief speech, in which he paid high
tribute to the memory of the War PreSi-
dent. Every one present seemed to real
ize that the union of the north and soutl,
was typified in Senator B.ackburns par
ticipation in such an event
He explained that the day for the
COMMUNICATING had haan selected be-
cause it was Lincolns birthday. and that
he stood on the spot where the corner
stone for the memorial would be placed
What Memorial Will Show.
This great memorial will show that
Lincoln is now regarded as the greatest
Of all Americans said Senator Black
burn, land that he IS so held by the
south as well as by the north. Today we
let the country know that this great
work has been begun and will be carried
steadily ufltll It's cOfnpieliOu
,ehnd Senator Blackburn stood Mr.
Conner, Col. W. W. Harts. engineer ofil-
Ger in charge of public buildings and
grounds. who will have general charge OF
the erection of the memorial: Lieut.. J. A.
O'Connor. [. ;. A., w..o viii assist him
III. A. Eaile. secretary of the memorial
commission: John +. Bethune, executive
clerk OF the commission: Henry Bacon
and a small group of particularly inter
ested people.
Attends Through Sentiment.
Unnoticed by most of those present
was one elderly man who had walked
All the way through Potomac Park in
the biting cold to witness the ground
breaking because of a sentiment. lie
Was Ashbel W. Riley. recording clerk
in the office OF the auditor of the War
Department.
Under his arm Mr.. Riley carried small
package i'm which Were two most interest
ing documents Dae WAS a discharge
from the revolutionary army, issued /,
his grandfather, Ashbel Riley, aud signed
by George Washington. and tn other
was a letter signed by Lincoln. nitro
d,r.ing Ashbel ". Riley, bis father 7"
th. ScrretarN Of state. MI RlltN laile'
Was "a friend Of Lincoln.
Two women also attended thc ground
breaking because OF sentiment iheS we're
Mrs benjamin Butterwortr. Wid"" .
-, Ia:.. Representative Ruti,'lNorth 81
ONO. ana Mrs. MARY Butterworth Hazel
tom her daughter. Mai. futi"r"orffI a
former commissioner OF patents ~as
veteran Of tn. civil war.
-Four -.Eagle scouts, OF the BOY Scouts.
attended the services in uniform aud
wee placed BY col liarts about the site
of The cornerstone. rh-I We're Norris
,;addeS. Frederick Reed. t;racme Small
wood and p"nslow si-Sleston.
-aNrE Fssf 4
rators aud photographers suapped the
actual eround-brcahine-
Site of the Memorial.
IN. sit. i III Putonac Park on an
-.;.xis. rianned more than a century 'l.'o.
al one end Of wncii is the capitol. tie
monument of the government. and - the
other, liore lii.tn ! mile TO the w'st. the
Washington Monument Still farther to
th. west will 10. The Lincoln memorial.
where il viii have relation with the
t.apitol and the Washington Monument
that would lie im,ossibl. on ANY other
Sitr and win l.. closely related also vita
,l.tiu.ton cemetery where thoss. who
fought for the Union are buried. II ls
planned 10 haze, some DAY. memorial
bridge linking the Lincoln n"'horlal with
Th.. design OF the monument Is tha work
Of Henry lsacou. a New York architect.
which has been approved ny the me-
morisI commission. His idea VAS that
IN. memorial II Lincoln should De COM
posed Of four features "A statue OF the
man a memorial Of his G.-ttysours
s,.,ch. a memorial of his second inaug
ural address and a symbol OF the taited
States which h. preserved. Each feature
will be related TO the others 10y means OF
design and position, and each viii be 80
J, ,rraus.d that il will become ai integral
n.r+ of th. whole in order To- attain unity
.nl simplicitN in the e>monument. Each
featur.. is meant to impress the beholder
,1-itb its greatest force and this IL is sought
10 accomplish by means ot isolation,
though not To the extent of impairins the
relation OF each feature to the others.
Statue of Lincoln.
The most important single object Will
be the statue of Lincoln. the plan being
for !. seated figure placed Well in the
background of the largest chamber. The
sculptor has not yet been selected. This
chamber will be unoccupied by any other
object that might detract from the ef-
rctiyeness of the statue and the visitor
will be s.ionc With il.
The smaller halls at each side of the
central chamber each will contain a me-
mortal, one of the Gettysburg address
and the other OF the inauguAa address.