The Washington herald., 1915-02-13
LNHONORED
in simple RITES
Corner Stone to Nation S Me-
mortal Laid Before
Small Crowd.
"VETS" RECALL LEADER
C. A. r. Men Hold that Present War
Is Tame Compared with that
Of Lincolns Day.

An American flag fIuttcrcd aloft in a
spring-like breeze from the Potomac
moving picture cameras whirred and
other cameras clicked. group OF frock-
coated men doffed silk hats in reverence.
a score of Undiscovered laborers likewise
pulled off their headgear. giant steel
crane lowered a sixteen ton block OF
white marble into its resting place. and
the corner stone Of the nations s. Ooo.O0o
memorial to Abraham Lincoln was for
mHlly laid YESTERDAY
So simple and yet serious was the
cornerstone laying that an aged q. A. r.
veteran who served under Lincoln even
if he did not know him observed: It's
just like good old Abe himself would
have planned the thing" There was no
brass band. no SpeeChmaking. no grand
stand. and but a few officials were pres
ent yet the silence OF awe ran over thu
spectators, and a carpenter far on tho
other side Of the structure = foundation
stopped hammoring while the huge stone
was nesting in its place.
1T fits to a fraction nj an inch" said
former Senator J. {. s. Blackburn. or
Kentucky as the marble block. hanging
at the end of lCO feet OF steel cable from
the towering steel crane rested upon the
foundation and the cables. relieved Of
their weight. grew slack. Senator Black
burn who Is resident commissioner II
the Lincoln Memorial Commission. turned
to those about the stone and made the
only remarks resembling a speech at the
/ ceremony. saying:
An Acre of Concrete.
The Lincoln Memorial Commission de-
termned that the laying OF this corner
stone should not bc attended by any
public function. as there was not time In
which to prepare for gathering. The
purpose OF this memorial is not TO per-
petuate the name OF him in whose honor
il is builded, but rather evidence TO
the generations Of the admiration and
love cherished by the American people.
This memorial can add no luster to the
fame OF Lincoln. but 1t is to stand through
coming ages as evidence of the gratitude
and devotion in which Lincoln Is held
by his cOuntrymen."
Commissioner Blackburn turned and
shook hands with James Raird. vice
president of the George a. Fuller Con-
struCtion Company. in charge OF the
work. and said:
well. Mr. Baird. you have finished the
first lap of this great work. You now
begin a much longer lap and We wish
you the greatest success"
The corner stone aying on the lO5th an
niversary of LinCOlns birthday marked
. completion OF the first year Of work on
the memorial. The work completed is
the foundation. an acre of concrete. ris-
ing as high az three-stOry dwelling
from the low-lying land in Potomac Park.
looking out over Potomac River to the
hills of Virginia
In the center Of the corner stone was
cut a square hollow into which was
dropped Theoretically sealed copper
box containing many things. These me
rrentOes of yesterday include newspapers,
magazines a signed statement by work
h., &c vol and tr1llN
built" a long list of autographs. the
"Hstory OF Lincoln" by his living son.
Robert Lincoln: a copy OF the Consti-
tuition. specimens Of coins and photo
graphs.
Veterans Recall Leader.
Among those who witnessed the corner
. stone laying were Henry Bacon. archi-
tect Of New York. who designed the me-
mortal. Col. w w. IIarts. in charge OF
public buildings and grounds; Supervis-
ing Architect Wenderoth. Of the Treas
ury Department. and Miss Mabel T
Boardman Of the American Red Cross.
Veterans Of the Union army. who
served under Lincoln in the civil war
and learned to love their commander in
chief as probably no other leader ever
was loved by mon on the firing line.
gathered in First Congregational Church
last night and told what they remem-
under auspices OF the Department Of the
Potomac. C. A. R.. and was cOmmemora-
tive Of the lC6th anniversary Of the birth
day of Lincoln.
Gen. Isaac r. Sherwood. one of the best
known veterans and now Representative
from Ohio, compared Lincoln to the COM
manders-in-Chief now in Europe's conflict
and compared the civil war to the present
war. Lincoln was the Commander-in-
81. 20
and boodiest war In all the history Of the
world. despite the desperation and bloodi-
ness OF the conflict now being waged,'
said Gen. Sherwood.
In the civil war every man behind
gun knew what he was fighting for.
but today the fighters in Europe do not.
The peasants on one side OF the Rhine
have no quarrel of their own with peas
ants on the other side. In our war
We had an old Springfield rife that would
carry to kill 500 yards. but today they
have a rife that kills at 24Oo :ards and
they shoot that rife ten times as fast as
We fired ours.
TN bet a months salary against an
old Panama bond that you can't find !
five soldiers in all of Europe's hospitals |
wounded with a bayOnet and yet thou
sands OF our boys got bayonet thrusts |
Only now an then We hear OF an Euro |
pean general killed. yet in one battle ]
remember twelve Confederate generals |
lost their lives in five hours fighting on |
two-and- "a -half-mile battle front"
Rev Richard r Riedel gave the invo- |
cation. The flag was presented by Color |
Sergt G. H. WOrden. Col Charles C. |
Royce read LincoIns Gettysburg address |
Representative Towner. OF Iowa, and |
Rev DIR. ]. Townsend Weaver spoke. |
Mrs B. II. Smart sang two solos. Mrs. |
Isabel Worrell Ball recited Your Flag |
and Ny Flag" Col John McElroy pre- !
sided