Evening star., 1915-02-22

sentatives of the states to secure uni
FORM laws, and gave much time to the
duties of these offices.
W nat he was as a man may pe IN :
ferred from this brief outline of his
publlc services, but can be known only
only by the members of his family,
with whom he had ideal relations
New Memorial Stones Placed.
The secretary reported that during
the past year. through the efforts OF
the society to complete the collection
of state stones in the Monument, stones
from the states of Colorado and Wash
ington had been placed in the inner
walls under the direction of Col. VIII
ham Harts, in charge of the offlce OF
superintendent of public buildings ana
grounds, with appropriate dedlcatory
ceremonies in charge of .he members
OF Congress from those states. ON
these occasions the society was ofnciaI-
~ represented by a committee consist
Ing of Gen. John NJ. Wilson and the
secretary, F. L. Harvey.
The secretary also reported that the
legislature of Idaho had appropriated
Tor stone which was now in process
Of execution and probably would be re-
ce1Ved before long. The state of Con-
necticut replaced the stone previously
presented, which had disintegrated,
with new and more durable one
There now remain but four states to
present memorials. They are Arizona.
New Mexico. Oklahoma and Texas. 1t
is believed two or three of these would
be forthcoming at the present biennial
session of their respective legislatures.
Officers Elected.
The following officers We're elected
for the ensuing year: Justice Joseph r.
Lamar. first vice president; Judge
William A. Maury. second vice presi-
dent: Theodore w Noyes. treasurer:
Frederick L. Harvey, secretary. The
President of the United States is ex-
officio president of the society.
Justice Joseph r. Lamar of the Su-
preme Court of the United States was
elected to fill the vacancy caused by
the death of Justice Henry B. Browne,
and Henry Kirk Porter to fill the
vacancy caused by the death of Adds
B. Browne.
Limited Membership.
The limited membership of the or
is as follows: William A.
Maury, Frederick L. Harvey, Admiral
George Dewey. U. S. N: Brig. Gen. John
NJ. Wilson, L. S. A. retired Charles D.
Edward NJ. Gallaudet. r. Ross
Perry. Charles c. Glover. Surgeon Cen
eral Francis NJ. Gunnell, U. S. N, re-
tired: Henry B. F. Macfarland. Rt. Rev
Alfred Harding. Theodore w. Noyes,
Thomas Nelson Page. Herbert Putnam.
William Corcoran Eustis, Frederick B.
Justice Joseph R. Lamar and
Henry Kirke Porter.
The governors of the several states
are vice presidents ex officio The
President Of the United States is presi-
dent eX officio.
History Of Association.
The Washington National Monument
Society was organized September 26.
1888. as voluntary association to erect
In this city monument. national in
character. to the memory of Gen.
Washington. This meeting was held as
a result of paragraph published in
the National Intelligencer. then lead
Ing Washington newspaper calling
upon the citizens of the city to take up
the redemption of the resolution of the
Congress, adopted August
{. 1888. that an equestrian statue of
Gen. Washington be erected at the
place where the residence of Congress
shall be established as amended and
proposed by John Marshall in the
House of Representatives December %.
I799 On his motion Congress resolved
that a marble monument be ordered
by the United States in the Capitol at
he city of Washington. and that the
IA amily of Gen. Washington be request
I'd to permit his body to be deposited
lnder it, and that the monument be so
to commemorate the great
events Of his military and political
life"
The call for the meeting of citizens
was occasioned by the failure of reso-
to carry the original resolution
John Marshall, the great Chief Justice.
was chosen the first president of the
society. and Judge William Cranch was
selected as the first vice president.
-. 1859, the society was
chartered by Congress after hav-
ing, as a voluntary association, raised
by popular subscription the money to
lay the foundation OF the Monument
and to carry the shaft to 156 feet in
height Memorials for a contribution
by Congress toward the completion of
the Monument were presented by the
society to that body in 1872 and 1874.
but it was not until July .. 1876. that
Congress acted in the matter. That
day Senator John Sherman offered
which were adopted by the
Senate and later by the House.
Commission Created.
The act of August ., 1876. created a
joint commission for the completion Of the
This act provided that the
society under its charter should continue
its organization for the purpose of solic-
iting and collecting money and materials
from the states, associations and the
people In aid of the completion of the
and acting In an advisory and
capacity, with the commits
sion" Under the terms of this act the
society reconveyed to the United States
the reservation of thirty acres on which
the Monument stands.
Congress enacted a law October 2, 1888,
the joint commission and plac-
Ing the custody, care and protection of
the Monument" with the Secretary Of
War, and also providing that the Wash
ington National Monument Society is
hereby continued in the same powers as
provided in the act of August 21, 1876,
creating the joint commission" Today
the society is eighty-two years old, being
the oldest organization in the District of
Columbia, with the exception Of few
fraternal organizations.