The Mellette County pioneer. [volume] (Wood, Mellette County, S.D.) 19??-1971, 1919-06-27

ness of his principles.
Found 1t upon the massive
and eternal rock you cannot make it
more enduring than his fame! Con-
struct 1t of the peerless Parian mar
BILE; you cannot make it purer than
MS life! Exhaust upon 1t the rules
and principles of ancient and modern
art; you cannot make 1t more proper
tionate than his character From the
speech Of Robert G. Winthrop at the
laying Of the corner stone Of the
Washington monument July 4, 1S4S.
In the National Geographic Maya
zine three years ago William Howard
Taft wrote Of the Washington monu-
ment: Taken by itself, the Washing
ton monument stands not only as one
of the most stupendous works of man,
but also as one of the most beautiful
of all human creations. Indeed it is
ut once so great and so simple that It
seems to be almost q work Of nature.
Dominating the entire District of Co
lumbia, 1t has taken its place with the
capitol and the White House as the
three foremost national structures.
with a new character for each new
hour, a different aspect for every
change Of light and shade, the Wash
lngtOn monument seems to link heaven
and earth In the darkness, to pierce
the sky in the light and to stand an
mmovable mountain peak as the mlsts
Of every storm go driving by. With a
height Of 500 feet, a base of So feet
square, and walls tapering from 10
feet at the base to Is inches at the
top; with its interior lined with memo
rial stones from the several states,
from many famous organizations and
from q number Of foreign countries:
with it's stately simplicity and the
high qualities of manhood it honors,
1t is fitting that the aluminium tip that
caps it should bear the phrase Laus
DeO.'"
STATELY simplicity" Is what makes
the Washington monument n Of the
greatest In the world, observes the
Kansas City Star.
Original Plan Changed.
The original plan Of the designer.
Robert Mills, was to have as the main
feature OF the monument a large col
umned pantheon to be used as q mu-
scum for war relics and statues of
great men, and the obelisk was to
arise from It's center and surmount
the whole.
The pantheon Idea was abandoned
later when the monument came to be
built, and everyone feels now that 1t
Is q good thing 1t was so, because a
building Of any kind ut it's base would
only detract from It's sublimity and
grandeur.
Washington himself selected the site
for the monument, but at that time
the intention was to erect an eques-
TRAN statue, which congress had voted
for In 1888. Nothing was done until
1888, when Chief Justice John Mar
shall headed a movement called the
washington Monument society,"" to
solicit funds to build It. It was then
the architect, Robert Mills, designed
an obelisk surmounting a colonnade of
Doric columns.
Some money was collected, but not
enough to build II as planned, so the
pantheon feature was abandoned and
work begun on the Obelisk. The cor
ner stone, weighing twelve tons, was
laid July A, 1848. In the presence of
10000 people.
In 1855 the funds ran out and work
was stopped, and for twenty years the
partly constructed monument re-
NAMED an ugly stub. But the centen-
NAL exposition Of 1879 brought a re-
vival Of patriotism and there was a
nationwide demand that the monu-
ment be finished. Congress took hold
of 1t, funds were asked for from every
state, as well as contributions of stone
blocks with which to line the interior.
In 1880 work on the monument was
resumed, but on altered plans. The
foundations were enlarged and
strengthened and the shaft increased
In height. In 1884 1t was finished at
q total cost Of 1900 OO.
Lower Walls IS Feet Thick.
Following Is q detailed description
Of the monument taken from the
Rand-McNally Guide to Washington |:
"The foundations are described as
constructed Of q mass Of solid blue
vock 148 feet square.
"The base Of shaft is IS feet square
and the lower walls are 15 feet thick.
At the 5O0-foot elevation, where the
pyramid top begins, the walls are only
10 inches thick and about IS feet
square. The Inside Of the walls. as
far % they were constructed before ]