The Ward County independent. [volume] (Minot, Ward County, N.D.) 1902-1965, 1919-10-30

when completed by a very eminent
sculptor will be of black Belgium
marble and cost SIS, 900 each. On the
outside of the House of the Temple
are two enormous Sphinx each weigh
ing in their rough state 55 tons and
the largest stones ever quarried. A
special railroad track was laid to the
House of the Temple to transport
these stones and they were swung in
to their places by a gigantic railroad
lifting crane. The sculptor then carv-
ed them out of the rough and it took
him nearly year and half to do the
work.
The Temple was two years under
construction and is not entirely finish
ed yet. The cost to date has been
approximately two million dollars ex-
elusive of the library printing plants,
etc. The New Age, the official mag
azine of the Scottish Rite, is printed
in the building. The House of the
Temple is used exclusively by the Su-
preme Council of the Thirty-third de-
gree, Southern Jurisdiction, there be-
ing Scottish Rite Cathedral in an
other part of the city for the Wash
ington Consistory. A very interest
place to visit is the George Washing
toni Lodge in Alexandria, Virginia,
about ten miles from Washington.
George Washington was Master of
this lodge in 1774 and well founded
rumor is current that it was in this
building, in a room just outside the
lodge room, in what was then the Al
exandria town hall, that it was def
nitely agreed to next day fire the shot
heard round the world lin 1776. Tho
it turned out all right in the end, yet
there were times when it looked as if
the action was too hasty as proper
preparation had not been made, l Wis
tied the home of Washington at Mt.
Vernon and was very interested in the
room wherein he died, which is exactly
the same as when he left it. The room
used by Lafayette was also very in
teresting, as was the tomb of Wash
ington not a great distance from the
mansion. In building near the man.
sion is housed the family coach of
Martha Washington. In her day it
was a wonderful conveyance and the
last word in transportation, and We
hicle Of admiration. Today it is So
decidedly antique as to cause smiles
Of amusement and laughter by most
Of the sightseers, who visit the home
While we were looking at it, an i'm
mense naval airplane buzzed halt
mile overhead, emphasizing in very
peculiar manner the bridging of the
gap in transportation of but little
over 100 years.
The city of Washington has increas-
ed it's population over 100000 in the
past year due to war employees and the
city is very crowded.
We visited the United States Treas
ury and were shown around py former
Governor John Burke, who saw to il
that we saw everything worth seeing
He gave me two bundles each con
tanning forty millions of dollars in
currency, eighty millions in all, but
when I said "gangway" and started
for the door it closed and / had tc
leave it with the Governor. But il
does him no good and after all empha.
sizes once more the great important
truth that you can't take gold with
you when you leave this world. It is
said that Governor Burke is holding
the most important position in Wash.
ington and is highly respected. It is
likewise common talk on the streets
and elsewhere that there is very
sick man in the White House who vii
do well to live out his term and it is
generally believed that if he does his
active life's work will soon be com.
pleted
The great labor and capital conven.
ton was on while was there and the
of course did not attend it, gather
ed that the concensus of opinion is
that if labor stages a nationwide
strike at this time, labor is bound tc
lose. Many of the employers have
come to the point that they state they
do not know how to meet the PROPOSE
ton of reducing costs and that per.
haps the very best way to get back
on.a pre-war level, is to shut up shor
for a time. AS to the Plumb plan o.
running the railroads, found every
where very little sympathy, ever
among the employees themselves.