The Topeka state journal., 1919-12-01
TOPEKA STATE JOURNAL
Information Bureau
FREDERIC >. HAsKTN. Dircctos.
Washington, D. c.
PUTTING ABE ON HIS PEDESTAL

the Washington tourist will have an
! other place to tour. The rubber-neck
wagon will put a new stop on its
itinerary. and the encyclopedia gentle
man with the megaphone will have to
add a piece to his spiel. For the IA
nous Lincoln memorial is nearing
completion, and 1t will be open to the
public ere another crop of June brides
has perspired in the shadow OF the
capitol.
The memorial itself Is all done ex-
cept for the placing of &.5e's statue
upon its pedestal. and that enterprise
may be under way before this lis In
print. 1t is a gigantic task, for Abe
comes in twenty-eight pieces. by
freight, and he weighs about forty
two tons. To put him together cor
rectly without breaking any of his
component parts is the last and the
most delicate task connected with the
erection OF the memorial.
There is about this latest of Wash
iflgton buildings a bigness and
grandeur which is supremely satisfy
ing 1t is great stuff. alike for the
tourist and for the megaphone oratt r
aforementioned. Beginning at the be-
ginning, be will explain that the great
building stands upon made land,
which was once a part of the Potomac
river, and that the piles which support
1t had to be sunk hundred feet be-
fore they struck bed rock. He will go
on to explain that In order to make it
show up as it should. the building had
to be placed upon a stone foundation
thirty feet above the ground level, and
that the beautifully sloping hill was
afterwards built around the founda-
ton, while the lagoon was placed be-
fore the building in order to reflect
it's image and so make 1t look taller
r. ~
fine arts commission, having selected
the worst possible site for such a
building, proceeded TO accomplish
wonders in making it serve its purpose,
and that what was really built is a
tower about one hundred and fifty
feet high, two-thiEds of which is bur
led.
He will go on to explain that the
paintings on the walls of the buildings
are among the largest pictures that
were ever painted anywhere by any
body. Mr.. Jules Guerin, who painted
them, had to build a special Studio in
New York for the job. because the pic
lures are each sixty feet long and
twelve feet wide. The canvas upon
which they are paintc weighed three
hundred pounds before the pictures
were made, and about half that weight
OF paint was put onto them, Mr
the work himself, even to the painting
of flat surfaces which might have been
done by an apprentice.
Then he will so on to the matter
OF the sitting statue of Abe himself.
which sits twenty-eight feet high, and
as we have already said, weighs forty
two tons. unless our figures are wrong.
And having explained in these words
the greatness and majesty of the Lin
coin memorial. the gentleman with
the megaphone will lead his guileIess
charges into the building and let them
feel its bigness and majesty for them
selves And they will feel it, too. The
most bumptious of them. one ventures
to say. will be temporarily impressed
into silence. For there is no denying
that the Lincoln memorial produces a
striking and almost overwhelming ef-
feet of size and dignity. Even with
out the statue of Lincoln, it's enOr-
mously high ceiling. its great cleaning
white. columns. its coldness and echo
ing emptiness make mortal man seem
small and unworthy. When the gigan-
tic Lincoln is added. bending his
benevolent but solemn and awe-in-
spring look upon the beholder. the
general effect will truly be calculated
to make the small boy regret the last
time he played hockey, and the bride
forget to worry whether or not her hat
is on straight.
Returning once more to the store of
facts upon which the megaphone en-
lightener wA1 be able to draw, 1t may
be added that the appropriation for
the building was made in 1911, and
that work upon 1t was actually begun
in 1914. while its total cost was So
694, geo and some odd cents.
II didn't really take 80 long to build
IT. but various Interruptions Occurred.
some of these were occasioned by the
engineering difficulties incident to
placing the building in a swamp. When
these were overcome. the worthless in
charge of the job found that they were
running out of money, ana they re-
fused to proceed until congress gave
them some more. Then, when they
got more money, they decided to add
Few frills, of which the enclosing
wall around the terrace was the most
important. For all of these reasons it
will be just about six years after the
ground was broken before the build
ing is formally dedicated.
The dedication is expected to take
place next April The statue will be
in place, and the memorial practically
completed before Christmas; but after
that the fine arts commission must
hold a solemn meeting, march down
to the place in a body and formally
pronounce it o. X. Then this same
body must agree upon plans for the
dedication. Nothing has been done
along this line SO far except to ask
congress for five thousand dollars
wherewith to deffay the expenses. But
it is a foregone conclusion that the
occasion will be an auspicious one for
orators. an expensive one for visitors.
profitable one for Washington inn
keepers, and an Inspiring and impress
sive one for everybody.
Returning once more to the man
with the megaphone, he, II conscien-
ttous tho hoarse. will go on to say
that the heroic statue OF Abe is the
work of Daniel Chester French, the
famous sculptor, who made the origi-
nal of 1t only about five feet high.
From this model the huge marble
statue was made by the Picciriin
Brothers of New York. This ia the
most famous firm of marble work
ers in America and it consists of six
hrOthars. WhO al fhan,raIra.