American Falls press. [volume] (American Falls, Idaho) 1907-1937, 1919-05-30
O. Erected atthe
rationale Capital and
DediCatedtoO DUBIOUS
WhoHaveF Fought SUI
fered and Given Their
Lives. for the Freedom
of the World.

--z-- EN- of II and 70! The men of 1917
have maintained the legacy left by
w the. men of 1776, and have paid the
W. debt incurred. The odd coincidence
E~ys1~N in numbers stands as the symbol OF
is >SSNNaSJ1 a real bond.
- Washington borrowed Of France the
men and the money that saved the day for the
freedom of the colonies. Wilson sent back TO
France the men and the money that saved the day
for the freedom of the nations. We repaid La
fayette with Pershing.
There is a universal eagerness to build a fitting
memorial to the heroes of the war of wars. Mohu-
ments will spring up all over the United States TO
individual men, officers and ORGANIZATIONS but
there is an lnsistent demand for one great national
memorial.
The only place for It is, of course, the capital OF
the country, and Washington has been and VIII De
in a large sense the capital of the world
No memorial will be appropriate which has not
n lasting value and a dignity of usefulness as wen
as beauty and splendor. No statue or group Oh
statues could be reared which would express what
this memorial must express. No column OF melleu
cannon. though it were made Of steel barrels a mile
high, would convey the message. An Imperial arch
would imply nothing more than a gateway for con
ouerors and would act simply as an obstruction
to traffic.
The right memorial must be a temple, a temple
of architectural grandeur, n museum TOT statues
busts, tablets. archives and interesting relies, n
place OF daily ItSoII liz a m'NNS f
national gatherings.
If Is an amazing fact that Washihgton-the seat
of our national government, the center or world
| activity, the mecca Of cOngresses-has no large ana
dignihed meeting place, no convention hail OF any
dimensions.
The memorial described VIII therefore meet n
pressing need.
What ideal should this memorial most wildly
express? OF what religion should the temple bef
Surely, the religion of freedom, Of democracy, Of
equality, and of opportunity.
II should express the triumph Of the ideals Of
Washington and the founders of this Republic as
those ideals have spread through the world and
united in the recent bloody victory over the spirit
Of autocracy.
BY strange good fortune these ideals can be i'm
mediately realized. Construction can begin Mt once.
Since George Washington would accept no money
for his services to the nation two gifts were voted
to him one consisting of n sum in cash, which he
dismissed of as an endowment to the university
now known as Washington and Lee; the other n
number of stock certificates valued then at S25,OOO
The Inter amount he set aside In his will TO be
used as a cumulative fund for the diffusion OF
knowledge. In the vicissitudes OF time the stock
ne beoueathed lost its value and the dying wish OF
Tho father of his country seemed likely to remain
forever untulhlled.
Recently q movement was set on foot to fulfil
rho wish. The George Washington Memorial asso
c,ation was formed and various projects kere nd
yancpd, among them the FOUNDATION OF a University
Put the country had now fully blossomed Wit
universities. every state having its own. Mr.,
Henry f. Dimock, sister Of William {. Whitney
who as secretary Of the navy won the title o
"E,other of the New American Navy was elected
president OF the association,
with characteristic energy, Mrs. Dimock has Sc
obout the accomplishment Of the ideal. A natlOna
committee. including eminent men and women from
? ali sections Of the country, has been formed an,
3 nearly half a million dollars already collected. Ii
addition 10 a still larger amount pledged.
Tho association has procured from congress tn
: GRANT Of an ideal tract Of land whI+ was formerl
: occupied by the Pennsylvania station, and at prei
2 ent covered in part by temporary buildings Of tn
E war deuartrnent. This is almost the only desirabi
site remaining unoccupied in Washington.
J A competition in designs for the building wa
participated in by a dozen Of the foremost Amei