The herald., 1919-08-14

~ cannot Ogtreach the lOfti-
ness of his principles.
Found it upon the massive
and eternal rock; you cannot make il
more enduring than his fame! Con
Struct ii Of the peerless Parian mar
bic; you cannot make il purer than
his life! Exhaust upOn il the rules
and principles of ancient and modern
art; you cannot MAZE II 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 (. 1S4S.
In the National Geographic Maya
zine three years age William Howard
Taft wrote Of the Washington mOnu-
ment: Taken by itself, the Washing
tiOn monument stands not only as one
of the most stupendous works of man,
but also as one of the most beautiful
| or all human creations. Indeed ii is
at once so great and so simple that it
seems to be almost 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 new character for each new
hour, different aspect for every
change of light and shade, the Wash
ington monument seems to link heaven
and earth in the darkness, to pierce
the sky In the light and to stand an
immovable mountain peak as the mists
Of every storm go driving by. With a
height of 555 feet, q base of So feet
square, and walls tspering from Is
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 a 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 1t should bear the phrase Laus
Deo.'"
stately simplicity" is what makes
the Washington monument one 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 its center and surmount
the whole.
The pantheon idea was abandoned
later when the monument came to he
built, and everyone feels now that II
is good thing 1t was so, because
building Of any kind at Its base would
only detract from its sublimity and
grandeur.
Washington himself selected the site
for the monument, but at that time
the intention was to erect an euues-
trian 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. 1t was then
the architect, Robert Mills. designed
an obelisk surrounding a colonnade of
DOric columns.
Some money was collected. but not
enough to build 1t as planned. so the
pantheon feature was abandoned and
work begun on the obelisk. The cor
ner stone, weighing twelve tons, was
laid July 4, 1S4S, 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-
manned an ugly stub. But the centen-
NAL exposition of 1875 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 askei 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 il was finished at |
q total cost of S1.2OO 900.
Lower Walls is Feet Thick.
Following is detailed description |
Of the monument taken from the |
Rand-McNally Guide to Washington
'The foundations sre described as
constructed of mass of solid blue
rock 146 feet square.
"The base Of shaft is 55 feet square |
and the lower walls are Is feet thick. |
At the 500-fOot elevation, where the
pyramid top begins, the walls are only !
IS inches thick and about 35 feet |
square. The inside of the walls, as
far as they were constructed before
the work was undertaken by the gov |