Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1919-12-01

Especial Correspondence Of The Argus

EEOEsS ! Al.
NJ FREDBRIC ]. HASKIN.
Especial Correspondence Of The Argus).
washington, D. c., Nov. 2s.-Soon the
Warrington tourist will have another place to
tour The rubber neck wagon will put new
stop on its itinerary. and the encyclopedia gen
tieman with the megaphone will have to add
. piece to his spiel For the famous Lincoln
memorial Is nearing completion, and It 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 except for
the placing Of Abe's statue upon Its pedestal,
and that enterprise may be under way before
this 10 In print. It is gigantic task. for Abe
comes In 20 pieces, by freight, and he weighs
about forty-two tons. To put him together
correctly without breaking any OF his compo-
nent parts 10 the last and the most delicate
TASK connected with the erection Of the
memorial.
There ID about this latest of Warrington
buildings bisness and grandeur which is
supremely satisfying. It is great stun, alike
for the tourist and for the megaphone orator
aforementioned. Beginning at the beginning.
he will explain that the great building stands
upon made land, Ehich was once q part Of
the Potomac river. and that the piles which.
support it had to be sunk . hundred feet be-
fore they struck bedrock He will 60 on to
it should. the building had to be placed upon
stone foundation 30 feet above the ground
level, and that the beautifully sloping hill was
afterwards built around the foundation, while
the lagoon was placed before the building in
! order to reflect its image and SO make it
look taller. In word. he will explain that
the fine arts commission, having selected the
| WORST possible site for such q building, pro-
ceeded to accomplish wonders in making it
! serve its purpose, and that what was really
built is tower about one hundred fifty feet
high. two-thirds of which is buried.
He will then 60 on to explain that the
paintings on the walls of the building are
painted anywhere by anybody. Jules Guerin,
who painted them, had to build a special stu
dio in New York for the job, because the pic
lures are each 60 feet long and IL feet wide.
The canvas upon which they are painted
weighed 800 pounds before the pictures were
made. and about half that weight Of paint
was put onto them. Mr.. Guerin- heroically doing
every lick Of the work himself even to the
painting Of fiat surfaces which might have
been done by an apprentice.
| Then he will 60 on to the matter Of the
sitting statue of Abe himself, which sits Is
feet high, and as we have already said. weighs
~ tons, unless our figures are wrong. And
having explained in these words the greatness
and majesty Of the Lincoln memorial, the gens
tleman with the megaphone will lead his guile
less charges into the building and let them
feel it's bigness and majesty for themselves.
And they will feel it, too. The most bumptious
OF them, one ventures to say, will be tenn
porarily impressed into silence. For there is
no denying that the Lincoln memorial pro-
duces striking and almost overwhelming Of
feet Of size and dignity. Even without the
statue Of Lincoln, its enormously high ceiling
its great cleaning white columns, its GOODNESS
and echoing emptiness make mortal man seem
! anA nRth A. Il = T.
coin Is added, bending his benevolent but SOL
emn and awe-inspiring 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 enlightener will
be able to draw, 1t may be added that the ap.
preparation for the building was made In 1911
and that work upon it was actually begun in
1914. while its total cost was $2,594,00o and
some odd cents
1t didn't really take so long to build it, bu
various Interruptions occurred. Some Of thes(
incident to placing the building in a swamp
When these were overcome, the worthless il
change Of the job found that they were run
ming out OF money, and they refused to pro
coed until congress gave them some more
Then. when they got more money. they decided
~ &uu . lew IIllS, VI WHICH ING euClOSlQR wal
around the terrace was the most important
For all Of these reasons 1t will be Just abou
six years sitter the ground was broken befor,
the building is formally dedicated.
The dedication is expected to take plac
next April. The statue will be in place, an,
the memorial practically completed befor,
Christmas, but after that the fine arts com
mission must hold solemn meeting, marcl
tdown to the place in . body, and formally pro
nounce it o. X. Then this same body mus
agree upon plans for the dedication.
Nothing has been done along this line 81
far except to ask congress for 5000 where
, with to defray the expenses. But it is fore
gone conclusion that the occasion will be Al
suspicious one for orators. an expensive on
for visitors, a profitable one for washington
} innkeepers. and an inspiring and impressiv
, one for everybody.
Aside from this beautiful numerical sym
bolism and the visage Of Lincoln, there
nothing distinctively American about the build
ing. 1t is primarily Greek in design. 1t look
Ike q cross between the Parthenon at Athen
tGudging by the picture postals thereof an
the temple Of Solomon a. described in til
Ibible.