Missouri Valley times. [volume] (Missouri Valley, Iowa) 1874-1931, 1919-11-27

I'D :! s 3
(/~ UILD it to the stars you |
~ cannot Outreach the lofti- |
ness of his principles |
Found it upon the massive |
and eternal rock; you cannot make 1t |
more enduring than his fame! Con
struct it of the peerless Parian mar
bile; Won cannot make it purer than
his life! Exhaust upon ii the rules
and principles of ancient and modern |
art; you cannot make it more pronor-
tiOnate than his Characterization the
speech of Robert G. Winthrop at the |
laying of the corner stone of the
Washington monument July f. 1873
! In the National Geographic Maya
zine three years ago 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
i of all human creations. Indeed it is
{, at once so great and so simple that it
seems to be almost work of nature
! Dominating the entire District of Co
lumbia, it 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
i immovable mountain peak as the mjstS
of every storm go driving by. With q
height of 555 feet, base of So ieet
square, and walls tapering from 15
feet ut the base to 10 inches at the
top; with Its interior lined with memo
rial stones from the several stafes,
from many famous organizations and
from number of foreign countries !;
with its stately simplicity and the
high qualities of manhood it honors,
1t Is fitting that the aluminium tip that
caps it should bear the phrase Luus
De0.'"
i "Stately simplicity" is what makes
the Washington monument one of TIL"
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 large col
umned pantheon to be used as a 1nl-
scum for war relics and statues OF
great men, and the Obelisk was to
arise from its center and surmoun.
the whole.
The pantheon idea was abandone5
later when the monument came to be
built. and everyone feels now that il
is good thing 1t was so, because 8
building of any kind at it's base woult
only detract from it's sublimity ant
grandeur.
Washington himself selected the sift
for the monument, but at that tim
the intention was to erect an eq,,es
trian statue, which congress had voteS
for in 1888. Nothing was done unit
1888. when Chief Justice John Mar
shall headed movement called TIL,
"Washington Monument society" t
solicit funds to build 1t. 1t was tiei
the architect, Robert Mills, designe,
an Obelisk surrounding colonnade O
: DOric columns.
Some money was collected. bu, no
enough to build it as planned, so TIL
pantheon feature was abandoned am
! work begun on the obellsil. The COZ
I ner stone, weighing twelve tons, wa
laid July 4, 1S4S, in the presence O
!. 10000 people.
Y In 1855 the funds ran out and wor
e was stopped, and for twenty years tn
Il partly constructed monument re
manned an ugly stub. But the center
D NAL exposition of 1876 brought re
l. vival of patriotism and there was
e nationwide demand that the mont
d ment be finished Congress took hol
of 1t. funds We're asked for from ever
d stare as well as contributions of ston
blocks with which to line the interiol
r. In 1880 work on the monument W.,
# resumed. but on altered plans. Ih
D. foundations were enlarged an
strengthened and the shaft increase
n, in height. In 1884 il was finished !;
% total cost of $1,2OO000.
lp Lower Walls IS Feet Thick.
g. Following is detailed descriptio
" of the monument taken from Il
Rand-McNally Guide to Washington
e "The foundations are described {
constructed of a mass of solid blu
ROCK 146 feet square.
1.-THE base of shaft is So feet squal
II and the lower walls are Is feet The
Il, At the 5O0-foot elevation, where ii
pyramid top begins, the walls are on
,r 10 inches thick and about So fe
If square The inside of the walls, {
II far as they were constructed befol
the work was undertaken by the go