The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-12-26
LINCOLN MEMORIAL IS LAST THING IN
 MASSIVE GRANDEUR
New Shrine for Civil War Pres ident One of Worlds Great est StruCtuTeS-Its Sim
 piiCity Chief Attraction,
By Associated Press

Washington, December 1S.--The Lincoln
 Memorial. the gift of the nation to the
 memory of Abraham Lincoln is one of
 the worlds most beautiful structures and
 the greatest shrine of the man who
 saved the Union. Impressive in it's sim
 9ieity, the memorial probably is the
 masterpiece of all public buildings and
 memorials in the United States. It
 stands in Potomac park facing the
 Washington monument and the nations
 ton was begun on Lincolns birthday
 anniversary in 1914. The total cost has approximately reached $3,000,O0o.
 This monument to Lincoln is d large rectangular building of white marble, designed by Henry Bacon, New York architect. 1t has a beautiful setting on
 a direct east and west line with the
 Washing ton monument and the nations capitol and rises IA feet above the level
 Of the park It is composed of four principal features-a statue of the man,
 d memorial of his Gettysburg address, d
 memorial of his second inaugural address
 and a symbol of the Union of the
 United states.
 The most important object in the me-
 mortal Is the statue of Lincoln in mar
 ole by Daniel Chester French, q
 New ork sculptor placed in the cen tral hall where, by virtue of it's inn
 posing position in the place of honor, it predominates all else. The statue $ colossal in size and yet distinctly per sonal 1t represents Lincoln, seated. in a thoughtful mood, and is the first thing that meets the eye as one passes through the immense colonnaded entrance
 Smaller halls, at either side of the central hall, contain monumental tablets in which deeply incased letters reproduce word for word Lincoln Gettysburg address on the left wall and
 the address made by him at his second
 inauguration on the right wall. Above | these are two large mural paintings by Jules Guerin, a New York artist, one typifying Emancipation and the other typifying "Reunion Their production
 occupied three years time.
 Surrounding the exterior of the walls l frclosing these memorials. is a magnif- cent colonnade forming symbol of l the Union, each column representing one 1 of the 36 states existing at the time of Lincolns death. On the outer walls above the colonnade and supported at 1 intervals by eagles are 4S festoons, one
 for each state existing at the present 1 time.
 ! At one end of the great axis, planned i over q century ago, is the capitol of the nation which is the monument of the government, and q mile westwar from ! the capitol IS the b50-IOOL granite Snalt, which is the monument to George Wash ington Now, on this same great axis i half a mile west of the Washington monument stands the Lincoln memorial. 1 This completes an unparalleled compost | ton, a triology which mnparts to each of it's monuments a value in addition to l that which each standing alone pos
 sesses.
 l The movement for the construction of l the memorial was begun in 1902 and in i illinois, a friend of Lincoln, introduced l in the Senate the bill for the. construc- ton of the memorial The bill was ap- proved by Congress February 3, 1911. The ] law created a commission and named as ! it's members William H. Taft, Shelby M l Cullorn, Joseph G. Cannon. George Pea body Whetmore, Samuel Walker Mccall, 1 fernando D. Money and Champ Clark l The commission was authorized to pro cure and determine upon location, plan and design for a monument or memorial 1 in Washington The aid of the govern ! rnent commission of fine arts was in l volved in the selection of the site and plans of the memorial On the one hun dred and fifth anniversary of Lincoln's | birth, February F, 1914. the late former l Senator Joseph c. $. Blackburn, then
 resident commissioner of the memorial i commission, and who was southern of flcer during the Civil war. broke ground for the memorial, saying as he 1 did so:
 ''The memorial will show that Lincoln
 is now regarded as the greatest of all
 Americans and that he is so held by the south as we'll as the north"