Evening star., 1921-11-15
dedication SHOWS
I AUDITORIUM Il / need
-sa
Rain CompeIs Holding Of VIC
j tory Memorial Building
i; !, Exercises Indoors.
HUNDREDS DISAPPOINTED
National Museum Not Nearly
Large Enough to Hold Crowds.
Notables Present.

Wssnington's need of a great audi
forum for national and international
gatherings, which will be supplied
with the completion of the victory
memorial building, unexpectedly was
made a feature of the exercises at
tending the laying of the corner stone
for the building yesterday afternoon.
Rain forced an eleventh-hour change
in the plans for holding the cere-
t1nonial on the memorial site, at 9Th
and B streets northwest, necessitat-
ing the pressing into service or the
National Museum as place OF shell
ter for those invited to the exercises.
Here the limited seating capacity Of
the auditorium was not sufficient to
accommodate the crowd. and many
persons were turned away. Every
seat in the auditorium was filled. and
in each aisle was line of citizens
that extended to the stage.
Seldom. if ever. has President Hard
ing addressed more enthusiastic
audience. His utterances were re-
peatedly applauded. Nor were Ad-
1niral Coontz and Gen. Pershing. the
other speakers, sighted in this re-
spect.
Departs From Prepared Address.
made a departure from his prepared
address, when he took occasion to
compliment American womanhood for
its having undertaken to provide this
memorial to the brave sons and
daughters of the republic. He said:
"One cannot well imagine a more
beautiful plan of grateful remem-
brance, a more appropriate memorial
than is contemplated in the great
building whose corner stone We are
laying today. And l thought during
the preceding addresses whence could
come so beautiful a thought and
through what agency could it be full
filled other than that OF a noble
American womanhood."
Again. at thItAconclusion of the ex-
ercises, and a.cr he had placed in the
cornerstone box emblems of some of
the mlestones in the nations life,
the President voiced. extemporane-
ousiy, the hope that when a sue
ceeding posterity shall turn to the
contents of this box. which so fitting
ly express our memorials and aspira-
tions and thoughts of today, that pos
terity shall be living in the fulfill
ment of the best aspirations Of the
American heart, in that wonderful
advancement which can only come
for a just and righteous Humankind
Mrs. Dimock Landed.
Secretary of War Weeks, who pre-
sided. in his opening address paid
10 Lne untlTlnS energy Oh
Henry F. Dimock. president of the
George Washington Memorial Asso-
citation. which has made possible the
actual launching of the victory
memorial project. The undertaking.
he said. is both a patriotic and prac-
tical one and will be of benefit to the
nation and civilization.
Admiral COontZ. the first speaker.
commended the plan to insert in the
dome of the building four million
stars representing the men and wom-
en-, who wore the American uniform in
the world war. He drew a picture
Of future Americans visiting Wash
ington to look upon these memorials
60 the heroic deeds of their fore
fathers. sst
There was prolonged and deafening
applause when Gen. Pershing, referring
20 the armament conference and it's
meaning to posterity should it fail,
declared emphatically it will not fail.
Gen. Pershing said, in part:
within the last few days an un-