Evening star., 1921-11-08
SHERR|LL REVIEWS
PLANS FOR BRIDGE
Wants Congress to Permit
Start on Great Lincoln
Arlington Memorial.

The history of the effort to erect a
great memorial bridge stretching
from the Lincoln Memorial to Arling-
ton national cemetery. which will be
a symbolic joining together Of the
. territory north of the Mason and
DixeQ line with the territory south of
that line. was reviewed by Lieut.. Col.
, Clarence o. Sheriff.. officer in charge
OF public buildings and grounds. be-
fore the House appropriations COM
mittee yesterday.
Borings will be made and plans
drawn for this structure Immediately,
with view to making it harmonize
with the Lincoln Memorial. if an item
OF $4,000 for this work is included In
the deficiency bill which the commit
tee is now considering.
In summarizing before the commit
tee Col. Sheriff. pointed out that the
Senate resolution adopted May "a.
1886. reqAired the Secretary of War
to report upon appliance for a suit
able memorial bridge. Maj. Haynes
OF the Corps of Engineers wrote re-
port under this law.
Report Made Back In 1900.
February 90, 1890. a Senate resolu-
fion was adopted directing the Secre-
tary OF War to report on a suitable
type OF memorial bridge, with esti-
mates of cost. Col. Haynes also made
a report In accordance with this reso-
lation.
December IA, 1891, the Senate reso-
luton provided for the investigation
OF g. public park, to be known as
Arlington Park, which included the
Arlington bridge.
April Is. 1892. a resolution of the
NIT
and grounds. directed the Secretary
of War to estimate the cost of the
memorial bridge to connect the Naval
Observatory and the Arlington estate.
Col. C.. E. L. B. Davis made the re-
Quired report.
Bill Defeated in House.
January 6. 1892, a House bill con-
ta1ned a provision for the construc-
tion Sf memorial bridge, but did not
pass.
January 20. 1892, another bill was
introduced, but did not become law.
March 3. 1899, the sundry civil act
directed the chief of engineers to con-
tinue the examination of design for
the memorial bridge and appropriated
$4,000 therefor. Several designs were
prepared under this authorization and
the design of William H. Burr. was
considered the best ofthose submit
ted.
Nothing further was done until the
passage of the public building act,
approved of March 4, 1913. which
created a commission composed of
the President of the United States.
the President of the Senate, the
Speaker of the House of Representa-, /,
tives, and the chairmen of the COM
mittee on public buildings and
grounds of the Senate and House of
Representatives, for the purpose of
Investigating and reporting to Con-
gress a suitable design for a memo
rial bridge across the Potomac river
Urges Action Mt Once.
This act authorized the commits
sion to eXpend the sum of $4,000 in
procuring such designs. On Decem-
Der 13, 1913, the officer in charge of
public buildings and grounds was
designated the executive and disburs-
ing officer of this commission, No
funds have been appropriated for the
operation of this commission up to
the present time, but now that the
Lincoln Memorial is nearing compile
ton and it is essential that the plan
for the Arlington memorial bridge be
made to harmoniZe with the Lincoln
Memorial, Col. Sheriff. said that the
funds requested by the Arlington
memorial commission be appropriat-
ed at this time.
The grading and the approaches in
the vicinity of the Lincoln Memorial
have now been completed to such
point that further operations are in
advisable until the plans of the Ar
1ington memorial bridge shall have
been completed.