The Pleasantville press. (Pleasantville, N.J.) 1912-1929, 1922-09-16
Ground Already Broken for Class.
ic Structure on Outskirts OF
Alexandria, Va.
COST IS Put At S2,5C3,c1c
Every Mason in Country to Be Askec
to Contribute 81, and Already
$500, 900 Has Been Collected
Hall of Fame for Masons.

lOOklIlS tue HutlOudl cdlildl, "oIh mas
begun on a memorial to George Wa. H.
ington which will be q wiittll4 com
~panion-piece to the Lincoln Memorial
in Washington.
The edifice, a stately temple inspired
by Greek and Roman architecture, Is
being erected by the conl5.aed e.lorts
of all the Masons and Masonic orders
in the United States, AMI will be Il
tribute to Washington, the man and
Mason. 1t will be POO feet from por
tico to observation platform on the
top, and will be surrounded by an eX.
tensive handicapped garden to be
known as George Washington park. 1t
Is expected that the memorial will be
completed in from four to five years.
The cost will be approximately ST.
SOC 1000.
Constructed of snowy marble and
white concrete, the columned structure
will tower high above the river and
will stand out from a background of
densely wooded hillsides, visible for
miles, and within a short distance "
Mount Vernon.
Masons to Contribute.
Every Mason has been asked to con-
tribute u dollar toward the fund, and
already more than 100000 has been
collected. Additional pledges bring
the figure to almost 81 800, 600. Mason
ic orders and individuals contributing
500 toward the fund will be placed
upon the honor charter roll to be kept
among the temple archives.
The building, according to architects,
will be after the style of memorials
to heroes placed at the harbor en-
frances of ancient Greek and Roman
cities. 1t will be erected on a ridge
$50 feet above the Potomac, and from
it's tower, 200 feet higher, a grand
panorama OF the City of Washington
will lie before the observer, as well
as of the country bordering upon
Mount Vernon.
The first f1oor will be given over
largely to a memorial hall, the COM
handing feature of which will be a
heroic statue of Washington. How
ever, as the memorial as a whole will
be dedicated also to the memories
Of other great Masons of the country,
there will be available to the Grand
Lodges Of each state space In the
memorial hall in which they may en-
shrine portraits or other tributes to
Masons whose deeds place them be-
side the First President.
Such men as Paul Revere, represent
ing Massachusetts; De Witt Clinton
New York Benjamin Franklin, Penn
s%ylvania; Henry Clay. Lewis and
Clark, Blair, Randolph and many
others have been suggested to be re
membered thus as prominent history
making Masons.
The temple will be the active lodge
quarters of Alexandria Washington
Lodge No. % A. F. and A. NJ, OF
which Washington was the first Mas
ter when 1t was Lodge No. 80. Other
rooms surrounding the atrium will be
given over to the uses Of grand ma
tional bodies of the order. At al
times, except when used in ritual BY
the Alexandria lodge, the entire tenn
Pile will be open to the public.
Masonic Art Gallery.
Above the hall, which will rise in {
clear story from the ground floor. viii
be a museum and Masonic art gallery
Here will be placed Masonic portrait;
and the many historic relics of Wash
ington and the several other noted
Virginians who from time to time
have been members Of the Alexandra
lodge.
A replica of the first lodge house
used by Alexandria lodge, which wa:
dedicated by Washington, will be in
Guided. Other souvenirs include the
clock which stood beside Washington
bed, the pendulum cord of which wa:
cut at the moment of his death; c
pocket knife given Washington by his
mother, which was carried by him q:
a boy and man his old h~our-glass, the
chair he occupied as Worshipful Mas
ter and which was used for 100 years
and the Williams portrait of Wash
lngton, which he approved.
With these will also be placed the
spade used In the mountaineering
ceremony by Louis A.. Watres, Pres
lQent Oh the NltlSOlllt 4Nullblldl NleilOI
ial association. As this simple cere
mony was planned hastily and com
pleted on an hours notice no specla
tools were provided.
The thirty-two-acre tract surround
Ing the temple has already been OBJ
tanned by the association. The larger
portion, about twenty-five acres, val
ued at more than S1,OOO,00O. wa
bought of the city of Alexandria a
a nominal figure. which made it a gift
Ceremonies of cornerstone laying
were planned for Nov. 4, the ami
versary of the Inauguration of tn,
country's first President, but have beer
advanced to early october. The da,
has not yet been set, but the program
includes participation by Presiden'
Harding, Chief Justice Taft and man,
other notable and high government