Perth Amboy evening news., 1922-05-26
PLAN LINCOLN MEMORIAL
DECORATION MAY 80
Daily Letter by Frederic J. Haskin

interesting to note that the anvas
alone for each of the paintings.
which are so feet long and IL feet
high, weighed 800 pounds when
work on them was commenced. They
are hung 30 feet above the floor Of
the Memorial.
The finishing of these paintings
required twice as long as the bust
ness of cutting the marble blocks
into a finished statue. For three
long years Guerin worked in his New
York studio before the result was
satisfactory to him. The titles of
the two pictures are "Emancipation"
and Reunion" Four human fig
ures appear in the paintings, which
from a mechanical standpoint are
made to endure for centuries with
out cracking or having the paint
crumble. Mr.. Guerin mixed his pig
ment with kerosene and white waX
in order to guard against deteriora-
ton.
There are but two other main
decorative features of the Memorial.
The first Is the famous Gettysburg
address of Lincoln, the other his
second inaugural address. Both of
these are carved on tablets of the
same sort of marble that is used in
the statue at its base.
Henry Bacon was the architect of
the Lincoln Memorial. He, too al
though a native of Illinois, now
makes his home in New York. The
first work On the Memorial and the
general design of the whole was lsfr
to his capable hands.
The Memorial cost all told 3d.
900, OF this amount the archi-
etct received $125,000, the sculptor
$4,000 and the artist $4,000. The
remainder of the sum was spent in
actual construction of the edifice,
the approaches to it, and the re-
flecting pool to the last of the
building.
The Memorial is located on the
axis of the Capitol and the Washing
ton monument, in accordance with
the early plans for making and
keeping the Capital a place of beau
ty. A stones throw to the west of
the building is the Potomac river.
The business of erecting this
newest shrine of beauty in Wash
ington has been going forward con-
stantly siace Februay IL, 1914.
when Mr.. Taft, then president of the
Lincoln Memorial Commission,
turned the first spadeful of earth
on the site. The very foundation
of the Memorial is of interest from
a scientific point of view. Instead
of the ordinary excavation, 1872
steel cylinders were driven down
through the earth until each one
reached and rested firmly on bed
rock.
Care Taken With Foundation
These cylinders were driven down
by blocks of concrete weighing 80
tons, much as wooden piles are
driven into the ground. The cylin-
ders then were filled with concrete.
A year was occupied with this part
of the work. This time was suffi-
cient to complete not only the un-
foreground part of the foundation,
but As fee. of it which rises above
the surrounding ground level. For
this Colorado-Yale marble obtain
ed 5000 feet above sea level was
used. BY filling in with earth, the
group was brought up to the top of
the foundation level, placing the
structure at the top of a gently slop-
ing artificial hill.
The roof of the memorial is an
interesting departure in such con-
struction. 1t Is OF marble cut in
slabs five feet long, three feet wide
and only three-eighths OF an inch
thick. Through this the sunligh,
easily enters, softened and diffused
This was an experiment, but proved
to eb highly successful one.
The SO marble pillars surrounding
the building on the outside are
symbols OF the states OF the Union
at the time of Lincoln's death,
Above this colonnade, at regular In
tervals, are As memorial festoons
representing the states of the Unior
today. The columns around the
outside OF the building are A feet
high, and seven feet in diameter
The columns inside are so feet high
and five and a half feet in thickness
The Lincoln Memorial is already
popular as of the Capitals out
standing beauty spots. On sunny
afternoons the roads which Offer
| changing views OF it are thronge6
with sight-seers. From the city il
appears as a great Greek temple
with the blue Potomac, the Virgins
hills. and glimpses of Arlington Al
a classic BACKGROUND. This tribute