Evening star., 1922-06-25
Heard and Seen

Of the South Dakota stone in the
Washington Monument last week
there was gathered quite a good sized
crowd At the foot Of the shaft, walt
ing for the elevator to take them to
the soo.foot level. where the stone
was to be unveiled.
All South Dakotans were taken to
the level IN special trip OF the big
elevator. The man who stands out.
Ade the little steps 0shered the
guests into the car while the skipper
Of the lift prepared to let CO."
The last person was crowded in.
Shall l come right DOWN." the ele-
vator man asked Of the guard
shaft.
Yes. just as straight as you can,"
he replied.
Senator Thomas Sterling Of south
Dakota. who presided at the unveil-
ing. and other members OF the state
, delegation In Congress. had the op-
portunity to hear some reverbera.
tions in the Monument
Most people. especially members of
Congress who have attended many
banquets. are familiar with the sound
made by fashlieht powder when set
on by a photographer indoors. It
makes considerable of a bang.
But only when one hears a flash"
set OF in the Washington Monument
does he hear IT at its best.
senator Sterling and the others
looked pleasant" at the request OF
tne photographer. Then they all
looked surprised
Boom" went the powder
But that was only the beginning.
m.jt V-ho II ffv
And then some more "booms"
me sound went travelling up the
smart. ana down. too. II seemed, echo.
ing and re-echoing as 1t went. Quite
| 2 rev seconds elapsed before the
dedication ceremonies could be re-
sumed.
F. L. Harvey. secretary OF the Wash
fnston National Monument Society,
told me something interesting about
the great obelisk. as we sat waiting
| tor the unVeiling ceremonies to begin
Harvey knows more about the Mon
ument than anybody in town. He
wouldn't admit It himself. so let 1t be
said for him. For many years he has
worked to get every state In the
Union to place a stone in the Monu-
ment. and is now in a position to see
the contamination of his labors. Only
tour states remain unrepresented
with stones.
II hope to live to see them all in
place. one for each of the forty-eieht
states OF the Union" the secretary
| Now here is what Harvey told me.
ne says that the center of gravity
! OF the Washington Monument is ex-
actiy at the 150-foot mark. where the
| dark stone ceases and the lighter
| stone begins. Tho fact that there is
| a distinct line where this occurs /,
| noticed by all visitors.
The part above that line weighs
exactly what the section below II
does Harvey stated. 1T is a curiou.
! thing that the line should mark f.
because 1t is pure coincidence"
Many people find walking down the
| Monument more difficult than walk
ing up.
Neither way Is easy going. and only
| those in the best Of health should at
tempt 1t. especially the more than
! 5e0-feet climb. Walking down is
| more of tax on the knees than any
| thing else
Via the steps, however. is the only
way to see the many interesting
stones. more than IT'S. / believe,
which have been placed in the inner
wall of the great shaft by states. So
! cieties and cities.
( Two Of the most elaborate are those
| of New York and Philadelphia. These
stones are very ornate. with sculp-
tured figures standing out, forming
quite a contrast 10 the modest Sout
Dakota stone. bearing only the stat.
seal.
! Out in one of Washington's pref
| tiest suburbs a new family moved in.
The neighbors were curious about
! the family.
| What does your father do?" a
| neighbor asked the small boy of the
! new family.
! Hes a bootlesger." calmly replied
| the little fellow.
"A bootlegger!" exclaimed the
woman, genuinely surprised. Surely
you don't mean that"
No; that's not right, replied the
! child. HE tells bootleggers what to
do" CHARLES f. TRACEWELL.
InTCEST nj III