The Rock Island Argus and daily union., 1922-05-29
Frederick Haskin's Letter
tsu.ea cosrespond.nce Arsus.I
LINCOLN MEMORIAL DEDICATION.

tysburg address of Lincoln, the 9TH
er his second inaugural address.
Both of these are carved on tab
| lets of the same sort of marble that
! is used in the statue and its base.
! Henry Bacon was the architect
of the Lincoln memorial. He, too.
although a native of Illinois, now
makes his home in New York. The
/ first work on the memorial and the
7 general design of the whole was
| left TO his capable hands.
| The memorial cost all told So
600, 900. OF this amount the archi-
tect received $125,00 the sculptor
/ 5000, and tbs artist $4,000 The
remainder of Ine sum was spent IN
actual construction of the edifice,
the approaches to it and the reflect
ing pool to the east of the building.
The memorial is located on the
axis of the Capitol and the Wash
ington monument, in accordance
! with the early plans for making
and keeping the capital a place of
beauty. 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
constantly since Feb. -, 1914, when
Mr. Taft, then president of the Lin
coin memorial commission, turned
the first spadeful ef earth on the
site. The very foundation of the
memorial is S interest from d
scientific point of view. Instead OF
-.
cylinders were driven down through
the earth until each one reached
and rested firmly on bedrock.
Care Taken With Foundation.
These cylinders were driven
down by blocks of concrete weigh
ing 80 tons, much as wooden piles
are driven into the ground. The
cylinders then were filled with
concrete. A year was occupied with
this part of the work. This time
was sufficient to complete not only
the underground part of the foun-
dation, but As feet of it which
rises above the surrounding ground
level. For this Colorado-Yale mar
Bile obtained 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 sloping artificial hill.
The roof of the memorial IS an
interesting departure in such con-
struction. It is of marble cut in
slabs five feet long. three feet wide,
and only three-eights of an inch
thick. Through this the sunlight
easily enters, softened and difused.
This was an experiment, but prov
ed to be a highly successful one.
The 36 marble pillars surround
ing 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
intervals, are As memorial festoons,
representing the states of the
union today. The columns around
the outside of the building are "a
feet high, and seven feet in diam
eter. The columns inside are so
feet high and five and half feet
in thickness.
The Lincoln memorial Is already
popular as one of the capitals out
standing beauty spots. On sunny
afternoons the roads which offer
changing views of it are thronged
with sight-seers. From the city il
appears as a great Greek temple
with the blue Potomac, the Vir-
ginia hills and glimpses of Airing
ton as a classic background. This
tribute to the Great Emancipator
is a fitting companion piece to the
monument to WaF2S7zsf IN,
and in future the two will share in
the homage of patriotic pilgrims.