The Monmouth inquirer. [volume] (Freehold, N.J.) 1865-1933, 1923-05-24
Thousands Annually
Visit Resting Place
Of Unknown Soldier

In front of the great marble amphi-
theater at Arlington a little, gray
haired woman in black is standing 81
Iently. There are tears in her eyes.
She is carrying wreath Of evergreen
bought an hour before at flower store
across the river in Washington. She
is at the grave Of the Unknown Sol
der.
heavy automobile erunches along
the crushed-stone road. 1t is hired
car, filled with a party of sightseers
devoting day to the nations capital
and trying to get all the way around
before time for the evening train.
A Waterman is leaning against one
of the pillars of the amphitheater He
is yawning and waiting for four
o'clock to come, when another watch
man will go to work The stiffness of
\ the cemetery makes him sleepy. A boy
inside the door is trying to sell some
picture post cards to honeymoon
couple. Along comes negro with q
one-horse cart full of rubbish for the
dump.
4 The little woman = black places the
wreath tenderly on the Unknown Sol
dier's tomb. She kneels and prays.
Across on another grassy hill dotted
with white tombstones, is a squadron
Eof field artillery. guns ready for ac-
ton. It is the funeral Of a major gen
eral and he is being accorded full mill
tary honors. Back on the crooked
roadway is a long line Of limousines
that have carried the funeral party. A
lfag-draped coffin is being lowered into
the grave.
"Bang!''
The salute. The mufied report
echoes and re-echoes through the
peaceful hills. The visitors in the
cemetery are startled for an instant.
To some Of the men here and there the
firing recalls the days they passed on
the Western front.
Beautiful and Peaceful.
The little woman, finishing her
prayer, stands beside the massive rail-
ing, taking in the scene. She watches
the soldiers performing the last rites
at the generals grave. Beyond, across
the red brick cemetery fence, she gets
view of the city of Washington
The towering shaft of the Washing
ton monument appears to be just over
the narrow ribbon of water that is the
Potomac. To the right is the capitol
dome and close to it but lower the
glistening bronze top of the Congress
si0nal library.
There are rows of squatty buildings
with many windows, the bureau of en-
craving and printing, the new quarters
of the War department and the Navy
department. The outlines of the White
House are faint in the mist. The Lin
coin memorial stands out distinctly
among green foliage. Everything, away
from city noises, is quiet and peaceful.
The woman is one of the mothers Of
unknown soldiers. of whom there we're
1900. She has come to Arlington ceIne-
terry feeling she is visiting the grave of
the boy she gave to the war. Nobody
can say that the soldier buried there is
not her son. 1t is good to be close to
him.
Many Mothers at Grave.
This happens many times. Nobody
knows how many mothers Of unknown
soldiers have visited Arlington. The
number has been large They are
broken-hearted women and to many of
them the journey to Washington has
been accomplished only after many
privations.
These unknown mothers almost
every one of them, are certain the body
In the unmarked tomb is of their blood
Some Of them have quaint ways of CON
vincina themselves Of the fact. Stories