Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1923-06-21
Gutzon BorgIum IS Cheered
by Throng as He Makes
Daring Descent to Start
Actual Carving

Ceremonies that have no parallel
| in American history and probably
not in the history of the world were
conducted Monday afternoon at
Stone Mountain when Gutzon Bor'
glum began carving on the colossal
memorial that will stand in ever
lasting granite as tribute of love and
admiration for the men who wore
| the grey in the sixties.
High up on a platform suspended
on the sheer side of the precipice,
Hollins Randolph, president of the
Stone Mountain Confederate Mon
umental association. said the i'm
pressive dedicatory words, and q
few minutes later the doughty scu!p-
tor was lowered down the almost
perpendicular side of the precipice
to begin carving on the figure and
horse of General Robert f. Lee.
Governor E. Lee Trinkle, of Vir-
GINA, who came to Atlanta for the
historic occasion, handed Mr.. BOr-
glum the pneumatic drill and points
with a Godspeed message, and slow
ly picking his way, the sculptor was
lowered in his bo's'n's chair until
he reached the basket that had
been anchored opposite the point
chosen for tn first bit of carving.
Sinks First Drill
There was a pause and then his
voice came floating back to the
group on the platform.
Governor Hardwick, turn on
the power he called, and as GeOr-
gias chief executive turned the
switch and the metallic output" OF
the drill signalled the start on the
momentous undertaking, wave of
cheering swept up from the crowd
in the valley that was distinctly
audible to the group on the plat
| form.
The first carving was on thu
block of stone that comes between
the nose and moustache of the figure
of General Lee that has\ been paint
ed in outline on the steep side o.
the mountain. Mr.. Borglum worked
only a few minutes before he re
| Joined the party making it's way
back up the steps to the summit.
Governor Trinkle and several mem
hers of his staff. Governor Hard
wick, Col. w. w. Banks, his chic,
Of staff; Mr.. Randolph, Robert L
Harvey, executive secretary of th'
monumental association; Walter L
| Gambler, chairman of the reception
committee fer the Virginia visitors
Samuel H. Venable. whose generos
ity has made possible the memorial
IfoI Of no LOTT a SX a
| Va; DR.. Joseph p. Bowdoin, head
of Georgia Masons, and other nota
bles made the ascent almost to the
top of the mountain in fleet Of Lin
coin automobiles provided through
the courtesy of A. L. Belle Isle.
Awed by Magnitude
They had to walk only a few
hundred feet to reach the barbet
wire enclosure that shuts off tn
operations of the workmen from tn
public, and after they had mace
their way down the steep step:
leading to the platform, the dedi
catory exercises got under way abou
| sembling below.
Governor Trinkle and members o.
| his staff were very frankly aWed by
the magnificent view afforded from
| the platform and by the magnitude
of the memorial operations that i'm
presses the visitor to this point.
Pictures of the mountain or OF
| the proposed memorial are entirely
! Inadequate" Governor Trinkle said
you have to see the project to un
| derstand just how colossal an un'
dertaking is being planned here in
| memory of the Confederate heroes.
| The exercises opened with a pray
err by the Rev B. D. Gray, secre.
tary of the Baptist Home Mission
board, who spoke through a mega
phone loaned for the occasion by
the Georgia Tech Athletic associa'
! ton.
Mr.. Randolph then read the i'm
| pressive directions, authorizing Mr.
Borglum to begin chiseling on the
first figure. He, too, spoke through
the megaphone and the sheer side
Of the granite cliff behind him pro
vided a sounding board that sent
| his words hurting, clear as a bell
| hundreds of feet to the crowd be
low.
Crowd Hears Plainly
| People in the crowd told neWspa
per men who were standing on the
| platform that every word of Mr.
RandoIph's speech could be heard
from point near Mr.. Borglum'
studio in the. valley.
by virtue of the authority vest
ed in me as president of the Stone
| Mountain Confederate Monumental
! association" Mr.. Randolph said, as
the crowd on the platform stood in
reverent silence for the epochal oc
casion, 81, Eollins Randolph, dc
hereby direct you, Gutzon Borglum
our sculptor chosen from all the
world, to begin carving on this in
destructible and imperishable monu
ment to the southern Confederacy.
"On this historic and sacred Occa
sion, I pledge you, sir. the support
of the southern people with sentl
ment as warm, courage as in
domitable. a loyalty as unmeasured
as they gave that immortal cause
which rose so white and fair and
which fell so pure of crime.
Here now, in the presence Of
God, I dedicate this memorial no
| only as a tribute to the southern
| Confederacy\ whose traditions Of
heroism are a common heritage, but
as Americas supreme testimonial tc
the lndlssoluble union or the AmeF4
can people"
Mr. Borglum already had bucklet
on his harness and stood ready fol-
| the descent. The air line for the
pneumatic drill had been laid few
minutes earlier by a workman who
had descended almost to the point
where carving was to begin. Gov
ernor Trinkle handed Mr.. Borglun
the drill and points, and SHOOK
hands with him, as did Governor
Hardwirk, and the intrepid sculptor
then stepped off the edge of the
platform for the hazardous descent
Sculptor Goes Down
Scores of faces upturned in TIN
valley below indicated that the
crowd was watching every move, bu
it was apparent they could not dis
tinguish whether it was a mar