The Pleasantville press. (Pleasantville, N.J.) 1912-1929, 1923-02-14
the things money proviaed are 10 be
Progress on Meade's Statue.

In the Botanical garden Of Wash
ington, which lies at the foot of Capl-
tei hill, fairly rapid progress is being
made on a statue to Maj. Gen. George
Gordon Meade, who commanded the
Federal troops at the battle of Gettys-
burg.
II is understood that this statue
will be the last memorial Of any Kind
which is to be erected on the straight
line which passes through the dome Of
the capitol, the statue of General
Grant, the Washington monument and
the Lincoln memorial.
The movement to erect a monument
to General Meade was long in start
ing. Philadelphia had honored the
victor of Gettysburg, and while other
commanders of the Federal army have
received recognition in Washington.
some of them, perhaps, of less achieve
ment than Meade, no particular inter-
est for some reason could be aroused
at first in the project to erect a me-
mortal to him In the capital.
1t was Major L'Enfant. a French
man, who after conference with
George Washington. drew the plan for
the city of Washington. L'Enfant's
plan contemplated the erection of GER
tain commanding memorials which
should stand with their bases on a
straight line drawn westward from
the dome of the capitol. L'Enfant
knew undoubtedly that one of these
memorials would be to George Wash
ington, but as Washington was then
living and had a hand in the plan
making, it of course was not suggest
ed directly that one of the shafts of
memory should stand in remembrance
of his name and deeds.
L'Enfant's Plan Followed.
Today there Is not the variation of
q hairs breadth from q straight line
running from the capitol through the
Lincoln memorial, which Is nearly two
miles westward. This line passes d.
rectly through the Washington monu-
ment and the Grant and Meade me-
MORALS. When one stands on the exact
middle spot of the steps leading up to
the superstructure of the Lincoln me-
mortal and looks eastward he cannot
see the dome of the capitol because
the Washington shuts off
the view.
Recently water was turned into the
basins which lie between the Wash
ington monument and the Lincoln me-
mortal. The basins are shallow hut
, with banks high enough TO keep the
wind from overrufiing the surface of
the wafer. One of the most striking
sights in Washington is that of The
Washington monument and of the Lin
coin memorial reproduced perfectly in
the mirror of the waters of the basin.
Presumably everybody knows about
the Washington monument, but there
are some things about it which may
have passed from the memory of most
folk. It is $50 feet and 8 inches high.
There are 900 steps leading from the
! ground to the summit. and 1t seems to
be the set desire of every visitor 10
Washington who brings a pair of good
legs with him, to walk from the base
to the summit, although there is a per
fectly good elevator which makes the
ascent every half hour of the working
day. OF course there are a good many
people who cannot walk it," but all
the small boys who come here climb
the stairs and take with them usually
their not altogether reluctan. parents
.-h@ B0u-arAn Nba nnx-f 1nr- rrfah Nhar
had used the elevator.
Inside the Washington Monument.
On the interior walls of the struc-
ture all the way from floor to attic
are memorials presented by the states
of the Union, of foreign governments,
and by organizations, political, philan-
thropic, social, and in fact of all kinds
Some of these memorials arc more or
less grotesque, but there they will
stand until the crack of that day
comes which demolishes monuments
and perhaps the world along with
them.
The capstone of the Washington
monument uns to Il peak, and this
peak is made of aluminium or some
other shining metal. When the sun
reaches a certain position in the
heaven this metal shines out as a star
of much more than first magnitude. In
fact, small as it is, it is as dazzling as
the sun itself.
The vandal visitor Is not unknown
in Washington. He does not come as
often as he used TO, but his %visitations
are watched for and any attempt of
his at an untoward act is detected and
Is sure to meet with hard punishment.
AS it is, there are many effects of van
dalism apparent within the walls of
the Washington monument. II is i'm
possible to keep guards every step of
the way from the bottom to the top
of the great granite structure. More
over, the stairway is winding and the
view from one landing does not COM
mand another landing. Pieces of the
statuary have been Clipped from sev-
eral of the interior adornments. What
the vandal does with these things no.
body knows, but at one time he was a
weekly if not a daily plier of his con-
s~cienceless trade.
Endurino Value.