The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1926-09-17
CARRARA MARBLE TO
MARK WAR GRAVES
Deeds of American Legions
to Be Written in Stone.


Washington.-Wh Carrara marble
is reported chosen for the permanent
crosses to mark the graves of Ameri-
can soldiers In France.
civilizations stretching back to the
centuries before the birth of Christ
used this MARBLE" says bulletin of
the National Geographic society from
Its headquarters in Washington, D.
G.. "Carrara marble served to honor
pagan gods before the Christian Deity.
AS the deeds Of American legions will
be written in Carrara, so were the
deeds Of Rome's legions.
A 2,ooo-Year-old Description.
1T is rare that geographical de-
scription can be used 1000 years after
it was written, but here is one Of the
Carrara that stands the test:
"'Of these Luna is city and har-
Dor; 1t is named by the Greeks the
harbor and city Of Selene (modern
Marina di Carrara, port of Carrara).
The city is not large, but the harbor
Is very fine and spacious, containing
In itself numerous harbors, all Of
them deep near the shore; it is, in
fact, an arsenal worthy of a nation
holding dominion for long time over
so vast sea. The harbor is sur
rounded by lofty mountains, from
whence you may view the sea and Sar-
DINA and great part Of the coast on
either side. Here are quarries of
marble, both white and marked with
green, SO numerous and large as to
furnish tablets and columns of one
block; and most Of the material for
the fine works, both in Rome and
other cities, is furnished from hence.
The transport Of the marble is easy,
as the quarries lie near the sea-
"That was written by Strabo, Greek
historian, few years before the birth
of Christ.
"Ships will call at the same harbor
to bring away the white marble
crosses for the American graves in
France. The marble will come down
from the lavender-tinted Carrara
mountains, scalloped against a blue
Italian sky, via the leve.ed course of
the Strada Ferrata. 1t will be cut
out of quarries (there are more thar,
900 in the district) that probably
served the Romans and the Medici
and the Venetians before America
was discovered. Indeed, the method
of cutting marble in the quarries is
supposed to have originated with
Leonardo da Vinci.
Little needs to be added to Strabo's
description. The visitor first sees the
great mounds of marble chips as
dustlike whitewash smears on the
sides of the steep ravines. The three
ravines holding most of the quarries
are tributary to Carrara, city of
$4,000 quarrymen, quarrymen's wives
and children, and crippled quarrymen.
Carrara is dusty with dust of precious
marble. 1t huns to the tune of rs
marble-cutting factories. The noise
of chip, chip, chip is ever in the air.
In Carrara even the poorest houses
have chaste white-marble lintels and
steps. The marble railway takes pas
sengers free up the ravines where
great white gashes memorabilia
marble even as marble statues later
memorabilia men. Somewhere whis-
tie blows. A pause. Then dull ex-
plosion. Great blocks are swung out
by booms to waiting wooden skids for
a ride down to the railroad, and down
to the sea.
Planned Mountain Memorial.
"Carrara came near being the site
Of an enormous carving similar in con-
cept to the Stone Mountain memorial
in Georgia, which will carry the fig
ures of Lee, Jackson, and other south
ern leaders. The sculptor who
planned gigantic statue overlooking
the sea, to be carved out of the Car
rara marble mountains was Michel
angelo. He may have had his inspi- 4
ration from the plan of Dinocrates to
fashion Mt Athos into gigantic fig
ure Of Alexander looking out over
the Aegean sea. Neither plan was
carried out.
"Michelangelo's David at Flor
ence, as well as his Moses and his
Day and Night, Evening and Dawn
are all of Carrara marble selected ON
location as it were. Canova's sta
tue of Napoleon was carved out of
a book of flawless Carrara as large