Evening star., 1926-04-04
BY REX COLLIER.

y TATlONING of an armed guard
ut the Tomb of the Unknown
Soldier in Arlington National
~ Cemetery has revived discus.
sion over the incomplete con.
dition of this impressive memorial to
american warriors who died in the
World War.
The placing of an Army, sentinel
to keep watch at the sacred shrine
Will be seized upon by proponents of
more elaborate monument as a
forceful argument in their favor.
The Government, it is being pointed
out, by this gesture of the military
has demonstrated that it is necessary
10 announce to the visiting public that
Here is the Unknown Hero's Tomb, -
lest they forget or overlook it's pres
ence entirely.
In no other way, it is claimed. does
The casual visitor to Arlington Gene
tery know that the plain stone sepul-
cher at the entrance to the Arlington
Memorial Amphitheater marks the
resting place of the body that repre-
sents the nations war dead.
Congress Delays Action.
1t is not generally known that to
date Congress has failed even to au-
thorize completion of the memorial.
'Fhis authorization must be given
before the Commission on the Erec-
ton of Memorials and Entombment of
Bodies in the Arlington Memorial
-Nmphitheater can make the first
move toward rectifying a condition
that has aroused the interest and pro
test of numerous patriotic organiza
tions and individuals. The initial
step, of course. is a request for ap-
preparations with which TO carry out
the project.
The project, as such. is yet in
neOulouS state. No concrete plan
exists for completion of the tomb.
Many suggested designs have been
submitted to the Secretary of War,
but none so far has met with APP
proval. The proposals range from
elaborate mausoleumS to peace arches.
The very Comprehensiveness of these
designs has been their own undoing
Those who have been intrusted
with the selection of a design in the
event of congressional approval of the
movement to finish the tomb are
known TO have but one guiding princi-
ple--the tomb, when completed. must
lie extremely simple and dignified.
President Favors View.
This view is shared, it is said. by
President Coolidge, at whose suggeS-
ton the guard was posted at the
tomb. The President. nevertheless,
stands ready to consider any proposal
for giving to the present tomb a more
finished appearance, it is understood.
He is reported TO feel that while the
present simplicity of the memorial is
conducive TO its beauty and dignity,
the tomb. as a matter of fact, is
incomplete. He would welcome
therefore. any design that would
remedy this state of affairs, without
marring the simplicity of the shrine.
The Presidents views are similar to
those held by a number of military
and patriotic organizations. who
would avoid adoption of a design not
in consonance with the dignity essen
tial to such a memorial. The War
Department has before it. for eX-
ample a petition from a local Amer
lean Legion auxiliary that the tomb
be marked merely with the simple in
Stription The Unknown Soldier of
the World War" The same organiZa-
lion. incidentally, was among the first
TO request that a military guard be
placed at the tomb to prevent the
almost daily acts of desecration.
many of which are, doubtless, the
result of gnorance-ignorance of the
fact that the unmarked tomb is the
national shrine of our heroic dead of