Evening star., 1926-08-22

a
Bridge as first projected 40
years ago has impelled its
finders to opine that Congress is TO
he blessed. rather than criticized. FOR
nrocrastinatine these many years IN
providing the whereuithal to bulld IL.
Few persons, as A matter or fact,
are aware how long ago IT was tnat
such A monumental structure was
conceived. and how. near t3e Natlonai
Canital was 30 oiita i-'.AG il in the
oarlv days of the Memorial Bridge
movement.
Had the plans gone through AS pro-
posed in the good old year 1886. II is
safe assumption that instead OF
constructing, AS at present the h'ou-
nro arCf}ifot,:..t5l S-"H1 rO% ;pntem-
Mated. the Government would be con-
fronted with the necessity for con-
dencninc another dilapdated struc-
,ure-a relic of the days of buggy
rides. hustles and elaborate ornamen-
tation.
The old print. discovered several
davs ago by Mai. F. II. Goff OF car
endon. Va. in the files OF County AS
SCISSOR Ashton c. Jones. harkS back
TO the age when men wore iron
derbies high on their foreheads ana
bridges carried signs warning drivers
to walk their horses.
The projert for a memorial bridge
between the Capital and Arlington as
"a monument to American patriot
ism apparcntly WAS launched about
the time the sketch in question was
drawn.
Az that time the proposal embodied
Suhstantially the same sentiments as
are embraced in the plans now unuer
Way-pOmmcmora of the union OF
the North and the South.
To-day this is to he symbolized by
oonrertinC the Lincoln Memorial with
.he home of Robert r. Lee. Then it
was MANNED to name the bridge for
Gen Tlvsses s. Grant and extend 1t
To Lees old home in Arlington.
THE. first design for the bridge ap-
L pears to have been suggested ny
Cant. T. w. Symons, Corps of Engl-
neers. L. S. A., who was attached to
the District of Columbia Government
as engineer officer The plans were
drawn by P. J. Pelz of Smithmeyer q
Pelz.
Cant. Symons' design was among
several submitted to the Secretary or
War as a result of a Senate resolu-
ton adopted on May "a, 1856. as fol-
lows:
Resolved, That the Secretary OF
War be directed to examine and re-
port upon the expediency of con-
structing a Government bridge. with
a suitable draw and approaches, from
a point at or near the foot of New
York or New Hampshire avenue. on
the public grounds. across the Po-
tomac River and Analostan Island to
a point on the United States National
Cemetery grounds at Arlington. so as
10 connect in the beGt manner. the
public grounds on the two sides OF the
Potomac: with estimates cfsthe cost
of the kind of bridge deemed by the
department most, expedient. as we'll
as the cost OF alternative plans con-
sidered practicable, and which Will
not materially affect the navigation
of the river"
Another design, submitted about
the same time. was that OF Maj.
Hains, also Of the Engineer Corps.
whose memory was honored in the
naming of Hams Point, Washingtons
popular shore drive.
TIE history o. the Memorial Bridge
is one % delay after delay. contro-
vo:sr afte" controversy. and hearing
aftei hearing. Written iH'o thi:' .1's'
tory arc the Ysu'r@ % No. i"n- 9'"ro
fan, rue In t;>a .:-e "r - CH~.t.'; "r
. tn Naaon. Such Iaeg as stan
ford White. slain by Harry X. Thaw;
Joseph j. Darlington. whose symbolic
memorial graces the courthouse
grounds: Senator's MCMILLAN and Gal