Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1928-10-31
CONSTITUTION HALL
COMPASSIONATE
Mrs. Coolidge and Mrs. A. j.
Brosseau Assist in Ceremo-
MES for Edifice.

In the presence of national officers OF
the D. A. r. and a distinguished as
semblage of officials and diplomats
Mrs. Calvin Coolidge and Mrs. Alfred j
Brosseau, president general of the
society. yesterday afternoon officiated
at the laying of the corner stone for
Constitution Hall, the 100000 audi
forum which the Daughters of the
American Revolution are adding to
their present home, Memorial Con-
tinental Hall.
Mrs. Coolidge spread deftly the first
mortar for the granite corner stone, on
which was carved the following in
scription:
Constitution Hall. A memorial to
that immortal document, the Constitu-
ton of the United States, in which are
Incorporated the principles of freedom,
equality and justice for which our
forefatherS Strove.'
After Mrs. Coolidge had done her job
Mrs. Brosseau and other national off,
GERS completed it. Mrs. Coolidge
smiled happily at the crowd of nearly
1000 persons and the corps of camera
men, for whom she and the other
ofnciating officers posed in rare good
humor.
The outdoor exercises took place at
The corner of Eighteenth and c streets.
Mrs. Coolidge was escorted by guard
Of Minute Men" who marched to
music by the Marine Band.
Contents of Container.
Mrs. BroSseau and Mrs. Coolidge,
assisted by others, placed in the cor
ner stone official documents of the
D. A. r., coins, newspapers, the Lind
bergh stamp, the october and Novem-
Der numbers of the D. A, r. Magazine,
the signatures of contributors to the
Constitution Hall fund and other
papers. Mrs. Coolidge placed engraved
cards of herself and President Coolidge
and q copy of the Presidents address
made at the D. A. r. Congress in
April, 1927, in the copper container.
The exercises opened with an invoca-
ton by the chaplain general, Mrs.
Matthew Brewster, after which Mrs.
Brosseau spoke briefly.
1.-The building of Constitution Hail."
she declared, marks one more step
in completing the far-flung plans of
Mai LEnfant for making Washington
the most beautiful city in the world"
She viSualized the development of the
Mall and Triangle under the present
Government building program and the
Memorial Bridge now being erected over
the Potomac.
Mrs. Brosseau displayed the historic
gavel used by Gen. George Washington
at the exercises of the laying of the
corner stone for the Capitol in 1898,
loaned to the D. A. r.. by Potomac
Lodge, No. 5, F. A. A. NJ Three guar
dams of the gavel, which is not allowed
to pass out of the hands of lodge mem
bers, were present yesterday. They
were William S. Waddey and Charles
T. Graves, past masters, and William NJ.
Bell
An address, Patriotic Cooperation, .
was given by GanSon Depew, president
general of the National Society of the
Sons of the American Revolution.
Charles Moore Speaks.
Charles Moore, chairman of the Fine
Arts Commission, spoke on "Constitu-
tional Hall; National Work Of Civic
Art" He suggested that the temporary
Navy Building should be removed from
Potomac Park as soon as possible, be-
cause it obScureS the beauty of the Lin
coin Memorial, and he also advocated
the speedy removal of commercial
building from the section occupied by
the d. A. r. Building, the Red Gross