Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-10-20
Capital Sidelights
BY WILL p. KENNEDY.

the historic sites anG the ShrineS of our
immcrtals are attracting rapidly In,
creasing attention. The National and
State Governments and patriotic organ
izationS as well as local communities
are making encouraging progress in
properly marking these places of pa
triotic interest, but much work along
this line remains to be done.
For example, Representative r. WAL
ton Moore of Fairfax, Va, who Is be-
lieved to be the greatest living authority
on Virginia history, particularly the hu-
man interest stories about the valliantS
of Virginia through the stirring days Of
the Old Dominion, has just introduced
bills in the House, which are to be
duplicated in the Senate by Senator
Swanson, authorizing the appropriation
of $4,000 each to mark the birthplaceS
of Presidents James Madison and Zach
airy Taylor. He has been consistently
supporting similar legislation for up
propriate markers all over the country,
during the IL years he has been in Con-
gress, especially for the memorial to
George Rogers Clark, who fought the
Revolution to a glorious conclusion In
the West.
Madison was born at Port Conway, on
the Rappahannock River, in King
George County, Va, at the home Of
Peter Conway, his mothers father.
The house has been destroyed, but its
location is definitely known, Represent
alive Moore explains. At the time Of
his birth the Madison home was in
Montpelier in Orange County.
Taylor was born on the Moutebello
estate in Orange County. Both Orange
and King George Counties are within
two or three hours drive to the Ma
tional Capital and these memorial mon
umentS would attract countless tourists
making patriotic pilgrimages.
1t is an interesting fact, related by
Mr. Moore, that Madison and Taylor
were related, each being a great-grand-
son of James Taylor, who was the first
ty. According to one of MadiSon's biog-
rapherS, the relations of Madison and
Taylor were not always particularly
harmonious. There is story that
when Taylor, then a young Army on
Ger, dined with Madison at Montpelier,
he took occasion to ask q favor OF the
President and was told that public
favors were not granted for private or
family reasons" and soon left the house
ahead of the other guests without TAX
ing leave Of his host.
The birthplace Of James Monroe, in
WeStmoreland County Va, is still un-
marked. That county adjoins King
George County and the house where he
was born, not now standing, was only
few miles from Wakefield, the birth
place Of Washington, and Stratford, the
birthplace of Robert E. Lee.
In replying to speech by Senator
Gillett advocating retention of the CEN
sorship provision in the tariff bill which
would set up barrier against the
entry of all books which contain refer
ences to revolution, Senator Caraway
referred to "theSe proscriptive laws"
for old New England which the Massa-
chusetts Senator had mentioned.
I'm New England there used to be a
law against anything one wanted to
do" complained Senator Caraway. THE
only thing not prescribed was some
thing that no one enjoyed. Roger Will
liams fell afoul of that spirit and was
driven out of the colony of Massacbu-
sets, as was Anne Hutchinson, and
some others who did not get out were
Of serious criticism of New England"
the Arkansas Senator fastened to ex-
plain, but that merely represented the
high-water mark of that type of mind
at the time. Then everybody believed
that there ought to be some way OF
preserving the purity of religion by
statute. There Is q record over here in.
Fairfax County, Va, showing that
George washington sat as justice of
the peace and fiTed q man for not
having gone to church for three
months"
Senator Caraway also explained his
notion of how the Southern Colonies
acquired their habit of pistol toting. He
said that after the Civil War every
thing on earth for which their civiliza-
ton stood was prescribed" and that
you could not express a hope for
freedom without getting into jail for it.
Your very clothes were prescribed,
Every white man in the country had
every Vestige of firearms taken away
from him because he might be dangerous
to the Government. have sometimes
thought that perhaps the great fad Of
carrying pistols, which sprang up in
the South after that period, was be-
cause these people, in desire to show
that they were free men, carried pistols
until they actually grew sway-backed
and bow-legged from the weight Of
their firearms"
On the great Memorial Boulevard
from Washington to Mount Vernon
which is to be the outstanding monu-
ment to mark the bicentennial of
George Washington's BIRTH, when the
world and his neighborS in 1882 flock
to the Capital City which he founded,
is to be planted a 'grandchild Seeding
Of the famous Washington elm, that
stood so conspicuously at Cambridge,
Mass. Glasses graduating in that year
from leading schools and colleges
throughout the country, especially from
the Thirteen Original Colonies" of
Washington's day, are to be allowed to
plant commemorative trees and shrub
berry along the highway.
The "grandchild seeding" is the gift
OF Mrs. James II. Dorsey of Maryland
Chapter Of the Daughters of the Amer
lean Revolution. and big celebration
is planned for the occaSion-on WASH
ingtons birthday, February %, 1882. 1t
Is already listed in the hall of fame
of the American Tree Association, Of
which Charles Lathrop Pack is presi-
dent. There are two such seedlings
growing at the tomb of Washington at
Mount Vernon, another is In the
grounds of the governors mansion at
Annapolis, Md; one in front of the
Memorial Chapel at Valley Forge, one
at Washington College, Chestertown,
Md, where he received an honorary
degree; one is growing beautifully on
the grounds of Memorial Continental
Hall, the national headquarters of the
Daughters of the American Revolution.
and another In the yard of the Sons of
the American Revolution Building.
Nearly 40 years ago an uncle of Mrs.
Dorsey brought from Cambridge q
handful of seeds he had scooped up
through the iron fence around the old
Washington elm. Some of these grew
on the old Maryland estate. One went
to the governors mansion yard at
Annapolis, and the rest to Mount YER
non. Three years ago Mrs. Dorsey
removed one of these children of the
Washington elm with bundle of the
tiny trees that were springing up around
the roots from seed which had fallen
several wears before She nlIrsAd these