Evening star., 1932-12-15
TWO STONES LAID
IN ONE CEREMONY
Washington's TroweI Used
in Rites at Labor and
!. c. c. Buildings.

With the gavel and trowel used by
George Washington In ceremonies at
the Capitol in 1893. President Hoover
this afternoon of1iciated simultaneously
at the laying Of two cornerstones Of
buildings in the new Federal triangle
which viii house the Labor Department
and the Interstate Commerce Com
mission.
The joint ceremony, believed to be
the first program of its kind ever car
r1ed out in this country, was conducted
by means OF telephone wires from the
speakers stand erected In front Of the
Labor building to that In front of the
Interstate Commerce Commission struc-
ture.
Prior to the laying Of the two mas
Sve stones-the fourth he has hid In
the last so days-the President gave a
brief address to the crowds assembled
in front Of the steel skeleton structures
On Constitution avenue, between
Twelfth and Fourteenth streets.
Presidents Speech.
The President spoke as follows:
1T Is. indeed. pleasure to take this
further step in the fulhllment of the
magnificent plan for the Nations Capital
Since George Washington first visioned
this city. it has steadily grown nearer
to his dream Of fitting symbol of a
great peoples purposes and energy and
power. He foresaw a Nation. CONT
mental in physical scope. happy in the
secure in the exercise Of liberty under
laws Of Its own devising. He wished Its
Capital to express these facts of the
national life. He planned a city spaci-
GUS in its dimensions, made beautiful
by parks and wide avenues, and en-
bellished with the handsomest works of
architecture.
"The unfolding Of this plan in fin
ished works has been a process OF
most evolutionary in its slow pace. Yet
this also has been an appropriate ex-
preston Of the national life. Our in
stitutions are Intentionally designed for
continuous and evolutionary change, re-
spending to the needs of the time as
they arise, and shaping themselves to
the changing mold Of the peoples will.
A Caesar would have been impatient
to anticipate the future. and. would
have built glorious city out-of- hand
in the primitive wilderness, seeking to
mold posterity to his ideas and impov-
erishing the people In the process
Washington was true to the principles
of self-government and to the genius of
his race, and was content to plan wise
ly, lay solid foundations, and trust pos
terity to grow.
"The department Of government that
will be housed in this building we are
concerned with today Is perfect illus
tration Of the wisdom of this method.
There was no Department Of Labor in
George Washington's day, nor was one
even dreamed Of. Yet the scheme of
government to which he committed
this Nation was so adaptable to chang
ing needs that when, three-quarters Of
a century later, we had evolved from
an almost purely agricultural economy
into a highly industrialized balance
with agriculture, such department was
naturally created and has grown into
one of the most important of the Fed
eral agencies. Today we are witnessing
the first steps in expressing its i'm
portance in terms of marble and steel
and the symbolic beauty of architecture.
II take q profound satisfaction in
sharing in this ceremony, because I
take profound pride as an American in
the history of labor in this country.
No one with a sense of historical per-
spective can fail to be gratified when