Evening star., 1934-09-02

n Is having its face lifted" 1t Is in
teresting to note the why's and
wherefores back of all this elaborate
cleaning and repair work. Is the
structure actually crumbling? Are
the marble walls Of Americas most famous
memorial deteriorating to such an extent that
there Is danger of visitors being struck by fall
ing fragments Of stone? And, furthermore, win
the huge obelisk hold together for many more
peyears without major repairs?
These questions confronted Federal scientists
In striking fashion as long ago as early Spring.
1888. One sunny day. while an unusually
large number of visitors was waiting to enter
the memorial by the east door, an event Of
near-tragedy took place. With q terrific crash
something fell out Of the heavens and dropped
near the base of the structure, narrowly missing
two people standing in line.
It was a chunk of marble as large as the aver
age mans fist. Investigation showed that it had
Clipped away from section Of the Monument
less than $50 feet from the ground and that
numerous other stone fragments had fallen
sdown, rendering the lower structure extremely
unSghtly. In addition, there was noted wide
spread discoloration along the exterior surface.
Since this occurrence secret investigation has
been under way, the largest of the sort IN his
tory, to discover Just what caused the de-
terioration, and how best to combat 1t. The
sum Of 100000 was made available for the
purpose by the Public Works Administration.
completed, were engineers of the Once Of
Public Buildings and Parks, Interior Depart
ment. aided by stone experts Of the Bureau
Of Standards. 4~
THESE experts are convinced tooay that the
Monument viii hold together ct least .
ascouple Of hundred years more without major
repairs. However. they are willing to admit
that at the start Of their test program they
weren't any too optimistic about the Monu-
ment's safety and durability.
At first the Investigators weren't sure whether
the chipping away of the marble was due to
inferior quality Of the stone, to natural weather.
ing or to poor distribution of weight The
round-top hill on which the Monument stands Is
q windy spot, and the memorial, like the Flatiron
Building In New York City, acts with the winds
to produce severe whirlwinds. Would the ter
rife lashing Of these blasts against the shaft
be sufficient to account for the unsightly de-
terioration?
In preparation for answering these questions,
first of all, the experts considered the makeup
of the monument: The face Of the shaft Is Of
marble, while the interior facing is of granite.
It Is SIS feet u inch high. IS feet and
IN inches wide at the base outside
and IS feet inside. The walls Is feet
VI inch thick at the base and 18 inches
at the top. The taper of the shaft is fourth
luCu 70 one lOOC. IQe COtal weight Is 6l,lzU
tons. There are 898 steps, SO landings and 8
windows at the top. There is an electric elevator
with a carrying capacity of 80 persons.
The memorial was constructed to height Of
about 153 feet by the Washington Monument
Society. organized October 81, 1888. The corner
stone block Of marble weighing "A 500 pounds,
was quarried and presented to the society by
Thomas Symington of Baltimore. It was laid
July 4, 1848, under the auspices Of the society.
After the memorial had reached the height
mentioned work was stopped for lack Of funds
and no further construction was accomplished
during q period Of "A years, when its completion
was assumed by the Government. Between
1876 and 1888 appropriations were made for the
purpose. The monument was opened to the
public October Q, 1888.
To the investigators the most important fact
about all this was, what is the quality of the
marble? Well, marble is one of the most durable
of all the building stones. Finest grades often
times last 200 years or more without serious
= deterioration. Ask almost any high school boy
and he will tell you that the essential difference
between q marble and a compact common lime
the combined action OF heat and pressure, just
the right degree of change necessary to give It
It's Characteristic appearance OF strength,
weight and durability.
Marble belongs to the group Of natural stones
originating mainly as deposits of calceous mud
from the breaking up Of shells, corals and the
remains OF other marine animals on an old
sea bottom Good marbles essential qualities
are that 1t shall maintain o smooth surface
and acquire high polish. There are three
grades OF marble In the Washington Monument
and only one Is Of the highest type This was
the Judgment Of the late George Merrill of