Evening star., 1937-08-18
S5(0,0DO TO BEGIN
MEMORIAL WORK
KILLED IN HOUSE
Delay for Agreement on Site
Presented as Cause
of Action.
ABANDONMENT OF PLAN
IS DENIED IN DEBATE
Boylan Loses Fight for Funds,
30 to 116, After Citing Com.
promises Offered.
BY WILL p. KENNEDY,

A W I'LL 4
The item of s5O0,00O to start work
on the 100000 Thomas jefferson
Memorial was stricken from the third
deficiency appropriation bill by a vote
OF ll6 to so in the House late yester-
day. The amendment was offered oy
Representative Scott, Democrat, Of
California, who explained that there
was no intention of abandoning the
plan to erect the memorial, but to de-
fer action until the controversy re-
garding the site had been settled def
nitely.
Speeches IN support of the amend
ment were made by Representative
Stefan, Republican, Of Nebraska;
Chairman Keller Of the Library Com
mittee, which had reported a bill pro-
hioiting the use ot the Tidal Basin
area; Representative TreadWay, Re-
publican, Of Massachusetts,, author Of
that measure; Representative Wearin.
Democrat. Of Iowa, who had objected
to the design Of the memorial, the
method Of selecting the architect, and
the threatened destruction of the
cherry trees, and Representative Knut-
son, Republican, of Minnesota.
Chairman Boylan, Democrat, Of
New York of the Thomas jefferson
Memorial Commission. emphasized
that the President, the Capital Park
and Planning Commission and the
Appropriation Committee had ap-
proved the action of the commission
under authority given them by act of
Congress. He explained that the
architect had been instructed to alter
the design to fit in with a more in
formal treatment of the Tidal Basin
area. that the site had been moved
south along the axis from the White
House so as to not interfere with the
perimeter of the Tidal Basin and to
avoid any possible destruction of the
cherry trees.
Space Held Adequate.
Boylan was heckled by about a
dozen members and Representative
TreadWay insisted that if the memo
rial is showed south of the original
site selected, it must be placed either
on the railroad tracks or in the Po-
tomac River. Boylan responded that
engineers of the Capital Park and
Planning Commission had assured him
that there Is a distance of 1000 feet
to provide an adequate site for the
memorial.
Various speakers, both Republicans
and Democrats, insisted that the OBJ
lection is in no way against erecting
a fitting memorial to Jefferson, but
against the proposed location and in
protest against despoiling the beauties
of the Tidal Basin area and destruc-
ton of the cherry trees that attract
hundreds of thousands of visitors an
nually.
Keller, who recently filed a volumi-
nous report against the use of the
Tidel Basin area for the memorial.
argued that it would be extremely
difficult and expensive to get safe
foundations for the memorial. the
engineers saying that they would have
to go up to go feet to reach bed
rock. He pointed out a similar ex-
perience when the Lincoln Memorial
was being erected and the excessive
cost to strengthen the foundations
when they started to give way.
Sees Doubling OF Cost.
He declared that the ultimate cost
of the proposed Thomas jefferson
Memorial would be at least twice the
present authorize ton of s3,oOooO0
He also told the House members that
erection of such a large memorial
in that area would cause traffic con-
gestion and it would be difficult and
expensive to provide necessary ap-
proaches.
Amusement was caused during the
debate by Boylan poking fun at hotel
men and inn keepers for opposing
the memorial because they feared
they might lose chance to sell some
sandwiches, alcoholic drinks or coffee.
This allusion was to Representative
Treadway, who Is himself proprietor
of Red Lion Inn in the Berkshires,
and who presented the opposition OF
the Hotel Mems Association,
Representative Knutson proposed
that the memorial take the form of
nausoleum, in which would be
inferred the Declaration of Inde-
pendence and the Constitution, that
President Roosevelt be invited to make
the dedicatory address, that in the
mausoleum might be buried New Deal
failures, etc.
Representative O'Malley Of Wis
consin said he was just seeing the
the Republican party ex-
listed only for the purpose of saving
the cherry trees.