The Washington times., 1937-02-06

the M : wo Vice =
presidents the Rep. Edith Rogers
two Cabinet members, of the 16
Senators and SO congressman,
the cenotaphs, the trees and the
Shrubbery there.
But for years now, the burying
ground-or that part of it in
which Congress is supposed to
have an interest-has been one Of
Washington Stepchildren.
Perhaps this Congressional aloof.
ness is a result of confusion in
ownership. Some authorities say
the Cemetery belongs entirely to
Christ Church. Others insist a
certain section is the property Of
Congress.
In any event Congressional ap-
propriations for upkeep of any
part of the burial ground ceased
about 35 years ago. Today the
town offers no better place in
which to hunt for forgotten pomp
and pathos than the lots where
Public Men are inferred.
For long after its beginning in
1907, the Cemetery seemed a try.
ing distance by carriage from most
anywhere. President Adams tells in
his diary that "juSt after noon he
Joined the funeral cortege of his
old friend, General Jacob Brown.
The roads were heavy with mud.
It was near 3 o'clock bef ore
we reached the grave"
For the early days of the Re
public all Congressman who died
in office were supposed to be
buried in the Congressional Gene
terry. OF if they were not actually
inferred there a monument was
raised to their memory.
These monuments were curl
ously fashioned of the same size,
shape and material with a cone
shaped top resting on a square
block.
When IS of such cenotaphS
had been put in place it seemed
to even a vague mind that there
wasn't space to raise a monument
to every worthy official who died
In office.
The white stones soon grew
yellow with neglect. JailS and aims
houses moved in as neighbors. AS
a part of official Washington the
Congressional Cemetery passed out
of public thought. But the names
on many of its forgotten head
stones are those of men who played
big roles in the development OF
this country.
There, for instance, lies Tobias
Lear. Tobias was buried on the
hillside by the Anacostia after he
had killed himself in his garden
pavilion. Tobias, so the words on
his tombstone says, was the
private secretary and familiar
friend of the illustrious washing
ton =. His desolate widow and
mourning son have erected this
monument to mark the place of
his abode in the city of silence"
The inscriptions on old tomb
stones are fascinating reading.
Descendants of the modern great
and near-great are self conscious
about the characteristics of their
ancestors. But in the young 1800's
no such inhibitions held back the
kind words for poSterity to read.
On the monument of Vice-PreS,
1dent Elbridge Gerry who died
suddenly in his carriage on his
way to preside at the Senate the
inscription says that Sin his death
he fulfilled his own memorable in
junction: 1t is the duty of every
citizen, though he may have but
one day to live to devote that day
to his country"
Vice President Clinton's epitaph
declares that He filled with un.
exampled usefulness, purity and
ability many high offices" and
'left an illustrious example of q
well-spent life worthy of imita.
tion."
Push-Ma -Ta-Ha, a Choctaw
Chief and "a warrior of great dis
tinction" is the only Indian who
lies in the Congressional Cemetery.
He died in the "sixtieth year of his
age of the Group" The inscrip-
ton on his monument adds in
faded marble letters: Under all
circumstances, the white mans
friend" Among his last words
were:
"'When I am gone, let the big
guns be fired over me-
Mrs. Rogers hopes that Con
greSs will renew its appropriation
for the care of this historic old
cemetery. Such an appropriation
would likely have to be made on
sentimental grounds. When fu
nereal pomp was important in
Washington and long, melancholy
professions proceeded slowly across
the cobblestones. burials of de-
ceased public men were paid for
Continued on Page II, Col. p
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