Year: 1868

The Grand Council of this Association
have issued the following appeal which we
publish by request


Rich Men and Women of the Country,
our appeal is to you In 1858 our Associa-
ton announced the purchase of Mount
Vernon. With an enthusiasm and zeal
commensurate with the object, we under
took to rescue from the grasp of specula-
tors the home and grave of Washington.
We succeeded. We presented the precious
treasure to our great and happy people-an
offering worthy of woman's heart for it
is and ever will be world-renowned
shrine, to which patriots will resort in ven
Grafton OF one, whose fame, restricted to no
region, will be confined to no age.


To accomplish this labor of love we ask
ed individually no large donations. He
whose remains we desired to guard-with
an earnest devotion, far beyond that with
which the vestals of Rome preserved its
sacred fires-was most truly styled "the
Father of his Country" And it was meet
that this beautiful and unparalleled tribute
to his memory should be accomplished by
| the united contributions of his children of
every age, sex, social and pecuniary posi-
ton. To make this feasible, the price of
membership in our Association was placed
at one dollar and regarding our numbers
as a nation-we, who consecrated ourselves
to the work, felt no fears that our whole
purpose would not be obtained through the
small offerings of grateful people :-and
but for war, we would have succeeded As
from rock-bound Maine to the sunny
| banks of the Rio Grande-from the Allan
tic shores to the golden gates of California
"A beautiful spirit of enthusiasm had been
awakened, and countless numbers of our
sex were laboring faithfully to gather from
every willing hand the grateful mite which
was to claim and establish their work as
that of the people!


Thousands upon thousands of these con-
tributions were flowing into our treasury.
Already there was enough to meet the
large price demanded for the spot, most en-
deared to the American heart, and for the
Association TO repair much of the ravages
made by time on the honored mansion and
its surroundings; and our officers were
preparing in the autumn of 1860, to renew
their efforts with unabated zeal to create
an endowment fund-without which all
their previous eXertions might be unavail-
ing-when war came-put stop to their
work, and made its completion in the man
ner hoped for, impossible. We who would
be willing to labor again, know that in this
day. the people cannot be acted upon as be-
fore-all is changed-one large section en-
braced in our boundaries, (Which are those
of the United States,) is utterly impover-
ished and in all others, left unharmed as
to material wealth-every ordinary chan
mel of benevolence is necessarily directed
to the widow and the orphan, who have
claims upon public sympathy and graft
tude.


While war cut short our efforts, II COM
pelled us to use all our resources. TIE funds
which we had hoped to retain as invest
ments-the interest only to be used TO ena-
ble the Association to maintain Mount Yer
non. had 10 be expended. The only re-
naming income-that derived from visit
org. was closed by the government pro-
bibiting the running of steamers ON the
Potomac. Yet, our pledge was upon us
Mount Vernon was TO be preserved. In
doing this, we were obliged to sacrifice
Bonds and incur debt.


And now rich men and women of the
United States, it is for you to say whether
our work shall remain like some funeral
shaft-perfect in design-beautifuli in exc
cution-but unfinished-or, that 1t shall
proceed to completion, with increasing
beauty as II reaches its crowning point
Mount Vernon so far owes nothing to Tho
rich as distinctive class Yet, as class
no country ever received SO many evidenc'
es of the munihcent spirit which actuate'
you--churches, colleges, magnificent build
ings for purposes of charity, arts and sci
ence, all are standing monuments of thu
enlarged aud generous hearts of our rich
Shall the guardianship of Mount Vernon
and the care of his grave-now in very
deed grateful nations duty, be the only
work in which you feel no interest and OF
which you bestow no giftS


We feel that you have only to realize tina
, on your patriotic generosity depends nov
the hope that your country's shrine can b.
kept in security and in a manner worth,