The memorial was referred to a committee of the House, and there filed.
On the following day the Secretary replied to the House with the information requested, showing present resources of the Society, disposition of its funds, current expenses, present condition and purposes.
March 26, 1869, Mr. Nye (Nevada), in the Senate, introduced—
"A bill to insure the completion of the Washington Monument."
The preamble recited, in part—
"Whereas the Monument proposed to be erected in the City of Washington in memory of George Washington, the Father of his Country, has been shamefully neglected and is now incompleted, with no prospect of its being finished at all for want of means; and whereas the Government is so deeply in debt in consequence of our late international war that there is no prospect of an appropriation for the completion of said Monument, and there is now, as there always has been, a general, even a national, desire, on the part of the people of the United States to complete this great work as originally designed for the credit of this country and the national respect for our heroic dead; and whereas a number of citizens propose that in case certain privileges are granted them by the National Congress to complete said Monument within twenty-one years from the passage of this act, and that one hundred thousand dollars shall be paid into the Treasury of the United States within two years from the date hereof, and a like amount per annum until the expiration of this act," &c.
The bill provided "that A. T. Stewart, C. Vanderbilt," and other persons named, "as per agreement, dated March 14, 1869, executed by Charles P. Briton and Charles B. Phillips, &c., are hereby created a body corporate and politic under the name and style of the Washington Monument Union for the purpose of devising ways and means for completion of said Monument."
It was further provided that the said Union could hold and convey property "and issue certificates of subscription, which shall entitle the holders thereof to any consideration that may be awarded by such system, scheme, plan, or means said corporation may devise or adopt, and use such agency as they shall deem necessary to their success." One hundred thousand dollars was to be paid in within two years, and thereafter the same sum annually.
April 1, 1869, Mr. Osborne offered a somewhat similar bill, which was also referred, but having other incorporators, who were to "have the right, privilege, and franchise of devising such ways and means as they may desire for the distribution of money or property for the term of twenty years from the date of the passage of this act."
Precedent to the exercise of these rights a bond should be given the United States in penalty of $100,000 to pay into its Treasury within two years a like sum, and such sum every year thereafter for twenty years the first $200,000 to be subject to the order of the Lincoln Monument Association, the balance to be subject to the order of the Washington Monument Association.
These schemes for completing the Monument, however, went no further.
Not until 1871 did the Society feel encouraged to again issue a general appeal to the public.
February 22, 1871, the Society resolved to offer through the public press the following propositions, either of which, when accepted, by the required donation should be a contract between the donor and the Society: The name of any person, corporation, or society contributing the sum of $5,000 or more to the Monument fund shall be perpetuated by inscription on a block in the Monument, to be prepared by the Society for that purpose. The names of all persons, corporations, or societies contributing the sum of $2,500 or more and less than $5,000 shall be included in a list, and such list shall be inscribed on a block or blocks in the Monument, to be prepared by the Society for that purpose. The names of all persons, corporations, or societies contributing $1,000 or more and less than $2,500 to be inscribed on a tablet to be erected in the Monument. Any person or body contributing $100 and less than $1,000 to be recorded on a list, and such list kept perpetually in the archives of the Society.
Mr. John S. Benson was appointed the agent of the Society to place these propositions before the country and to invoke the aid of private citizens and public men; legislatures, municipal bodies, assemblies, and every form of organization of the people. Numerous articles in the press called attention to the claims of the Monument.
The Legislature of New York, April 20, 1871, by a two-thirds vote, appropriated the sum of $10,000 "as the contribution of the State of New York, to be paid by the Treasurer on the warrant of the Comptroller to the Treasurer of the National Washington Monument Society whenever the Governor shall certify * * * a sufficient sum has been subscribed from other sources to enable the said Society to resume work with a reasonable prospect of completing the obelisk or shaft."
By the second section of the same act the Governor was to transmit copies of it to the Governors of other States, "with a request that they communicate the same to the Legislatures of their respective States."
The New York "Jewish Messenger," of its own account, undertook to raise the necessary funds, and appealed to the Jewish people, and especially the Jewish ladies, to complete the National Washington Monument; "that the Israelites in America should be Americans in every relation of life, and distinct only in their fealty to the faith of their fathers. The Jewesses of America will earn the kindest and most-enduring acknowledgements of America's sons; they will rear a proud monument for themselves in working together for the accomplishment of this national duty."
Receipts this year from collections, chiefly at the Monument, and accrued interest, were $1,008.
Following the act of New York, the Legislature of Minnesota appropriated, February 27, 1872, the sum of $1,000 towards the completion of the Monument.
Also, by act of February 28, 1872, upon the like conditions, the Legislature of the State of New Jersey appropriated the sum of $3,000 towards the work, which was followed on July 30, 1872, by an act of the State of Connecticut appropriating on the same terms the sum of $2,000. But these examples of duty discharged, not less than of patriotism, were not imitated by any other of the State governments.
In February, 1872, a bill was introduced in the House providing that the affairs of the Society should be vested in a board of directors, to consist of five members of the Society and President and Secretary ex officio. Any person on payment of $5.00 to be a member, with all the rights and privileges of incorporators, to vote and hold office, except that of President of the Association. The bill was referred.
The Society once more addressed a memorial to Congress praying a direct appropriation might be made towards the completion of the Monument, or that "such action might be had as to the assembled patriotism of the Nation might seem meet."
The memorial was referred in the House of Representatives to the Committee on the District of Columbia, which subsequently reported the subject back, April 19, 1872, recommending that "it be referred to the Committee on Appropriations," and it was so ordered, but no action was taken on the report at this session.
January 27, 1873, a select committee of thirteen was appointed by the House under a resolution adopted to confer with the Society as to the practicability of completing the Monument by the "approaching Centennial."
February 22, 1873, the committee submitted its report, which recommended that $200,000 be appropriated to aid the Society in its work. The report recited in part—
"The committee have become fully impressed with the belief that the present time is not only opportune for Congressional action in the matter, but that the honor of the Nation demands it. * * * "Some question has been made as to the security of the foundations, and the committee caused an examination to be made upon this point. The Chief of Engineers was called upon to detail an officer to make an examination and report. His report is appended hereto, and shows that no perceptible change has taken place since the Monument was raised to its present height. * * *
* * * "An opinion has also obtained some credence that the funds of the Society, though considerably increased from year to year, are absorbed in the payment of sinecures. The committee have had before them the accounts of the Society from its organization to the present time. * * * It will there be found that the Society has no salaried officers connected with it. Their services have been gratuitous, and they are much to be commended for their faithfulness and their patriotic zeal in this great work. There are less than fourteen thousand dollars, funds of the Society, in the hands of the Treasurer, most of which are invested in interest-bearing securities."
It was estimated that $700,000 would be required to finish the shaft, constructing also a suitable base, and that the work might be completed by the 4th of July, 1876.
The report concluded:
"In considering the question as to what action Congress shall take in this matter, three views are presented: First, Shall the responsibility for the completion of the Monument rest wholly upon the efforts of the Monument Society? Second, Shall Congress assume the entire responsibility, and to that end repeal the charter of the Society? Third, Shall Congress aid the Society by an appropriation, leaving it to continue its efforts to raise funds for the completion of the Monument?
"As to the first, the committee find that the Society has made every reasonable effort to revive public interest and to secure subscriptions, but its efforts have failed and will continue to fail without some expression of confidence on the part of Congress in the form of material aid.
"As to the second view, the committee are unwilling to recommend the disbandment of an association which has already done so much, and is still willing to continue its patriotic efforts to redeem the plighted faith of the Nation.
"The committee have taken the third view—that of recommending an appropriation by Congress and of the continuation of the Society for the purpose of soliciting further subscriptions under the original idea upon which it started." * * *
The present consideration of the report, however, was postponed until the following "Wednesday, at two o'clock," and made a special order. But on the appointed day the committee failed to secure recognition, and not obtaining the floor at any time during the remainder of the session, addressed a letter to the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate asking an amendment to the sundry civil appropriation act of $200,000, to be expended as provided in the bill it had reported to the House. But Congress adjourned without action on the report.
At the next session the select committee of the last Congress was reappointed, and on May 1, 1874, submitted a report comprehending its former one, and to which was appended a transcript of the complete accounts of the Society. The report concurred with prior ones in Congress, commending the Society's past management and efforts to erect the Monument.
A report by Lieut. W. L. Marshall, Corps of Engineers, bearing on the sufficiency of the foundations to support the Monument at a height of 600 feet was also submitted as a part of the committee's report, Lieutenant Marshall making his report as a result of a request preferred by the chairman of the select committee to the Chief of Engineers, U.S.A. It was stated by Lieutenant Marshall:
"It seems inadvisable to complete the Washington Monument to the full height of 600 feet. The area covered by its foundations is too small for a structure of the proposed dimensions and weight, causing an excessive pressure upon a soil not wholly incompressible."
And he recommended the height be less than 500 feet.
The committee's report recommended the passage of a joint resolution "that it is the duty of Congress to provide by a sufficient appropriation for the completion of the unfinished Washington Monument, at Washington City, by the 4th of July, 1876, the one hundredth anniversary of American Independence."
The report was ordered printed, and recommitted to the select committee on the Washington Monument. No further action was had on the report before the adjournment of Congress.
Abandoning hope that Congress would aid in the resumption of work on the Monument that it might be under way by the "Centennial year," the Society proceeded to appeal to the country. Mr. Frederick L. Harvey, Sr., was appointed its General Agent, and charged with the execution of a plan he had proposed and which the Society had adopted. This plan was to appeal to all organized bodies and associations in the country to make a "contingent" contribution of funds towards building the Monument, one-half to be payable to the Treasurer of the Society on official advice that the total sum estimated to be required, $500,000, had been subscribed, the balance to become payable in equal installments from six to twelve months later. The interest of the country was to be aroused by frequent articles in the daily press and by lectures. Contributions to be sought also from churches and schools and by placing contribution boxes in the exhibition buildings on the Centennial Exposition grounds, in the City of Philadelphia, when opened.
Mr. Harvey proceeded most actively and energetically to execute the plan. The press of Washington and elsewhere earnestly commended the work and urged contributions.
Rev. Dr. Otis Tiffany, an eloquent pulpit orator, was commissioned to visit the larger cities of the country and deliver an address on the life and character of Washington, and this gentleman spoke in Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York, Chicago, and other cities, thus helping to awaken public attention to the Monument.
President Grant and his Cabinet attended the lecture in Baltimore, going from Washington.
Between July and September, 1874, over two hundred pledges were received by the Society from organizations in every part of the country, chiefly, however, from the Masonic Order, Odd-Fellows, Knights of Pythias, Independent Order of Red Men, Temperance, and other fraternal bodies. Subscriptions ranged from five to fifty dollars each. Circular letters were prepared and sent directly to the executive officers of all organizations. Interest seemed once more aroused in the completion of the Monument, the contingent subscriptions continuing to be made.
February 22, 1875, the Society adopted an address to the country, which, referring to the plan of contingent contributions payable direct to its Treasurer, continued:
"The result of their first appeal in this direction has been such as to strengthen their faith. * * * The organizations which have been thus far reached have responded with subscriptions which, if generally and promptly emulated in amount by kindred institutions throughout the land, would secure the completion of the structure during the Jubilee Year. Had their recent appeal fallen dead upon the country and yielded no fruits, they would have been inclined to despair of ever reaching success in the great undertaking so long entrusted to their care."
A special letter to the railway and banking corporations embodying the "contingent" plan produced many substantial subscriptions.
In June, 1876, the Society published a further appeal, signed by its officers, U. S. Grant, ex officio President; W. W. Corcoran, First Vice-President; Robert C. Winthrop, Second Vice-President; J. B. H. Smith, Treasurer, and John B. Blake, Secretary, requesting collections in churches and Sunday schools throughout the country on the 2d of July following. This appeal was endorsed and signed by the pastors of the different religious denominations in the City of Washington. Application to the management of the Centennial Exposition to place contribution boxes for the Monument in the Exposition buildings was denied; but permission having been granted by proper authority, boxes were placed in the State buildings on the Exposition grounds in June, 1876. By the prosecution of this plan some $90,000 had been contingently subscribed when the inflow of subscriptions was arrested by unexpected action by Congress in the matter. The "contingent" plan had been one of the most successful the Society had ever pursued, and had given every assurance of final success.
Deferring to the opinion of Lieutenant Marshall the height of the Monument was reduced to 485 feet.
While pursuing its "contingent" plan of contributions, February 3, 1876, the Society appointed a special committee, composed of Rear Admiral Levin M. Powell (chairman), Hon. Walter S. Cox, Dr. John B. Blake, Dr. Charles F. Stansbury, and Fred D. Stuart, to prepare and present to Congress a memorial praying an appropriation in aid of its efforts as a contribution toward completing the Monument.
February 6, 1876, Hon. George F. Edmunds offered in the Senate the following resolution, which was considered by unanimous consent, agreed to, and referred to the Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds:
"Resolved, That the Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds be, and it is hereby, instructed to inquire into the expediency of making an adequate provision for the speedy completion of the Washington Monument in the City of Washington, and that it have leave to report by bill or otherwise."
February 10, 1876, Mr. Edmunds laid before the Senate a memorial of the Society, presented by its committee, which was read and referred to the Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds.
It being understood that plans were suggested in some quarters looking to a demolition of the uncompleted Monument, and the, use of the materials of it in the construction of a different style of monument to Washington, at a meeting of the Society on March 30, 1876, among other things, it was resolved "that all idea of surrendering the character of the Monument or allowing the structure, as far as completed, to be taken down, should be positively and emphatically disavowed."
In view of the resolution of the Senate of February 6th, the chairman of its Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds received plans for changing the Monument to a Lombard Tower, and for erecting an arch of its materials. Bat the committee made no report.
ACT OF AUGUST 2, 1876.
On the 5th of July, 1876, Hon. John Sherman, of Ohio, offered in the Senate a joint resolution declaring, after an appropriate preamble, that the Senate and House of Representatives in Congress assembled, "in the name of the people of the United States, at the beginning of the second century of the national existence, do assume and direct the completion of the Washington Monument, in the City of Washington." This resolution was unanimously adopted in both Houses of Congress.
On July 22d, the Senate passed a bill appropriating $100,000, "to continue the construction of the Washington Monument in the City of Washington."
In the debate in the Senate there was some criticism of the design of the Monument as an obelisk, and preference was expressed for some other form of Monument.
It was said by Senator Bayard:
"I do not believe that the impression we desire to produce upon them (the people) will in any degree be assisted by the continuance of such a blot upon architecture, as I must consider this obelisk which stands here half-shorn of its height."
It was remarked by Mr. Sherman:
"I think it is the misfortune now of this Washington Monument that it has been talked of in Congress for one hundred years. We have made promise after promise, and the very moment we come to do anything like the execution of the promise we are met by these delays."
The question of the sufficiency of the foundation of the Monument was also raised, resulting in adding a section to the bill providing for an examination of the foundation before commencing work on the Monument, and if the same should be found insufficient no work to be done until the matter was reported to Congress.
The bill also provided that before the expenditure of any of the appropriation the Society should transfer and covey to the United States, in due form, all the property, rights, and privileges belonging to it in the Monument.
The construction of the Monument was placed under a joint commission consisting of the President of the United States, the Supervising Architect of the Treasury Department, and the Architect of the Capitol.
In the House of Representatives the bill was referred, on July 24th, to the Committee on Appropriations, and reported back by Mr. Foster, of Ohio, on July 27th, with amendments. As amended, the bill provided for an appropriation of $200,000, payable in four equal annual installments, to continue the construction of the Washington Monument, "and provided that nothing in the bill should be 'so construed as to prohibit the Society' from continuing its organization for the purpose of soliciting money and material from the States, associations, and the people in aid of the completion of the Monument, and acting in an advisory and co-operative capacity with the Commissioners hereinafter named until the completion and dedication of the same."
The Joint Commission was increased from the three members provided by the Senate to five by adding to it the "Chief of Engineers of the United Staten Army and the First Vice-President of the Washington National Monument Society."
It was explained by Mr. Foster that the sum had been raised to $200,000, with an annual expenditure of it of $50,000, and the Society continued; "because we hope by continuing the Society in existence they can raise from the people the balance of the sum needed, and as it will take at least four years to complete the Monument." He further remarked: "This puts the appropriation of $200,000 in the form of a donation, while at the same time it secures to the United States all the property and rights or every name and nature of the Society. * * The present purpose is to complete the Monument within live years," and to dedicate it "October 19, 1881, being the centennial of the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown, the last 'great act of Washington's' military career, and the closing act of the war."
In considering the bill, several amendments were adopted at the instance of Mr. Holman, of Indiana, and other members.
The bill passed the House July 27th, and as amended, was passed by the Senate the next day and was approved by President Grant on the 2d of August, 1876.
September 7, 1876, the Society adopted and issued an appeal "To the People of the United States," which was signed by its Secretary, John B. Blake.
After referring to the act of Congress appropriating $200,000 to aid in the completion of the Monument, the appeal recited:
"The occasion is deemed a fitting one to address the citizens of the United States upon that subject, and to exhort them, in the name of patriotism, not for a moment, on that account, to relax their efforts to hasten the accomplishment of that long delayed but much desired result."
No response, however, was had from the appeal. The country evidently now looked to Congress to assume the whole amount required to finish the Monument.
January 19, 1877. Mr. W. W. Corcoran and Dr. John B. Blake, as officers of the Society, conveyed by deed to the United States the property referred to in the act of August 2, 1876, which deed was duly recorded in the land records of the District of Columbia.
Of the funds in the possession of the Society was later erected the memorial building on the Monument grounds for the office of the custodian, the deposit of the Society's archives, and for the accommodation of the visitor.
The relations of the Society to the Monument were now limited as provided in the law. Such States as had omitted providing memorial blocks to represent them in the Monument had their attention called to the omission and supplied them.
In accordance with the proviso in the act of Congress the foundations of the Monument were examined. The board of officers detailed from the Engineer Corps of the Army by the President to make the examination reported adversely as to their sufficiency to sustain the weight of the Monument at its proposed height, and the matter was reported to Congress.
Under authority of joint resolutions of Congress of June 14, 1878, and June 27, 1879, authorizing it, the foundations were strengthened.
This difficult work was successfully accomplished by the eminent engineer, Lieut.-Col. Thomas Lincoln Casey (later Brigadier-General), Corps of Engineers, who had been detailed by the President, at the request of the Joint Commission, as engineer officer in charge of the construction of the Monument. Capt. George W. Davis, U. S. A., was detailed as Assistant Engineer. He had been recommended and endorsed for the position of engineer in charge by the Society. Later, Mr. Bernard R. Green, C. E., also acted as assistant to Colonel Casey.
Many important features of the work performed emanated from suggestions made and worked out by these officers, and which were adopted. To Captain Davis was assigned the duty of observing and superintending the execution of the details of construction as the work progressed and the performance of the contracts for materials. The immediate direction of work and workmen on the grounds was the duty of the master mechanic, Mr. P. H. McLaughlin. To Mr. Green is to be ascribed the conception and working out of the plans for placing the pyramidion or top on the shaft, plans adopted by the Engineer-in-Charge and approved by the Joint Commission.
The detail plans of construction were drawn by Mr. Gustav Friebus, of Washington, D. C., an architect employed in the office of the Engineer-in-Charge, and under his direction.
The work of strengthening the foundations approaching completion, the fact was reported to Congress by the Joint Commission, and an appropriation recommended to begin and continue the erection of the shaft.
In support of this recommendation, and to secure adherence to the original plan of a simple obelisk and to meet the objections frequently raised, both in and out of Congress as to that form of monument, the Society, after some correspondence with Colonel Casey, at a meeting held on the 1st of April, 1880, appointed the following committee "to take charge of the interests of the Monument before Congress:" Robert C. Winthrop, Joseph M. Toner, James G. Berret, Horatio King, John B. Blake, and Daniel B. Clarke.
This committee carefully prepared a memorial, addressed to Congress, which was adopted at a special meeting of the Society on the 26th of April, 1880. The memorial was presented to Congress by the committee on the 20th of April, 1880, referred to the Committee on the District of Columbia, and ordered printed. The memorial recited, in part:
"The undersigned are not unmindful that strong efforts have been made of late to throw discredit on the design of the Monument, and that various plans have been presented for changing the character of the structure. Nor has the Association, which the undersigned have the honor to represent, ever been unwilling that such modifications of the design should be made as should be found necessary for the absolute security of the work. With this view they gave formal expression a year ago to their acquiescence in the general plans of the accomplished American artist, Mr. Story, who had kindly given his attention to the subject: but now that the strengthening of the foundation has been successfully and triumphantly accomplished by a signal application of skill and science, they cannot forbear front making a respectful but urgent appeal to Congress to give their final sanction to the prosecution and completion of the work without more delay according to the plans recommended by the commissioners appointed by Congress with the President of the United States at their head and by the engineer under their direction. Any other course, they are convinced, would be likely to postpone the completion of the Monument for another generation, to involve the whole subject in continued perplexity, and to necessitate vastly larger appropriations in the end than have now been asked for. * * *
"It has been objected in some quarters that the ancient obelisks were all monolithic—massive single stones, cut whole from the quarry; but our country has been proud to give examples of both political and material structures which owe their strength to union; and this Monument to Washington will not be the less significant or stately from embodying the idea of our national motto, 'E pluribus unum.'
* * * * * *
"Something more original and more ornate might have been conceived at the outset or might now be designed, but there are abundant fields for the exhibition of advanced art in other parts of the country, if not here. This Monument and its design will date back to the time of its inception, and will make no pretensions to illustrate the arts of 1880. It was not undertaken to illustrate the fine arts of any period, but to commemorate the foremost man of all ages. Indeed, it will date back in its form and in its proportions to a remote antiquity. It is a most interesting fact communicated to us in the letters, hereto appended, of our accomplished American minister at Rome, the Hon. George P. Marsh, as the result of his own researches, that the proportions of this Monument, as now designed, are precisely those of all the best-known Egyptian obelisks. The height of those monuments is ascertained by him to have been uniformly and almost precisely ten times the dimensions of the base, and this proportion has now been decided on for our own Monument to Washington, the measurements of the base being fifty-five feet, and projected elevation five hundred and fifty feet. * * * It seems to the undersigned sufficient respectfully to suggest that the question before Congress at this moment is not whether the original plans might not have been improved to advantage, but whether this long-delayed work shall be finished within any reasonable period or be left still longer as a subject for competition among designers and constructors.
* * * * * *
"By the adoption of the recommendations of the Commissioners and Engineer the work may be completed within the next four years. * * * While the structure would make no appeal to a close and critical inspection as a mere work of art, it would give a crowning finish to the grand public buildings of the Capital, would add a unique feature to the surrounding landscape, and would attract the admiring gaze of the most distant observers in the wide range over which it would be visible. It would be eminently a monument for the appreciation of the many, if not of the few, and would thus verify the designation originally given it, of 'The People's Monument to their most illustrious Benefactor.'"
In a letter to the chairman of the committee of the Society by Colonel Casey, dated April 19, 1887, he stated:
"The base of the Monument is 55 feet square, the top will be 34 feet 6 inches square, and it will be crowned with a pyramidion, or roof, 50 feet in height. The proportions of the parts of this obelisk are in exact accordance with the classic proportions of parts of this style of architecture, as determined after careful research by the Hon. George P. Marsh, American Minister at Rome."
The recommendations of the Joint Commission, of the Engineer, Colonel Casey, and of the Society, as to plan and proportions of the shaft, were happily sustained.
The prediction in the Society's last memorial to Congress was fully realized in the completed Monument, which has ever since attracted "the admiring gaze of the most distant observers in the wide range over which it is visible." None are found to regret the form of the Monument, which was firmly adhered to as most fitting to perpetuate the name and fame of Washington.
Congress making the required annual appropriation for the purpose, the work proceeded and the Monument was finally completed on the 6th of December, 1884, on which day its capstone was set in place.
By joint resolution of Congress, approved May 13, 1884, a commission was created, consisting of five Senators, eight Representatives, and three members of the Washington National Monument Society to make arrangements for the dedication of the Monument. The following persons composed the Commission:
| Hon. John Sherman, Hon. Justin S. Morrill, Hon. William B. Allison, Hon. Thomas F. Bayard, Hon. Lucius Q. C. Lamar, Hon. William Dorsheimer, Hon. John Randolph Tucker, Hon. John H. Regan, Hon. Patrick Collins, Hon. Nathaniel B. Eldredge, Hon. Henry H. Bingham, Hon. Joseph G. Cannon, Hon. James Laird, and Hon. W. W. Corcoran, President James C. Welling, Dr. Joseph M. Toner. |
Pursuant to the order of proceedings adopted by the Commission the Monument was dedicated on the 21st of February, 1885. The ceremonies, began at the base of the Monument at 11 o'clock, Hon. John Sherman, Chairman of the Commission, presided. After music, prayer by the Rev. Mr. Suter, of Christ Church, Alexandria, Va.; an address prepared by W. W. Corcoran, the First Vice-President of the Washington National Monument Society, read by Dr. James C. Welling, Mr. Corcoran being unable to attend; Masonic ceremonies by the Grand Lodge of the District of Columbia, Grand Master Myron M. Parker; remarks by Col. Thomas L. Casey, the Engineer of the Joint Commission, delivering the Monument to the President of the United States, the Monument was dedicated by the President of the United States, Chester A. Arthur, in the following words:
"Fellow Countrymen: Before the dawn of the century whose eventful years will soon have faded into the past—when death had but lately robbed this Republic of its most beloved and illustrious citizen—the Congress of the United States pledged the faith of the Nation that in this city, bearing his honored name, and then, as now, the seat of the General Government, a monument should be erected to commemorate the great events of his military and political life.
"The stately column that stretches heavenward front the plain whereon we stand bears witness to all who behold it that the covenant which our fathers made, their children have fulfilled.
"In the completion of this great work of patriotic endeavor there is abundant cause for national rejoicing; for while this structure shall endure it shall be to all mankind a steadfast token of the affectionate and reverent regard in which this people continue to hold the memory of Washington. Well may he ever keep the foremost place in the hearts of his countrymen.
"The faith that never faltered; the wisdom that was broader and deeper than any learning taught in schools; the courage that shrank from no peril and was dismayed by no defeat; the loyalty that kept all selfish purpose subordinate to the demands of patriotism and honor; the sagacity that displayed itself in camp and cabinet alike; and, above all, that harmonious union of moral and intellectual qualities which has never found its parallel among men—these are the attributes of character which the intelligent thought of this century ascribes to the grandest figure of the last.
"But other and more eloquent lips than mine will to-day rehearse to you the story of his noble life and its glorious achievements.
"To myself has been assigned a simpler and more formal duty, in fulfillment of which I do now, as President of the United States and in behalf of the people, receive this Monument from the hands of its builder, and declare it dedicated from this time forth to the immortal name and memory of George Washington."
The proceedings occurred in the presence of a great concourse of citizens and visitors from all parts of the country. The day was clear and cold, and a light fall of snow covered the earth.
The procession to the Capitol, comprising a military escort, embracing the regular forces of the Army and Navy and visiting military bodies and a civic division, under command of Lieut.-Gen. P. H. Sheridan, marshal of the day, was imposing.
The proceedings arranged in the hall of the House of Representatives occurred in the presence of the President of the United States and his Cabinet, the assembled Congress, the Judges of the Supreme Court of the United States, Governors of States, Foreign Ambassadors and Ministers, official heads in the Departments of the Government, municipal officers of Washington, judges, distinguished officers of the Army and Navy, the Marine Corps, and the Militia, scientists, journalists, scholars of distinction, and many other invited guests of prominence. Among those present were descendants of the family of Washington, and of his friends and neighbors.
Prayer was offered by the Rev. S. A. Wallis, of Pohick Church, near Mount Vernon, Va. An oration by Hon. Robert C. Winthrop, of Massachusetts, was read by Hon. John D. Long, a Representative from Massachusetts. Music by the United States marine band was followed by an eloquent oration by the Hon, John W. Daniel, of Virginia.
The benediction was pronounced by the Rev. John A. Lindsay, Chaplain of the House of Representatives.
The resolution of Congress of 1799 was at last fulfilled. The efforts of the Washington National Monument Society were realized, and the American people beheld the consummation of their desire—a great National Monument erected at the seat of the Federal Government to the name and memory of George Washington.
A provision in the sundry civil bill, approved October 2, 1888, dissolved the Joint Commission, and placed the Monument "in the custody, care, and protection" of the Secretary of War, and "continued" the Washington National Monument Society "with the same powers as provided in the act of August 2, 1876, creating the Joint Commission."
APPENDIX.
ROLL OF THE
Washington National Monument Society.
GENERAL AGENTS.
| Elisha Whittlesey, | 1848. |
| Lieut. J. C. Ives, | 1859 to 1860. |
| John S. Benson, | 1870. |
| Frederick L. Harvey, | 1874 to 1876. |
INSCRIPTION
ON
COPPER PLATE COVERING DEPOSIT-RECESS IN THE
CORNER-STONE OF MONUMENT.
4th JULY, 1776.
Declaration of Independence of the United States of
America.
4th JULY, 1848.
This Corner-Stone Laid of a Monument,
by the People of the United States, to the
Memory of George Washington.
James K. Polk,
President of the United States and Ex-officio President of the Board
of Managers.
William Brent, 1st Vice-President.
William W. Seaton, Mayor of Washington, 2d Vice-President.
Gen'l A. Henderson, 3d Vice-President.
J. B. H. Smith, Treasurer.
George Watterston, Secretary.
BOARD OF MANAGERS.
| Major-Gen'l Winfield Scott. | Peter Force. |
| Gen'l N. Towson. | Wm. A. Bradley. |
| Col. J. J. Abert. | P. R. Fendall. |
| Col. J. Kearney. | Thomas Munroe. |
| Gen'l Walter Jones. | Walter Lenox. |
| Thomas Carbery. | M. F. Maury. |
| Thomas Blagden. | |
| Elisha Whittlesey, General Agent. | |
BUILDING COMMITTEE.
| Thomas Carbery. | George Watterston. |
| William A. Bradley. | Col. J. J. Abert. |
COMMITTEE OF ARRANGEMENTS.
| Gen'l A. Henderson. | Walter Lenox. | Lieut. M. F. Maury. |
| Joseph H. Bradley, Chief Marshal. | ||
| Robert Mills, Architect. | ||
LIST OF MEMBERS
OF THE
JOINT COMMISSION,
COMPLETION OF THE WASHINGTON MONUMENT.
ACT OF AUGUST 2, 1876.
(Commission Dissolved October 2, 1888.)
Presidents.
| Ulysses S. Grant. | Jas. A. Garfield. |
| R. B. Hayes. | Chester A. Arthur. |
| Grover Cleveland. | |
Chiefs of Corps of Engineers, U. S. A.
| Brig.-Gen. A. A. Humphreys. | Brig.-Gen. Horatio Wright. |
| Brig.-Gen. John Newton. | Brig.-Gen. Thos. L. Casey (1888). |
Architect of the Capitol.
Edward Clark.
Architects of the Treasury.
Jas. G. Hill. John Fraser, Acting. M. E. Bell.
First Vice-President of Washington National Monument Society.
W. W. Corcoran.
Secretary.
F. L. Harvey.
Engineers in Charge Under Joint Commission.
Col. Thos. Lincoln Casey, Col. John M. Wilson (1888),
Corps of Engineers.
Assistants.
Capt. Geo. W. Davis, Bernard R. Green,
14th Inft., U. S. A. Civil Engineer.
|
Master Mechanic—P. H. McLaughlin. Chief Clerk—James B. Dutton. Draftsman—Gustav Friebus. |
INSCRIPTIONS
ON THE
FOUR FACES OF THE ALUMINUM POINT CROWNING
APEX OF MONUMENT.
(NORTH FACE.)
JOINT COMMISSION
AT
SETTING OF CAP-STONE.
Chester A. Arthur.
W. W. Corcoran, Chairman.
M. E. Bell.
Edward Clark.
John Newton.
Act of August 2nd, 1876.
(WEST FACE.)
Corner-Stone laid on bed of foundation
July 4, 1848.
First stone at Height of 152 feet
laid
August 7, 1880.
Cap-Stone set December 6, 1884.
(SOUTH FACE.)
Chief Engineer and Architect,
Thos. Lincoln Casey,
Colonel Corps of Engineers.
Assistants:
George W. Davis,
Captain 14th Infantry.
Bernard R. Green,
Civil Engineer.
Master Mechanic.
P. H. McLaughlin.
(EAST FACE.)
LAUS DEO.
Engineer Office Washington Monument,
Corner Seventeenth and F Streets,
Washington, D. C., April 19, 1880.
Hon. Robert C. Winthrop,
Chairman of Committee of Washington Monument society.
Dear Sir: Agreeably to your request that a succinct account of the project for the completion and the condition of the work upon the Washington National Monument should be given your committee, I have the honor, with the sanction of the Joint Commission for the completion of the Monument, to report as follows.
ADMINISTRATION.
Under the authority of the act of Congress of August 2, 1876, and joint resolutions of June 14, 1878, and June 27, 1879, the Monument is being constructed under the direction and supervision of a Joint Commission, consisting of the President of the United States, the Supervising Architect of the Treasury Department, the Architect of the Capitol, the Chief of Engineers of the United States Army, and the First Vice-President of the Washington National Monument Society.
PROJECT.
The project or design of the work is an obelisk 550 feet in height, faced with white marble mid hacked with dressed granite rock. Of this structure 156 feet is already finished.
The base of the Monument is 55 feet square, the top will be 34 feet 6 inches square, and it will be crowned with a pyramidion, or roof, 50 feet in height.
The proportions of the parts of this obelisk are in exact accordance with the classic proportions of parts of this style of architecture, as determined after careful research by the Hon. George P. Marsh, American Minister at Rome.
The shaft, as proportioned, both in dimensions and weight, will be entirely stable as against winds that could exert a pressure of one hundred pounds or more per square foot upon any face of the structure.
The project includes the preparation of the foundation so as to enable it to carry this structure. This preparation, or strengthening, consists in making the existing foundation wider and deeper, in order to distribute the weight over a greater area, and in bringing upon each square foot of the earth pressed no greater weight then it is known to be able to sustain.
1. Preparation of foundation.—This consisted in placing a mass of Portland cement concrete beneath the existing foundation, extending downwards 13-1/2 feet; underneath and within the outer edge of the old foundation 18 feet; and without this edge 23 feet; then, of taking out the old foundation from beneath the shaft, for a sufficient distance back to obtain a good bearing upon the new masonry which is built out upon the slab first mentioned.
This work is so far advanced that it will be entirely completed by the 15th of June.
2. Preparation for the shaft.—The other operations have consisted in the erection of the interior frame-work for the staircases and elevator within the shaft, which frame-work will be used in the construction of the masonry; the collection of granite and marble for continuing the shaft; and the preparation of the machinery for raising the stones to the top of the shaft, and setting them in place on the walls.
APPROPRIATIONS.
The only appropriation for this work as yet made by Congress is two hundred thousand dollars, contained in the act of August 2, 1876, which sum will be exhausted by the end of August, 1880.
The estimate for completing this work is $667,000, and the time required will be four working seasons.
Very respectfully, your ob't servant,
THOS. LINCOLN CASEY,
Lieutenant-Colonel Engineers, U.S.A.,
Engineer in Charge.
United States Senate Chamber,
Washington, D. C., March 31, 1879.
Dear Sir: I inclose, as possibly of interest, extracts from a letter I have just received from Hon. George P. Marsh, our Minister at Rome.
These extracts refer to the Washington Monument question. Mr. Marsh is among the most learned and accomplished of those in any country who have given the subject of architecture and monumental art attention.
Very truly yours,
GEO. F. EDMUNDS.
Gen. T. L. Casey,
Corps of Engineers.
[Extracts.]
Rome, February 9, 1879.
Dear Mr. Edmunds: By a letter from the sculptor Mead to Mrs. Marsh, I understand that the main feature of the Washington Monument is to be an obelisk of great height, surmounted by a colossal statue, and with bas-reliefs at a suitable height from the base. I believe I have not only seen but sketched every existing genuine—that is, Egyptian—obelisk, for no other can fairly said to be genuine. The obelisk is not an arbitrary structure which every one is free to erect with such form and proportions as suit his taste and convenience, but its objects, form, and proportions were fixed by the usage of thousands of years; they satisfy every cultivated eye, and I hold it an esthetical crime to depart from them.
In its objects the obelisk is monumental, its inscriptions having reference to and indicating what or whom it commemorates. I do of think bas-reliefs too great a departure from the primitive character the inscriptions, because we can come no nearer an alphabet answering the purpose.
The most important point is the form and proportions of the structure, as to which the modern builder of obelisks transgresses greatly. The Egyptian obelisks do not, indeed, all conform with mathematical exactness to their own normal proportions, but (probably from defects in the stone) frequently vary somewhat from them. When truly fashioned, however, they are more pleasing to the eye than when deviating from the regular shape.
The obelisk consists: First, of a naked shaft, with or without inscription, the height of which is ten times the width of its base, so that if the base of the shaft is fifty feet square, then the height of the shaft must be five hundred feet. For optical reasons (which cannot be considered in the Washington Monument, it being too late) the faces of the shaft are slightly convex.
The dimensions of the shaft are reduced as it rises, and in this point the ancient obelisks vary more than any other, the top of the shaft varying from two-thirds to three-quarters of the linear measurement of the base. Hence, if the base of the shaft (I do mot mean of the pedestal or plinth, if there is one) is fifty feet square, its summit may be anywhere between thirty-three and one-third and thirty-seven and one-half feet square. The obelisks much reduced are the most graceful, but in this case the great height will of itself reduce the apparent measurement, so that perhaps thirty-five would not be too much. But the shaft has already gone up so far as to have settled those questions of form irrevocably. Second, of a pyramidion or apex, the form and proportions of which are constant. The base of the pyramidion is of exactly the same dimensions as the summit of the shaft, and unites with it directly without any break (except, of course, one angle), and with no ledge, molding, or other disfigurement. The height of the pyramidion is equal to the length of a side of the base of the shaft, and therefore greater than the side of its own base.
There are cases where the hyeroglyphics run up one or more faces of the pyramidion, but in general these faces are perfectly plain.
The Egyptians often covered the whole pyramidion with a closely fitted gilt bronze cap, the effect of which most have been magnificent.
It has been said that it was sometimes surmounted by a gilt star, but I doubt this, for the casing of the pyramidion would of itself have much the same effect.
The notion of spitting an the sharp point of the pyramidion is supremely absurd. Not less so is the substitution of a low hipped roof for am acute pyramidion, or the making of a window in the face of the pyramidion or of the shaft, both which atrocities were committed in the Bunker Hill Monument. There will no doubt be people who will be foolish enough to insist on a peep-hole somewhere; and if they must be gratified the window should be of the exact form and size of one of the stones,and provided with a close-fitting shutter colored exactly like the stone, so that when shut it would be nearly or quite imperceptible from below.
* * * * * *
Yours truly,
GEO. P. MARSH.
Hon. Geo. F. Edmunds.
Washington, D. C., May 12, 1879.
My Dear General: I have received from Mr. Marsh a letter on the subject of the Monument, a copy of which I herewith forward to you, thinking it may interest you.
Yours truly,
GEORGE F. EDMUNDS.
General T. L. Casey,
Corps of Engineers, Washington, D. C.
Rome, April 25, 1879.
Dear Mr. Edmunds: I am much obliged to you for yours of April 8, with General Casey's letter and the two Congressional documents. I am agreeably surprised to learn from General Casey's interesting letter that the normal proportions have been so early observed hitherto in the construction of the obelisk. In fact, it being difficult to obtain such vast masses of granite rock, even in the quarries of Syene, entirely free from flaws, the Egyptians were very often obliged to depart more or less from the proportions most satisfactory to the eye, and the Washington obelisk conforms so nearly to those proportions, except in two points, that it is hardly subject to criticism. These points are, the batter, which is more rapid than in any obelisk known to me, and the pyramidion. Perhaps the designer adopted the proportions from considerations of stability, as a summit considerably less than the base would give greater security, and when the dimensions are all so great, differences of proportion are less appreciable.
As to the form and proportion of the pyramidion, the existing obelisks are more uniform than in the measurements of the shaft, and I think that, not merely on the ground of precedent but on that of taste, it would be by all means advisable to give to the pyramidion of the Washington obelisk a height of not less than fifty feet. In any case, if the height of the pyramidion is not greater than the side of its base, the summit will have a truncated shape quite out of harmony with the soaring character of the structure.
I infer from General Casey's drawings, accompanying Mr. Corcoran's letter, that the plan of a sort of temple-like excrescence from the base—a highly objectionable feature—is abandoned. It is curious that we do not know precisely what the Egyptian form of the base was. Some authorities state it was a die of larger dimensions than the shaft, and with sides battering at the same rate as the shaft, but I do not find satisfactory evidence that this was by any means universal, though it would certainly be an appropriate and harmonious form. Of course any desirable base can be constructed around the shaft. There are obelisks the surface of which indicates that they were stuccoed, and this suggests that if the shaft of the Washington obelisk shall from time or difference of material be found parti-colored, surface uniformity of tone may be obtained by the same process.
We have no knowledge of any Egyptian obelisk much exceeding one hundred feet in height, though some writers speak of such monuments of considerably greater dimensions. The extreme difficulty of obtaining monoliths exceeding one hundred feet renders it probable that the measurements of the authorities referred to were mere vague estimates rather than ascertained dimensions.
* * * * * *
Yours truly,
GEO. P. MARSH.
Brookline, Mass., August 1, 1878.
My Dear Sir: Your favor of the 20th ultimo reached me yesterday. I thank you for sending me the copy of Mr. Story's letter, which I have read with great interest. I am only a second vice-president of the Monument Association, and am not included in the commission for completing the work. I had no part or lot in the original design of the Monument. * * * As an original question, I might have desired a different design; and I had no small part in inducing the building committee, many years ago, to omit the pantheon at the base, and to confine the design to a simple obelisk. After that was arranged, and when the Monument had reached so considerable a height, I was very averse to changing the plan. A whole generation of men, women, and children had contributed, in larger or smaller sums, to this particular Monument; and States, cities, and foreign nations had sent stones for its completion.
To tear it all down, with a view to improve the design, was abhorrent to me. Story called to see me when he was in Boston, and I told him that, so far as I was concerned, my first wish was to finish the Monument as a simple obelisk; but that, if a change was unavoidable, owing to any insecurity of the foundations, his idea of turning it into an ornamental Lombard Tower was the best plan I had seen suggested. * * *