Part 5

"Last year the contributions were wholly insufficient to keep up the ordinary progress of the work, and the managers were constrained to apply to Congress for aid. In the course of its construction they had thought it expedient and proper to receive not only contributions in money from every quarter of the globe, but they invited contributions in ornamented stones, to be placed, under the direction of the architect, in the face of the wall of the chamber. Among others, a stone sent from the Pope of Rome, and was received by the managers, to be placed, as the others, in some conspicuous place.

"It was an American Monument, and its construction and management was said to be mainly in the hands of Catholics and foreigners. Complaints were also made of the administration of the association, and of the expenditures and losses in the collections of funds. For these and divers other causes, the Americans of this District resolved in their respective Councils that this work ought to be typical of their Government, completed by the free act of the People, under the direction and by the hands of the natives. Accordingly, at the election held on the 22d of February last, they nominated and elected a ticket of their own Order, who now have the control of the work.

"It will require at least one million of dollars to complete it as it was originally designed, and that sum must be raised by the Councils of our Order, or we must suffer indelible disgrace and become a bye-word. There are enrolled in the Order at this time not less than two millions of freemen. A contribution of fifty cents from each, a sum within the reach of every member, will effect it. There may be some too poor--there cannot be any too mean or too insensible to the obligation upon them--to give this sum. If this shall be so, we have adopted a plan by which that difficulty may be met. For every contribution of one dollar, a certificate of membership is to be issued to the person in whose name the subscription is made. It is therefore proposed that collections shall be made in each Council throughout the Nation in such manner as each may deem most expedient, and the money remitted to JOHN M. McCALLA, Esq., Treasurer of the National Monument, accompanied by a letter addressed to CHARLES C. TUCKER, Secretary of the National Monument, stating the amount thus forwarded, and transmitting a list of the names to whom a certificate for each dollar thus paid in is to be sent. For each single subscription of five dollars a handsome engraved plate of the Monument, of large size, will be sent.

"But, Brethren, while the sum of fifty cents from each member of the Order may be barely sufficient to complete the structure, it will take as much more to finish the work and the grounds, and leave a surplus to be invested and yield an interest to keep it in repair end defray the incidental annual expenses.

"We have pledged the American party to this work. We have taken the great step of overthrowing, on this pledge, the administration which has preceded us, and which not only failed but went as beggars to Congress to ask legislative aid for that which loses all merit, unless it be the free-will offering of grateful hearts.

"Have we done right?

"Brothers, we come to you to demand your aid in this great work to which we have been appointed, and to which, through us, you are pledged. We do not come alone. Our brethren in the District of Columbia, beneath the walls of the Presidential Mansion, from which a frowning brow is ever turned upon us--these brethren, moved by the sacred fire that ever burns in their hearts, the altars of patriotism, defying the scorn and contumely and lust of those temporarily in power, have come up freely to our aid. They have set to you, the free citizens of free States, with power to remove and bring to account those who dare to turn a wrathful eye on the movements of those native to the soil--to you in every sense Freemen--they have set a bright and glorious example. May you walk by its light. The Councils in this the heart of the Nation--yet not one of its members--our Councils have, with wondrous unanimity, resolved to contribute _one dollar_ for each member enrolled in each separate Council. Let it go forth--publish it wherever in this broad land, those born beneath the stars and stripes, the glorious banner of our Union, have met, or shall meet, to resolve that Americans must and shall govern America. Ring it in the ear of the slothful--breathe it into the heart of the earnest--the native Americans in Council, in the District of Columbia, have resolved to contribute a dollar for each member toward the completion of the work; and they have already begun their contributions.

"Brethren, it is a national work--it is the heaped-up offering of mighty people--it is the work of the age. To it, from every kindred and nation, offerings have been brought--the tribute of far-off lands to that name which stands single, alone, mighty, majestic, in the history of the world, as though it were written in letters of starry light in the high heavens, to be read by all men. These are but the homage paid to virtue end renown, while the heart is cold or hostile.

"But to you, Brethren, his name is a household word. It was breathed over you on a mother's name and graven on your heart by a mother's love. It was taught you by a father's watchful care, and has been held ever before you as your beacon and your guide by a father's ceaseless anxiety. It was your watchword in the sports of youth; it is, it must be, your polar star in the mazes of a maturer life; it is the name for patriotism; it is little less than that of a god. Oh, the heart--the true American heart--the heart that beats responsive to the call of country--the heart that thrills at those words of wisdom and warning which fell from his lips, teaching us the dangers of foreign influence--the heart that swells with gratitude to the great human benefactor, who, having led us through the perils of the terrible conflicts of the Revolution, and guided us through the scarcely less perilous history of the Federation, and presided over that grand and august assembly which framed our matchless Constitution, laid in practice the deep foundations of this mighty Nation--the heart of the native-born American leaps up with joy to testify its deep love and veneration for him and seeks some adequate means to express it. And, Brethren and Countrymen, we bring it to you; we give you, by the means spread before you, an opportunity to enroll your names in the book where is found the mighty company who have contributed to this the most remarkable Monument ever erected to man, which, as his name, shall stand unique, lofty--towering above all others known among men.

"Brethren, come to our aid.

"By order of the Board:

"CHAS. C. TUCKER, "_Secretary_.

"WASHINGTON, D. C., _May, 1855_."

OFFICERS OF THE SOCIETY:

FRANKLIN PIERCE, _President of the United Slates and ex officio President_.

VESPASIAN ELLIS, _First Vice-President_.

JOHN T. TOWERS, _Mayor of Washington and ex officio Second Vice-President_.

GEORGE H. PLANT, _Third Vice-President_.

JOHN M. McCALLA, _Treasurer_.

CHAS. C. TUCKER, _Secretary_.

MANAGERS:

HENRY ADDISON, THOMAS D. SANDY, CHARLES R. BELT, JOSEPH H. BRADLEY, FRENCH S. EVANS, SAMUEL C. BUSEY, CHARLES W. DAVIS, JAMES GORDON, JOHN N. CRAIG, ROBERT T. KNIGHT, SAMUEL E. DOUGLAS, JOSEPH LIBBY, SR., THOMAS A. BROOKE.

The address was printed in certain of the daily papers, and transmitted to the "Councils" of the party by the following letter:

"OFFICE OF THE WASHINGTON NATIONAL MONUMENT SOCIETY, WASHINGTON, D. C., _May, 1855_.

"DEAR SIR AND BROTHER:

"Enclosed I send you an address from the Board of Managers of the Washington National Monument Society to members of our Order, asking their contributions in aid of the Washington National Monument, and request that you will place it before your Council and lend your influence towards the accomplishment of the object in view.

"By the action of your brethren in the District of Columbia our Order stands pledged to the country and the world to complete the Monument, and the glory of success or the disgrace of failure will be ours alone. The pledge was freely given; for we were confident that our brethren in the States would rejoice at the opportunity thus presented of testifying their gratitude and veneration for him whose "memory, maxims, and deathless example" we endeavor to keep alive in the hearts of the American people.

"I would suggest that your Council appoint a Washington Monument Committee to receive subscriptions and forward the sums collected to the Treasurer of the Society. The committee should procure a book in which to insert the name and address of each contributor and the amount contributed. This book should be forwarded to me, to be placed in the archives of the Monument, and to each contributor of one dollar or upwards will be forwarded a certificate of membership and a print of the Monument or a portrait of Washington.

"The plan laid down by the Board of Managers is to forward to each contributor of one dollar or upwards and less than five dollars a small print of the Monument, and to each contributor of five dollars a print of the Monument, 22 by 30 inches in size, or a large portrait of Washington, and both the large print and portrait to each contributor of eight dollars or upwards. To each Council will be sent a copy of the large print or portrait or both, depending upon the amount contributed in such Council.

"It is not expected, nor is it necessary, that the subscriptions be paid at once; but they may be paid in weekly, semi-monthly or monthly payments, as the Council or committee may determine. One dime per week from each member of our Order for three months will be more than sufficient to erect the Monument to its destined height, thus bringing it within the means of all to assist us in our noble work.

"If the Council deems it advisable to collect subscriptions outside of the Council, but within its jurisdiction, let it recommend a suitable person to act as agent, who will receive a compensation for his services by a commission upon the amount collected. Upon such recommendations being received, there will be forwarded to the agent named a certificate authorizing him to receive contributions. The Council will determine whether the proceeds of such collections be received and transmitted by the committee having charge of the collections within the Council or be remitted by the agent direct to the Treasurer. It is intended that the amount of such collection be placed to the credit of the Council in the reports from the Board of Managers to the State Councils and National Council.

"May we not rely upon your best exertion to aid us in the work in which we are engaged? We know that our brethren will cheerfully contribute their mites if the subject is properly placed before them. We wish to dispense, as far as possible, with the services of special agents; that all contributions may be applied directly to the purpose for which they are intended, and we must rely mainly upon those whose abilities or position enable them to render us the aid required; and who, like the officers of the Society, will desire no compensation for their services other than the pleasure of engaging in this patriotic undertaking.

"Fraternally yours,

"CHAS. C. TUCKER, "_Secretary W. N. M. S._"

The following "Notice to the Public" was issued by the "Know-Nothing" Board:

"OFFICE OF "WASHINGTON NATIONAL MONUMENT SOCIETY, "WASHINGTON, _July 1, 1856_.

"IN ACCORDANCE WITH AN ORDER OF THE BOARD OF MANAGERS, the public are requested to pay no more contributions for the Washington National Monument to agents heretofore commissioned by the Board.

"This notice is not to be construed as a censure on the agents, but it is designed to effectuate a general settlement of the affairs of the Society. The Board is well assured of eventual success in the patriotic enterprise in which it is engaged, but it has resolved to suspend further proceedings by agency until a plan, now under consideration, for combining efficiency, promptitude, and safety, is matured.

"Balances due from agents, or offerings from independent contributors, are to be sent by draft, _payable to the order of the Treasurer of Washington National Monument Society_, enclosed in a letter to the undersigned.

"By order: SAMUEL YORKE ATLEE, "_Secretary W. N. M. S._

"N. B.--Editors throughout the United States will confer a favor on the Society and benefit the public by publishing this notice and sending to the Secretary a copy of the paper containing the same."

Manifestly, the rival claims of the two Boards of Managers, and the office, books, papers, and property of the Society and the Monument itself, being in the possession and control of a narrow political faction, practically arrested the work of the Society's agents in the collection of funds and further building operations.

The "Know-Nothing" Board, as apparent evidence of its earnestness in the premises, and presumably to support its appeal for funds (several later ones being issued) and to establish public confidence, proceeded to add two courses of stone to the height of the shaft by the use of marble on the ground when it took possession. But this marble, in the main, were blocks which had been theretofore rejected and condemned as unfit for use. In later years, on the final resumption of work on the Monument, these courses were removed by the engineer in charge of its construction.

The receipts of the Society for the year 1855, from January 3d to February 20th, amounted to $695; for the remainder of that year, to $51.66--evidence of the result of the dispossession of the Society and the disinclination of the public to contribute funds under the existing conditions.

The "Know-Nothing" Board continued in possession of the Monument until October 25, 1858.

The political party which it represented disintegrating, and not being able to secure contributions toward building the Monument, or to awaken any interest in the enterprise, it concluded to surrender possession of the Monument.

On the date named the surrender was made, and the Society was reinstated in the possession of its office, books and papers, and the Monument. A number of collectors' filled subscription books, however, were missing. The Treasurer of the out-going Board passed to the Treasurer of the Society, through the Bank of Washington, December 14, 1858, the sum of $285.09. The full amount collected by the "Know-Nothing" Board during over three years of its control does not appear.

At a meeting, December 28, 1858, the Society reappointed the Hon. Elisha Whittlesey its General Agent. A committee previously appointed reported on the present condition of the Monument and other property of the Society, by which it appeared that the engine house and some other buildings on "Monument place" were in a dilapidated condition, though the engine and boiler were in good order; that of two large cranes for hoisting stone at the wharves, one had fallen down, the other had disappeared; that marble valued at $300 had been taken away; that the rope wove through a block at the top of the Monument to enable persons to ascend had been pulled down, and no means remained for ascent of the shaft save by scaffolding on the inside. "It will require an expenditure of at least $2,000 to place the fixtures and machinery in a condition to enable your Board to resume the progress of the work."

The enterprise having now passed into the hands of the Society again, they proceeded at once to make suitable arrangements for the conservation of the Monument and protection of the grounds and other property connected with it. Admonished by the transaction of February 22, 1856, and its results, of the legal difficulties in the way of voluntary association, consisting of members residing in all parts of the Union, they applied to Congress for a charter.

This was at length granted. On the 22d of February, 1859, an act passed Congress, and was approved by the President on the 26th of the same month, incorporating "The Washington National Monument Society * * * for the purpose of completing the erection now in progress of a great National Monument to the memory of Washington at the seat of the Federal Government." The incorporators named were Winfield Scott, Walter Jones, John J. Abert, James Kearney, Thomas Carberry, Peter Force, William A. Bradley, Philip R. Fendall, Walter Lennox, Matthew F. Maury (as survivors of the grantees of the site under the grant made by President Polk), and Jonathan B. H. Smith, William W. Seaton, Elisha Whittlesey, Benj. Ogte Tayloe, Thomas H. Crawford, William W. Corcoran, and John Carroll Brent.

The charter vested in and confirmed to the Society all the easements, rights, privileges theretofore held by the Society under the name of incorporation, and all thereafter to be acquired, for the purpose of erecting the Monument; provided for the election of officers and for exercising the right of amotion; that the President of the United States should be _ex officio_ President of the Society, and the Governors of the several States should be respectively _ex officio_ Vice-Presidents; gave the right to sue and be sued, and rendered the members of the Society liable in their individual capacities for any indebtedness contracted in the name of the Society.

ORGANIZATION OF THE WASHINGTON NATIONAL MONUMENT SOCIETY UNDER THE CHARTER.

The meeting for the organization of the Society under the charter granted by Congress took place on Tuesday evening, March 22, 1859, in the aldermen's chamber, in the City Hall, Washington, D. C.

President James Buchanan, as _ex officio_ President of the Society, presided.

Mr. Fendall very briefly reviewed some of the circumstances out of which the original Society had sprung, stating that but four of its members now survived, and the object and aim of the Society were remarked.

Eloquently referring to Washington, he concluded:

"The completion of the Monument now in progress is far more important to the fame of the American people than to the fame of Washington."

The President, rising, referred to his efforts to awaken the interest of Congress in the erection of a monument to Washington while he was a member of the House in 1824.

"It was considered at that time (1824), and so remarked in Congress, that it was rather an indignity that any effort should be made to raise a monument to the honor and memory of Washington besides that which existed in the hearts of his countrymen."

Mr. Buchanan concluded:

"Not only in this country is his name loved and revered beyond that of all other men, but abroad, in foreign lands, our country is illustrated by him, and his name is never mentioned but as that of the purest, most unselfish patriot that ever lived; not only the most unselfish, but the most self-sacrificing of whom history has kept record."

Resolutions were then offered, accepting the act of incorporation by Congress, and making the charter the Constitution of the Society, providing for an annual election on the 22d of February of each year, and such other meetings as might be duly called; the officers of the Society to be a First Vice-President, (to be the Mayor of Washington;) Second and Third Vice-Presidents, a Treasurer and Secretary, committees to draft and report by-laws and to define and prescribe the duties of officers and agents, and to prepare "An Address to the People of the United States."

Maj.-Gen. Winfield Scott was chosen Second Vice-President, Thomas Carberry, Third Vice-President; J. B. H. Smith, Treasurer; and John Carroll Brent, Secretary.

Every effort was now put forth to revive public interest in the Monument, and to obtain substantial aid for its completion, the Society exercising great patience, forbearance, and industry to restore matters to their former condition.

The plan now proposed and to be carried into execution was the securing of contributions from voters at all municipal and general elections, and appropriations by State Legislatures and the invoking by circular letter of aid from all political, corporate, or voluntary bodies, the Army and Navy, _all_ associations, societies, churches, and individuals.

June 6, 1859, at a general election in the City of Washington, contributions were received at the polls towards the funds of the Society amounting to $150.76.

In the result of this first renewed attempt to raise money to complete the Monument the Society, however, was not discouraged.

The matter was noticed in a daily paper in an article which, after referring to the former dispossession of the Society and the long "silence" at the base of the Monument, said:

"It was not till this state of things unhappily took place that the popular enthusiasm drooped and cooled, and it is hardly fair to expect a resuscitation in an hour or a day. We trust, however, that the night is far spent; that the day is at hand, and even the tribute of the voters of Washington on Monday last, small as it was, is an evidence of new life and returning vigor.

"It will require on the part of the Monument Board the exercise of patience and forbearance as well as industry to restore matters to the condition they once were in."

In April, 1859, the Society applied to the Honorable the Secretary of War for the detail of an officer of the Corps of Topographical Engineers to assume the duty of Engineer of the Monument and to superintend its construction.

June 7, 1859, a letter was received from the Hon. John B. Floyd, Secretary of War, stating that in compliance with the Society's request he had detailed Lieut. J. C. Ives, of the Corps of Topographical Engineers, to act under the direction of the Society as Engineer and Architect of the Monument. Subsequently, Lieutenant Ives reported for duty to the officers of the Society. In his letter advising of the detail of Lieutenant Ives, Secretary Floyd stated:

"The favorable auspices under which the enterprise has been resumed encourage the hope that this reproach will be removed. Composed of gentlemen of well-known standing, * * * the Society has a claim upon the confidence of the public that is the surest guarantee of the success of its labors."

Doubts having been raised as to the stability of the material which had been employed in building the Monument and as to the sufficiency of its foundations to support the shaft at its proposed height of 600 feet, Lieutenant Ives, on the 10th of August, 1859, made a report upon the subject after a careful examination of all the conditions, which recited, in part: