Part 8

"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.

Chief Justice John Marshall. Ex-President James Madison. Hon. Roger C. Weightman. Com. John Rodgers. Gen. Thomas S. Jessup. Col. George Bomford. Matthew St. Claire Clarke. Samuel Harrison Smith. John McClelland. Judge William Cranch. Hon. William Brent. George Watterston. Col. Nathan Towson. Gen. Archibald Henderson. Thomas Munroe. Hon. Thomas Carbery. Hom. Peter Force. Hon. John P. Van Ness. William Ingle. William L. Brent. Gen. Alexander McComb. John J. Abert. Philip R. Fendall. Maj.-Gen. Winfield Scott. John Carter. Gen. Walter Jones. Hon. Walter Lenox. T. Hartley Crawford. Com. M. F. Maury. Benj. Ogle Tayloe. Thomas Blagden. John Carroll Brent. Col. James Kearney. Hon. Elisha Whittlesey. Hon. W. W. Seaton. J. Bayard H. Smith. Hon. W. W. Corcoran. John P. Ingle. James Mandeville Carlisle. Dr. John B. Blake. Dr. William Jones. William L. Hodge. Dr. James C. Hall. William B. Todd. Hon. James Dunlop. Gen. U. S. Grant. George W. Riggs. Hon. Henry D. Cooke. Hon. Peter G. Washington. William J. McDonald. Hon. John M. Broadhead. Gen. William T. Sherman. Dr. Charles H. Nicols. David A. Watterston. Hon. Alexander R. Shepherd. Fitzhugh Coyle. Hon. James G. Berret. J. C. Kennedy. Hon. William A. Richardson. Gen. O. E. Babcock. Edward Clark. Hon. Walter S. Cox. Rear-Admiral Levin M. Powell. Dr. Charles F. Stansbury. Fred D. Stuart. Hon. Robert C. Winthrop. Professor Joseph Henry. Gen. William McKee Dunn. John C. Harkness. Hon. Horatio King. Dr. Daniel B. Clarke. Hon. George W. McCrary. Dr. Joseph M. Toner. President James C. Welling. Hon. George Bancroft. Rear-Adm'l C. R. P. Rodgers. Hon. Hugh McCulloch. Hon. John Sherman. Hon. William Strong. Hon. Arthur McArthur. Brig.-Gen. Thos. Lincoln Casey. Hon. A. R. Spofford. Hon. J. C. Bancroft Davis. Gen. C. C. Augur. Professor Asaph Hall. Rear-Adm'l S. R. Franklin. Dr. Francis M. Gunnell. Professor E. M. Gallaudet. Hon. Martin F. Morris. Hon. George S. Boutwell. Samuel H. Kauffmann. Maj.-Gen. John M. Schofield. Rev. John F. Hurst, D. D. Rt. Rev. John J. Keane. Hon. Henry B. Brown. Hon. William A. Maury. Henry A. Willard. Charles C. Glover. Professor S. D. Langley. Frederick L. Harvey. R. Ross Perry.

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. GEN'L N. TOWSON. COL. J. J. ABERT. COL. J. KEARNEY. GEN'L WALTER JONES. THOMAS CARBERY. PETER FORCE. WM. A. BRADLEY. P. R. FENDALL. THOMAS MUNROE. WALTER LENOX. M. F. MAURY. THOMAS BLAGDEN. ELISHA WHITTLESEY, _General Agent_.

BUILDING COMMITTEE.

THOMAS CARBERY. WILLIAM A. BRADLEY. GEORGE WATTERSTON. 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.

CONDITION OF THE WORK.

1. _Preparation of foundation._--This consisted in placing a mass of Portland cement concrete beneath the existing foundation, extending downwards 13½ 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.