Chapter I: Part 1

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HISTORY
OF THE
WASHINGTON NATIONAL MONUMENT
AND OF THE
WASHINGTON NATIONAL
MONUMENT SOCIETY.

BY FREDERICK L. HARVEY, Secretary,
WASHINGTON NATIONAL MONUMENT SOCIETY.

PRESS OF
NORMAN T. ELLIOTT PRINTING CO.,
WASHINGTON, D. C.
1902.

HISTORY

OF THE

WASHINGTON NATIONAL MONUMENT

AND OF THE

WASHINGTON NATIONAL MONUMENT SOCIETY.

The practical construction of the Washington National Monument, in detail, as a work of great engineering skill, is a subject for separate account and technical discussion.

The _history_ of the Monument is found in the annals and proceedings of Congress and in the records and archives of the Washington National Monument Society. This history, in the main, is the history of that Society--its original formation, subsequent incorporation by act of Congress, and its long continued and patriotic labors to fulfil the object of its existence, the erection at the seat of the Federal Government of a great Monument to the memory of Washington.

The origin of the Society is to be found in the failure of the National Congress, through a long series of years, to redeem a solemn pledge made by the Continental Congress, in 1783.

A review of this failure properly precedes any account of the Society or of the constructed Monument.

IN CONGRESS.

On the 7th of August, 1783, it was resolved by the Congress "that an equestrian statue of General Washington be erected at the place where the residence of Congress shall be established." The resolution also directed that "the statue should be supported by a marble pedestal on which should be represented four principal events of the war in which he commanded in person."

On the pedestal were to have been engraved the following words:

"The United States, in Congress assembled, ordered this statue to be
erected in the year of our Lord, 1783, in honor of George
Washington, the illustrious Commander-in-Chief of the Armies of the
United States of America during the war which vindicated and secured
their liberty, sovereignty, and independence."

At this time Washington was beloved by the American people as their great leader in their struggle for liberty. But the passage of this resolution by Congress was not followed by any legislative action looking to its practical execution.

As President of the United States, by his wise administration of the affairs of the new-born Republic, he so added to his fame and so won the gratitude of his countrymen, that on his death a select joint committee of both Houses of Congress was appointed to consider a suitable manner of paying honor to his memory.

December 24, 1799, on motion of John Marshall, in the House of Representatives, it was resolved by Congress, among other things, "that a marble monument be erected by the United States at the City of Washington, and that the family of General Washington be requested to permit his body to be deposited under it; and that the monument be so designed as to commemorate the great events of his military and political life."

A copy of the resolutions was sent to his widow by the President of the United States. In her reply, acceding to the request, she said:

"Taught by the great example which I have so long had before me
never to oppose my private wishes to the public will, I need not, I
cannot, say what a sacrifice of individual feeling I make to a sense
of public duty."

The select committee which was appointed to carry into effect the foregoing resolution, and of which Mr. Henry Lee was chairman, reported on the 8th of May, 1800, that a marble monument be erected by the United States, at the Capital, in honor of General Washington, to commemorate his services, and to express the feeling of the American people for their irreparable loss. It was further directed by this report that the resolution of the Continental Congress of August 7, 1783, should be carried into immediate execution, the pedestal to bear the inscription which that Congress had ordered for it.

Upon considering the report and resolution of the select committee that part in reference to the equestrian statue was so amended by Congress as to provide that a "mausoleum of American granite and marble, in pyramidal form, one hundred feet square at the base and of a proportionate height," should be erected instead of it.

To carry these resolves into execution no appropriation was then made; but on the 1st of January, 1801, it appears the House of Representatives passed a bill appropriating $200,000 to cover the objects of their resolution.

The Senate, however, did not concur in this act. The reason, perhaps, may be found in the political questions then absorbing the attention of Congress and the people, and which continued until the War of 1812.

The subject of a suitable national memorial to Washington now slept apparently forgotten until 1816, when it again awoke in the Halls of Congress. In the month of February of that year, the General Assembly of Virginia instructed the Governor of that State to correspond with Judge Bushrod Washington, then proprietor of Mount Vernon, with the object of securing his consent to the removal of Washington's remains to Richmond, to be there marked by a fitting monument to his memory. Upon learning of this action by the General Assembly of Virginia, Congress, being then in session, Hon. Benjamin Huger, a member from South Carolina, and who had been in the Congress of 1799, moved that a select joint committee of both Houses be appointed to carry into effect the proceedings had by Congress at the time of Washington's death. In this the Senate concurred.

The committee proposed was appointed, and later introduced a bill and reported, recommending that a tomb should be prepared in the foundations of the Capitol for the remains of Washington, and that a _monument_ should be erected to his memory. But this plan for the removal of the remains failed. Judge Bushrod Washington declining to consent to their removal on the ground that they had been deposited in the vault at Mount Vernon in conformity with Washington's express wish. "It is his own will," said Judge Washington, writing to the Governor of Virginia, "and that will is to me a law which I dare not disobey." The recorded action in the House of Representatives on this bill was, "And that said bill be indefinitely postponed."

No report seems to have been made in the Senate. A vault, however, appears to have been prepared for the remains beneath the center of the dome and rotunda of the Capitol and beneath the floor of its crypt.

Again did Congress fail to take steps to carry out its deliberate action to build a monument to Washington. In 1819, Mr. Goldsborough, in the Senate, moved a resolution to erect an equestrian statue to General Washington, which passed July 19th. The resolution was read twice in the House, referred to Committee of the Whole, and was indefinitely postponed.

On the 15th of January, 1824, Mr. James Buchanan, then a member of the House of Representatives, and later President of the United States, offered to that body the following resolution:

"_Resolved_, That a committee be appointed whose duty it shall be to
inquire in what manner the resolution of Congress, passed on the
24th of December, 1799, relative to the erection of a marble
monument in the Capitol, at the City of Washington, to commemorate
the great events of the military and political life of General
Washington may be best accomplished, and that they have leave to
report by bill or otherwise."

This resolution, after some discussion, was laid on the table. The hour was not propitious, and honor to the memory of Washington was again deferred.

In his first annual message to Congress, dated December 6, 1825, the President, John Quincy Adams, invited the attention of Congress to its unfulfilled pledge in the following language:

"On the 24th of December, 1799, it was resolved by Congress that a
marble monument should be erected by the United States in the Capitol,
at the City of Washington; that the family of General Washington should
be requested to permit his body to be deposited under it, and that the
monument be so designed as to commemorate the great events of his
military and political life. In reminding Congress of this resolution,
and that the monument contemplated by it remains yet without execution,
I shall indulge only the remarks that the works at the Capitol are
approaching completion; that the consent of the family, desired by the
resolution, was requested and obtained; that a monument has been
recently erected in this city over the remains of another distinguished
patriot of the Revolution, and that a spot has been reserved within the
walls where you are deliberating for the benefit of this and future
ages, in which the mortal remains may be deposited of him whose spirit
hovers over you and listens with delight to every act of the
Representatives of this Nation which can tend to exalt and adorn his and
their country."

But this reminder of the President's went unheeded by the Congress to which it was addressed.

Several years now elapsed before the question again arose in Congress of a monument to the memory of Washington. On the 13th of February, 1832, a report was made to the Senate of the United States by Henry Clay, and to the House of Representatives by Mr. Philemon Thomas, chairmen, respectively, of committees to make arrangements for celebrating the approaching centennial anniversary of Washington's birthday. One of the resolutions authorized the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives "to make application to John A. Washington, of Mount Vernon, for the body of George Washington, to be removed and deposited in the Capitol at Washington City, in conformity with the resolutions of Congress of the 24th of December, 1799, and that if they obtain the requisite consent to the removal thereof they be further authorized to cause it to be removed and deposited in the Capitol on the 22d day of February, 1832."

It will be noted that this resolution does not suggest any connection between the removal of the remains and their being deposited under a monument, as proposed by the resolution of 1799. At this time, one of the standing committees of the House of Representatives, as it appears, had under consideration the erection of a marble statue of Washington, to be executed by Mr. Horatio Greenough, and which it was proposed to place in the centre of the rotunda of the Capitol. The resolution providing for this statue had been introduced into the House of Representatives in 1830.

Upon the submission of the select committee's resolutions for the removal of Washington's remains discussion arose. From a remark by Mr. Clay, the purpose seems to have been to place the remains in the vault under the center of the rotunda, which had been suggested on a former occasion by President Adams, in 1825.

The two Senators and some of the Representatives from Virginia opposed the removal of the remains of Washington from Mount Vernon. In the discussion Senator Tazewell referred to the application by Virginia in 1816 for the removal of the remains of Washington to Richmond, to be there deposited under a suitable monument. He remarked that Judge Washington replied that "it was impossible for him consent to the removal unless the remains of one of those dear relations accompanied the body."

"Are the remains," asked Mr. Tazewell, "of the husband to be removed from the side of the wife? In their lives they lived happily together, and I never will consent to divide them in death."

This thought appears to have made so strong an impression on Congress that the resolution was altered so as to ask the consent of Mr. John A. Washington and that of Mr. George Washington P. Custis, the grandson of Mrs. Martha Washington, for the removal and depositing in the Capitol at Washington City of her remains at the same time with those of her late consort, George Washington.

In response to the purpose of the resolution, Mr. John A. Washington felt constrained to withhold his consent by the fact that General Washington's will, in respect to the disposition of his remains, had been recently carried into full effect. Mr. Custis, however, took a different view of that clause in the will, and gave his "most hearty consent to the removal of the remains after the manner proposed," and congratulated "the Government upon the approaching consummation of a great act of national gratitude."

In the debate in the House of Representatives on the resolution and accompanying report, Mr. Doddridge, of Virginia, remarked that he was a member of the State's legislature when the transaction by it took place in 1816, and "he felt entirely satisfied that the resolution for removing the remains to Richmond would never have passed the Assembly of Virginia but for the loss of all hope that Congress would act in the matter."

Mr. Duffie opposed the removal of the remains, saying: "As to a monument, rear it; spend upon it what you will; make it durable as the pyramids, eternal as the mountains; you shall have my co-operation. Erect, if you please, a mausoleum to the memory of Washington in the Capitol, and let it be as splendid as art can make it."

The refusal of Mr. John A. Washington to permit the removal of the remains of Washington seems to have prompted Mr. Clay to urge the adoption of the pending resolution to erect a statue of Washington at the Capitol. "An image," he said, "a testimonial of this great man, the Father of his Country, should exist in every part of the Union as a memorial of his patriotism and of the services rendered his country; but of all places, it was required in this Capitol, the center of the Union, the offspring, the creation, of his mind and of his labors."

The resolution for the statue of Washington by Greenough was adopted, and it was ordered. The statue was made and was placed in the rotunda in 1841, but subsequently removed into the east park of the Capitol, where it now rests.

In 1853, Congress appropriated $50,000 for the erection of an equestrian statue of George Washington by Clark Mills.

This statue, in bronze, representing Washington on the line at the battle of Princeton, was placed in its present location in the public circle at Pennsylvania avenue and Twenty-third street, in the City of Washington.

THE WASHINGTON NATIONAL MONUMENT SOCIETY.

The resolutions and proceedings of Congress which have been referred to having remained unexecuted as late as 1833, certain citizens of the City of Washington, whose names were a passport to public confidence, took steps in that year to form a voluntary association for erecting "a great National Monument to the memory of Washington at the seat of the Federal Government."

In September, 1833, a paragraph appeared in the "National Intelligencer," leading paper of the City of Washington, calling for a public meeting of the citizens of Washington to take up the matter and redeem the pledges of Congress. In response to this call a meeting of citizens was held in the aldermen's chamber, in the City Hall, on the 26th of September, 1833. There was great interest and earnestness manifested on the part of those present in the object of the meeting. The oft-repeated failure of Congress to finally act in the matter of erecting a monument to Washington was reviewed, and it was deemed almost hopeless to expect that body to provide for such a monument in the near future.

The meeting resulted in the organization of the Washington National Monument Society. Committees were appointed to draft a constitution and by-laws, and to report at a future meeting of the citizens and to devise a practical plan for the collection of funds and to prepare an address to the country.

On October 31 following the second meeting was had, Constitution and By-Laws were adopted, and officers were chosen, being nominated by a committee and elected by ballot:

John Marshall, the great Chief Justice, then seventy-eight years of age, was chosen the first President of the Society, and Judge William Cranch, eminent as a learned jurist, as a just and impartial magistrate and for the uprightness of his life, was selected as the first Vice-President.

In accepting the office of President of the Society, Mr. Marshall replied as follows to the letter of notification addressed to him by Judge Cranch:

"RICHMOND, _November 25, 1833_.

"DEAR SIR: I received yesterday your letter of the 22d, informing me
that the 'Washington Monument Society' has done me the honor to
choose me as its President.

"You are right in supposing that the most ardent wish of my heart is
to see some lasting testimonial of the grateful affection of his
country erected to the memory of her first citizen. I have always
wished it, and have always thought that the Metropolis of the Union
was the fit place for this National Monument. I cannot, therefore,
refuse to take any place which the Society may assign me; and though
my advanced age forbids the hope of being useful, I am encouraged by
the name of the First Vice-President to believe that in him ample
compensation will be found for any defects in the President.

"With great respect and esteem, I am, dear sir,

"Your obd't,

"J. MARSHALL."

Other officers then chosen were the Mayor of Washington, Second Vice-President (at that time John P. Van Ness, formerly a Representative in Congress); W. W. Seaton, Third Vice-President; Samuel H. Smith, Treasurer; and George Watterston, Secretary. A board of thirteen managers was also appointed to correspond in number with the original States. This board consisted of Gen. Thomas S. Jessup, Col. Jas. Kearney, Col. Nathan Towson, Col. Archibald Henderson, Matthew St. Claire Clark, John McClelland, Thomas Munroe, Col. Geo. Bomford, Robert C. Weightman, Peter Force, Wm. Brent, Esq., Wm. A. Bradley, and Thomas Carbery. Aside from other stated meetings to be provided for, an election for officers and managers was to be held every third year on the 22d of February.

Of the founders of the Society, the name of George Watterston calls for especial mention. With him originated the conception of the enterprise. He remained as Secretary of the Society from its beginning to his death, in February, 1854, conducting its extensive correspondence, preparing its numerous addresses and publications, and it appears, in every branch of the Society's business, he devoted his whole time and energies to its object with constant, ardent, and effective zeal. To no one name does the country owe more in the labor and effort to rear a monument to the memory of Washington than to that of the Society's first Secretary. On the death of Mr. Watterston he was succeeded in his office by Mr. John Carroll Brent, of distinguished family, a gentleman of culture and fine scholarship, and who continued actively and patriotically to discharge the duties of Secretary until his death, February 11, 1876. It is as well here to mention the other and succeeding secretaries of the Society, who in turn ardently and effectively aided the work of the Society through years. Dr. John B. Blake, a prominent, highly-respected resident of the District of Columbia, who served from the year 1876 to his death, in October, 1881, and to whose labors before Congress in connection with the Society's special committees, the certainty of an appropriation by that body to aid in the completion of the monument was assured. He was succeeded by Mr. Horatio King, formerly Postmaster-General of the United States, who in turn, on his death, was succeeded by Dr. Francis M. Gunnell of the United States Navy, and the latter by Frederick L. Harvey.

The Society, upon organization, established its headquarters and offices in rooms in the basement of the City Hall, and where its office remained until the year 1878.

An address was issued to the people of the country invoking them to redeem the promise of the Congress. In order that all might have an opportunity to contribute the amount to be received from any one person was limited to a dollar a year. Agents were everywhere appointed in 1835 and the ensuing years to collect funds, and care is shown to have been taken in their selection by requiring the highest and strongest endorsement of their fitness for the work, and as to private character and being men of respectability. The archives of the Society show that in nearly every instance collectors for a State or Territory were nominated to the Society for appointment by the Senators, Representatives, or leading men of the State or community. To obtain security in the returns front collections, it was required in every case that bond should be given by the agent for the faithful performance of his duty in accounting to the Treasurer of the Society. This method of collecting funds was adhered to until as late as 1855.

The following is the form of a commission that was given to the agents of the Society:

"To all who shall see these presents, Greeting:

"Know ye, That reposing special trust and confidence in the
integrity, diligence, and discretion of ---- ----, the Board of
Managers of the Washington National Monument Society do authorize
and empower him to receive from the White Inhabitants of the
District for which he has been appointed Collector, embracing ----
such donations money, not exceeding one dollar each, as they may be
disposed to contribute to the erection of a National Monument to
the memory of Washington at the seat of the General Government.

"Given under my hand, at the City of Washington, this -- day of
----, 183 .

"WM. CRANCH,
"_First Vice-President_.

"Test.
"GEO. WATTERSTON,
"_Secretary_."

Simultaneous with this commission instructions were given requiring the regular rendition of accounts at short intervals, and the deposit of the money collected by them in safe banks to the credit of the Treasurer. For these services a commission, in most cases of ten per centum (later increased to fifteen per centum), was allowed.

In 1835, the President of the Society, John Marshall, died, and he was succeeded in the office by ex-President of the United States James Madison, who, on accepting the position, addressed the Society as follows:

"I am very sensible of the distinction conferred by the relations in
which the Society has placed me; and feeling like my illustrious
predecessor, a deep interest in the object of the association, I
cannot withhold, as an evidence of it, the acceptance of the
appointment, though aware that, in my actual condition, it cannot be
more than honorary, and that under no circumstances could it supply
the loss which the Society has sustained. A monument worthy the name
of Washington, reared by the means proposed, will commemorate at the
same time a virtue, a patriotism, and a gratitude truly national,
with which the friends of liberty everywhere will sympathize and of
which our country may always be proud."

It may be here remarked that upon the death of Mr. Madison the Society amended its Constitution so that thereafter the President of the United States should be _ex officio_ its President. The first to so occupy the office was Andrew Jackson.

The progress of the Society was at first slow, and in 1836 only about $28,000 had been collected. This fund was placed in the hands of Gen. Nathan Towson, Samuel H. Smith, and Thomas Munroe, gentlemen of the highest respectability, members of the Society. Under their faithful and judicious management this fund was invested, as also the interest accruing on it, in good stocks or securities. This fund was from time to time augmented by small amounts raised on special occasions by churches, organizations, and meetings of the citizens and collections by agents. The financial difficulties of the Union arising in 1837 operated largely to suspend collections for the monument for several years despite frequent addresses to the people and urgent appeals for funds by the Society and activity by its agents.

In this year, 1836, advertisements were published by order of the Society inviting designs from American artists, but no limitation was placed upon the form of the design. It was determined by the Society, and so recommended, that any plans submitted should "harmoniously blend durability, simplicity, and grandeur." The estimated cost for the proposed monument was not less than one million dollars.

A great many designs were submitted, but the one selected among the number was that of Mr. Robert Mills, a well known and eminent architect of the times.

This plan, as published to the country, was described in the following language:

_Description of the Design of the Washington National Monument, to
be erected at the seat of the General Government of the United
States of America, in honor of "the Father of his Country," and the
worthy compatriots of the Revolution._

This design embraces the idea of a grand circular colonnaded
building, 250 feet in diameter and 100 feet high, from which springs
a obelisk shaft 70 feet at the base and 500 feet high, making a
total elevation of 600 feet.

This vast rotunda, forming the grand base of the Monument, is
surrounded by 30 columns of massive proportions, being 12 feet in
diameter and 45 feet high, elevated upon a lofty base or stylobate
of 20 feet elevation and 300 feet square, surmounted by an
entablature 20 feet high, and crowned by a massive balustrade 15
feet in height.

The terrace outside of the colonnade is 25 feet wide, and the
pronaos or walk within the colonnade, including the column space, 25
feet. The walks enclosing the cella, or gallery within, are fretted
with 30 massive antae (pilasters) 10 feet wide, 45 feet high, and
71/2 feet projection, answering to the columns in front, surmounted
by their appropriate architrave. The deep recesses formed by the
projection of the antae provide suitable niches for the reception of
statues.

A tetrastyle portico (4 columns in front) in triple rows of the same
proportions and order with the columns of the colonnade,
distinguishes the entrance to the Monument, and serves as a pedestal
for the triumphal car and statue of the illustrious Chief; the steps
of this portico are flanked by massive blockings, surmounted by
appropriate figures and trophies.

Over each column, in the great frieze of the entablatures around the
entire building, are sculptured escutcheons (coats of arms of each
State in the Union), surrounded by bronze civic wreaths, banded
together by festoons of oak leaves, &c., all of which spring (each
way) from the centre of the portico, where the coat of arms of the
United States are emblazoned.

The statues surrounding the rotunda outside, under the colonnade,
are all elevated upon pedestals, and will be those of the glorious
signers of the Declaration of Independence.

Ascending the portico outside to the terrace level a lofty vomitoria
(door way) 30 feet high leads into the cella (rotundo gallery) 50
feet wide, 500 feet in circumference and 60 feet high, with a
colossal pillar in the centre 70 feet in diameter, around which the
gallery sweeps. This pillar forms the foundation of the obelisk
column above.

Both sides of the gallery are divided into spaces by pilasters,
elevated on a continued zocle or base 5 feet high, forming an order
with its entablature 40 feet high, crowned by a vaulted ceiling 20
feet high, divided by radiating archevaults, corresponding with the
relative positions of the opposing pilasters, and enclosing deep
sunken coffers enriched with paintings.

The spaces between the pilasters are sunk into niches for the
reception of the statues of the fathers of the Revolution,
contemporary with the immortal WASHINGTON; over which are large
tablets to receive the National Paintings commemorative of the
battle and other scenes of that memorable period. Opposite to the
entrance of this gallery, at the extremity of the great circular
wall, is the grand niche for the reception of the statue of the
"Father of his Country"--elevated on its appropriate pedestal, and
designated as _principal_ in the group by its colossal proportions.

This spacious Gallery and Rotunda, which properly may be denominated
the "National Pantheon," is lighted in four grand divisions from
above, and by its circular form presents each subject decorating it
walls in an interesting point of view and with proper effect, as the
curiosity is kept up every moment, from the whole room not being
presented to the eye at one glance, as in the case of a straight
gallery.

Entering the centre pier through an arched way, you pass into a
spacious circular area, and ascend with an easy grade, by a railway,
to the grand terrace, 75 feet above the base of the Monument. This
terrace is 700 feet in circumference, 180 feet wide, enclosed by a
colonnaded balustrade, 15 feet high with its base and capping. The
circuit of this grand terrace is studded with small temple-formed
structures, constituting the cupolas of the lanterns, lighting the
Pantheon gallery below; by means of these little temples, from a
gallery within, a bird's eye view is had of the statues, &c., below.

Through the base of the great circle of the balustrade are four
apertures at the four cardinal points, leading _outside_ of the
balustrade, upon the top of the main cornice, where a gallery 6 feet
wide and 750 feet in circumference encircles the whole, enclosed by
an ornamental guard, forming the crowning member on the top of the
tholus of the main cornice of the grand colonnade. Within the
thickness of this wall, staircases descend to a lower gallery over
the plafond of the proanos of the colonnade lighted from above. This
gallery, which extends all round the colonnade, is 20 feet
wide--divided into rooms for the records of the monument, works of
art, or studios for artists engaged in the service of the Monument.
Two other ways communicate with this gallery from below.

In the centre of the grand terrace above described, rises the lofty
obelisk shaft of the Monument, 50 feet square at the base, and 500
feet high, diminishing as it rises to its apex, where it is 40 feet
square; at the foot of this shaft and on each face project four
massive zocles 25 feet high, supporting so many colossal symbolic
tripods of victory 20 feet high, surmounted by fascial columns with
their symbols of authority. These zocle faces are embellished with
inscriptions, which are continued around the entire base of the
shaft, and occupy the surface of that part of the shaft between the
tripods. On each face of the shaft above this is sculptured the four
leading events in General Washington's eventful career, _in basso
relievo_, and above this the shaft is perfectly plain to within 50
feet of its summit, where a simple star is placed, emblematic of the
glory which the name of WASHINGTON has attained.

To ascend to the summit of the column, the same facilities as below
are provided within the shaft, by an easy graded gallery, which may
be traversed by a railway, terminating in a circular observatory 20
feet in diameter, around which at the top is a look-out gallery,
which opens a prospect all around the horizon.

With reference to the area embraced by the foundations and basement
of the Monument and the uses to which they may be applied, the
underspace outwards, occupied by the lower terrace and colonnade,
may be appropriated to the accommodation of the keepers of the
Monument, or those having charge of it and attending on visitors.

These apartments, which are arched, are well lighted and aired, as
they are all above ground, the light being disposed in the sunk
panels of the stylobate (base). The principal entrance to all these
apartments will be from the rear, or opposite side of the portico
entrance. The _inner_ space, or that under the grand gallery or
Rotundo, may be appropriated to catacombs for the reception of the
remains of such distinguished men as the Nation may honor with
interment here. This subterranean gallery is so large and lofty that
it would accommodate many catacombs.

In the centre of the Monument is placed the tomb of WASHINGTON, to
receive his remains, should they be removed thither, the descent to
which is by a broad flight of steps lighted by the same light which
illuminates his statue.

The feature of the pantheon surrounding the shaft was never formally and finally adopted by the Society as a part of the Monument. The first purpose was to erect the shaft and to secure funds to that end.

In this year (1838) the Society addressed a memorial to Congress praying that a site be accorded the Monument on the public mall. For this purpose a bill was reported in the Senate, which, being under consideration in that body, June 15th, caused much debate and adverse criticism of the Society and its work.

Mr. Roane, replying to an inquiry of Mr. Allen (Ohio), stated that the sum collected by the Society was about $30,000 which was put out at interest.

To this Mr. Allen answered that he believed they had collected more than that sum in his own State.

Mr. Bayard thought that to erect the Monument on the place proposed would be to destroy the whole plan of the mall, and that as far as the prospect was concerned, nothing could be more unfortunate. Besides the means of the Society were very insignificant compared with the object in view, for as they had agents all over the United States collecting simultaneously it was to be presumed they had collected all they were to get.

Mr. Norvell was satisfied that they (the Society) were incapable of meriting the imputation impliedly, he hoped not intentionally, cast upon them by the Senator from Ohio. He presumed extensive subscriptions had been made to the work, but not yet collected, and that considerable expense must have been incurred in the employment of agents. As to the location of the site he could say nothing, but he was certain that such a monument as proposed ought long since to have been erected to the memory of the illustrious Chief under whose guidance this Nation had been led to victory, liberty, and independence.

Mr. Hubbard thought the original plan of building the Monument by the voluntary contributions of the people ought to be carried out, and that the President and the Commissioner of Public Buildings and Grounds ought to have nothing to do with it. As to the expense, he said, judging from the cost of the Bunker Hill Monument, the $30,000 of the Society would not be enough to lay the foundations.

Mr. Morris (Ohio) thought the public ought to be informed why so paltry a sum had been contributed; his own county had contributed over $1,000. There was a sort of enthusiasm on the subject in Ohio. The Governor had issued his proclamation in favor of it, and the _sheriffs_ VOLUNTEERED to act as collectors, and judging from _these tokens_ the sum collected could not fall short of $30,000 (in Ohio). He also thought the work should go on without aid by Congress, and hoped the bill would be laid on the table. Mr. Allen, in further remarks said, in substance, he did not believe the story that only $30,000 had been collected. He considered it a reproach to the liberality of the country. He would vote with the boldest to erect a suitable monument to the memory of the Father of his country; he would vote a million of dollars, but he considered it a reproach to the country to commence work with the paltry sum the Society say they had in hand.

On motion of Mr. Morris, the bill was indefinitely postponed.

These proceedings appearing in the daily press, the Society adopted and presented the following memorial:

"_To the Senate of the United States_:

"The Board of Managers of the Washington National Monument Society,
having seen in the public prints a statement that representations
have been made in your body derogatory to their character, consider
it their duty to lay before you an official account of their
receipts and expenditures. They hope that the alleged statement is
erroneous in ascribing to honorable members of your body imputations
on private character which would not, without proof of their
correctness, have been hazarded. The respect we entertain for the
Senate restrains the expression of feelings which are not, however,
the less indignant for this forbearance.

"We make this communication in the confidence that it will be the
means of correcting any honest misapprehensions that may have
existed; that it will be gratifying to a body distinguished for its
justice to shield honesty from wanton aspersion within its own
walls; that it will afford an opportunity to men of honorable
feelings, who may be conscious of having cast unmerited reproach on
characters, we flatter ourselves, unsullied, to retract them; that
more especially, in case the charges be not retracted, it may be
lodged among the public archives as evidence as well of their
unfounded nature as of the fidelity with which we have discharged
duties of a disinterested and elevated nature; and that, if it be
deemed expedient, it be printed by your order by such publicity
challenging any detection of the slightest departure from truth. We
indeed not only hold ourselves amenable to the public, but are ready
at any moment to submit our proceedings to the most rigid
examination which either House of Congress may see fit to institute.

"By order of the Board of Managers:

"PETER FORCE,
"_Second Vice-President_.

"GEORGE WATTERSTON,
"_Secretary_."

The statement of receipts and _expenditures_ exhibited showed the following collections:

Maine, $1,600.00
Vermont, 31.95
Connecticut, 1,438.61
New York, 1,167.21
New Jersey, 1,491.61
Pennsylvania, 2,102.85
Delaware, 361.98
Maryland, 3,057.99
Virginia, 1,500.00
South Carolina, 570.00
Kentucky, 1,610.00
Ohio, 6,391.19
Louisiana, 701.26
Indiana, 340.00
Illinois, 700.00
Mississippi, 2,120.00
District of Columbia, 836.36
Florida, 227.00
Army, 565.89
Navy, 228.25

Interest on stocks, in which net collections were invested, $1,608.73, all of which sums, except $476.67, cash in hand, and the _necessary_ expenses of the Society, amounting to _only_ $465.56, had been invested in productive stocks.

June 19, 1838, Mr. Morris (Ohio) arose in the Senate to a question of privilege. He found in a morning paper of the city an editorial censuring the course which his colleague and himself had deemed it their duty to take with regard to the bill to grant leave to a Society or company of gentlemen who have united together to erect a monument to the memory of Washington upon a portion of the public grounds in this city. * * * The object of his colleague and himself had been to obtain information on the subject, and he stated expressly, if in error, he wished the error to be corrected by authentic documents, and on that account he objected to the bill until it was clearly shown what money had been taken up and to what use it had been applied. * * * He was not willing to attach the honor of his country to a scheme which, for aught he knew, might have been carried on by means of fraud and deception. Yet this reasonable _request_ had been trumped up by the morning papers as making a grave charge, or at least casting imputations. * * * He said it was evident to his mind that the object and design of this publication was to produce political effect. It was well known that a majority of the Senate were the friends of the administration, and if this article could impress the public mind with the belief that those who sustained the administration had no regard for the memory of Washington, he had no doubt it was expected it would tend to promote individual and _party_ views. It was a kind of left-handed blow to injure the administration and its friends in the Senate by charging them with meanness in refusing to accede to the wishes of the Society. But he feared there was another motive beside veneration for the name of Washington that prompted the agents and managers of this project to be so ardent in their endeavor to link themselves and scheme to the public concerns of the country. They were reported as having about $30,000. This sum they could easily expend on the foundation, or even the first corner-stone of the Monument. They could devise a plan for the superstructure that would cost millions of dollars, and if they could make this affair a government concern, they would insist, no doubt, that the country would be disgraced if the building was not completed, and Congress would be solicited and urged to appropriate for the purpose with all the force of speech and the _blandishments of parties_. Millions would be thus called for, and, in his opinion, appropriated if the scheme now in operation can succeed, to be expended by a private corporation, whose dependent friends and followers would grow rich in the progress of the work. He was totally averse to the Government having anything to do in this matter or any other in which individuals were also to be concerned. It was this that induced him to move postponement of the bill.

Mr. Allen concurred with his colleague. He objected to the bill because it placed the construction under the Commissioner of Public Buildings and Grounds, and being upon public ground, Congress must appropriate any deficiency or the people must be again visited by hosts of traveling agents. * * * These he thought sufficient reasons for rejecting the bill without division.

Mr. Clay deprecated the irregular discussion, and said that no newspaper in the country was conducted with more regard to propriety, decorum, truth, and _faithfulness_ of report than the "National Intelligencer," and he could wish that the other journals of this city, and particularly the one connected with the Government, would look more to this point for example.

Notwithstanding the Society by its memorial had furnished the information _requested_ by Mr. Morris, and stood ready for investigation of its affairs, the memorial was ultimately laid on the table and the matter was dropped.

This debate was noticed in the public press, local and elsewhere. It cannot be known what, if any, influence it had throughout the country to impair the efforts of the Society in the collection of funds or to weaken confidence in the enterprise. Such a result was not improbable.

December 10, 1818, the Society adopted and issued in pamphlet form--

"AN ADDRESS
OF THE
BOARD OF MANAGERS
OF THE
WASHINGTON NATIONAL MONUMENT
SOCIETY,
WITH A STATEMENT OF THE
RECEIPTS AND EXPENDITURES."

This address was sent to the Society's agents and friends of the Monument in all parts of the country, which address they were "requested," in an accompanying letter, "to diffuse as widely as may be without incurring expense."

The measure of the result of the Society's efforts at this period, the discouragement met with, and its faith in the work it had undertaken, is evidenced by language in this address, which recited, in part:

"The annexed statement of the sums received and accounted for by
them (the agents) shows the measure of their success. This, though
various, has, in no instance, equalled the least sanguine
expectations. This may be ascribed in some degree to the fundamental
feature of the plan itself, which, in limiting the individual
subscriptions to one dollar, has been found, excepting in towns, to
have involved an expense to the agent nearly, if not quite, equal
to the amount collected; while in the larger towns the abortion
heretofore of schemes for a like purpose has produced a general
impression that this plan would share the same fate. Other causes,
some of a temporary, others of a permanent nature, co-operated in
leading to this result, of which, perhaps, the most powerful was the
general derangement of the currency, and the real or apprehended
evils that followed in its train, with the impression that it was
the duty of the General Government, out of the vast resources at its
command, to effect the object.

"In reviewing the course of measures pursued, the Board of Managers
have satisfaction in perceiving no neglect or omission on their part
in discharging the duties assigned them. If an assiduity
proportioned to the dignity of the object, a devotion seeking no
reward but in the gratification of honest feelings, and an economy
attested by the small expenditures for contingent expenses, are the
truest evidences of fidelity, they trust that they may, without
unworthy imputations, lay claim to this humble virtue. * * * Upon
the whole, however great the disappointment of the Board of
Managers, they have not abandoned the hope that a plan which, at its
inception, was hailed with universal approbation, may yet, with
proper modifications, be effected."

It is shown by this address that the amount collected and interest accrued on stocks in this year was $30,779.84.

The restriction of a contribution to the sum of one dollar appears to have been removed on one occasion in 1839. A committee of the Society, having been appointed for the purpose on November 13, 1839, prepared and issued a special circular letter, to be sent to the deputy marshals of the United States, who shortly were to begin taking the census of the country. This appeal recited in part:

"The measures incident to the approaching census present an
opportunity of overcoming this last difficulty (the former
limitation of subscriptions). It will be the duty of the deputies of
the marshals to see the head of every family; and as the greater
portion of their time will be consumed in traveling from one
dwelling to another, it is thought that but little additional time
will be occupied in submitting a subscription paper for this object
at each dwelling and receiving the sums that may be subscribed,
whereby an opportunity will be offered to every individual in the
United States to promote it by contributions corresponding to their
means. There being no limitation in the amount, every man, woman,
and child will be enabled to enroll their names by subscriptions
according to their ability. The rich will, it is hoped, be
munificent in their donations, while from those in inferior
circumstances any sum will be thankfully received."

It was proposed to allow these special collectors a commission of twenty per cent. on "amounts that may be received and accounted for by a deposit in some sound bank to the credit of Samuel H. Smith, Treasurer of the Society, together with the transmission to him of the names of the contributors, with the respective sums subscribed by them, and the certificates of deposits."

The address concluded:

"The subscription papers may be headed as follows:

"We, the undersigned, for the purpose of contributing to the
erection of a great National Monument at the seat of the General
Government, do subscribe the sums placed opposite our names
respectively.

"The favor of an early answer is requested."

Beautiful lithographs, in two sizes, of the design selected for the Monument were printed and placed in the hands of the agents of the Society as certificates, and in the form of receipts, to be given individuals or organizations contributing the sum of one dollar to the funds of the Society.

These certificates bore the following words and autograph names on the lower margin and beneath the picture of the proposed Monument:

"Earnestly recommended to the favor of our countrymen,

Z. TAYLOR, MILLARD FILLMORE,
JAMES K. POLK, JOHN QUINCY ADAMS,
G. M. DALLAS, DANIEL WEBSTER,
H. CLAY, ALBERT GALLATIN."

There was also prepared for distribution through the Society's agents other lithographs, portraits of Washington, it being thought the contributor might prefer such a portrait to the lithograph of the Monument.

The results of this special appeal are to be found in the subsequently stated accounts of the Treasurer, but the amounts returned did not meet the expectations of the Society.

May 25, 1844, a joint resolution (No. 514) was introduced into the House of Representatives, accompanied by a report submitted by Mr. Pratt from the Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds, which provided "that the Washington Monument Society, in the City of Washington, be, and they are hereby, authorized to occupy that part of reservation _No._ 2, bounded by the Canal, B, Seventh and Twelfth streets, south, for the purpose of erecting thereon a monument to Washington, under the direction of the President of the United States, according to the _design proposed by the Committee on Public Buildings_, and to _aid_ the said Society in _completing the same_, and for defraying the expense of enclosing the grounds, laying out walks and planting trees, the Committee on Public Buildings is hereby authorized and required to cause to be laid into lots and to sell at auction or otherwise, on condition that three-story brick, granite or marble buildings be erected thereon within five years from the day of sale, the piece of vacant ground bounded by the circular road, New Jersey avenue and B and First streets, north, and the piece of ground bounded by the circular road, Delaware avenue, B and F streets, south; also twenty-seven lots between the circular road and Third street, on Pennsylvania avenue, and twenty-seven lots between the circular road and Third street, on Maryland avenue, northwest, or so much as shall be necessary to complete the same. The same to be designated as 'Monument Square.'"

The report stated, the proposed park would contain about fifty-two acres, which it was designed "to fence in and lay out in drives, walks, and trees, and to erect thereon a _National Monument_ in the center thereof." The position would command a view of all the public buildings, particularly from the Monument, "which is to be one hundred and fifty feet high," and "devoted to the public as a place of resort where busts, statues, and paintings of all the great men connected with the history of our country may be seen." The site is nearly opposite to the "Patent and Post Office buildings, or center of the city, and but a square or two south of the _great_ thoroughfare of the city, the Pennsylvania avenue, which, in point of magnitude and of easy approach to our citizens, there is no ground in the District, or in any other country, which could vie with it as a public square of beauty and recreation."

Lots were to be sold at auction and proceeds used for creating the park, as described in the resolution, and "so that preparations may be immediately made" for a "site for a _National Monument_, which in the course of a few years will become a beautiful resort for the citizens and visitors of the District as well as for strangers from all parts of the world." The park would have circles and every device of walk, all the emblems of the Nation together with forest trees of every State, plants, flowers, &c. The construction of a national monument the committee regarded as of great interest to the American people. Half a century had passed away, and no worthy memorial is found in the Capital. The committee recommend the "temple form" as best for a monument, "built to contain busts and statues of Presidents and other illustrious men of the country, as well as 'paintings' of historical subjects." The construction of the Monument "would carry out the views of this Society to erect a monument to Washington," and which it is understood will apply its funds toward this object "whenever Congress shall authorize its erection on some portion of the public ground," the site to be due west of the Capitol. The construction was to be under the direction of the President of the United States and the Washington Monument Society. A plan of the proposed temple form of monument accompanied the report, a statue of Washington surmounting its dome.

While the Society at this time was willing to concede a change in the form of the Monument, and apply funds collected to speedily realize such change, no action by Congress resulted from the report quoted so far as authorizing the building of the National Monument suggested by the committee or lending aid to the Society, or granting a site for the Monument it had projected.

In 1845 the Society removed generally the limitation of one dollar as the amount of a subscription. This action seems to have been wise, as the later annual gross receipts were for a time greatly increased.

In view of the previous recognition by the Society of this evil of limitation of contributions, it is surprising that it was not generally removed when it was specially removed for the occasion of the census in 1840.