Show thousands annually visit resting place of unknown soldier in front of the great marble amphitheater at arlington a little gray haired woman in black Is standing silently there are tears in her eyes she Is carrying a wreath of evergreen bought an hour before at a flower store across the river in washington she Is at the grave of the U unknown known soldier A heavy automobile crunches along the crushed stone road it Is a hired car filled with a party of sightseers devoting a day to the nations capital and trying to get all the way around before time tor for the evening train A watchman Is leaning against one of the pillars of the amphitheater he Is yawning and waiting tor for four to come when another watchman will go to work the stillness of the cemetery makes him sleepy a eedy A boy inside the door Is trying to sell some picture post cards to a honeymoon couple along comes a negro with a one horse cart full of rubbish for the dump the little woman in black places the wreath tenderly on the unknown soldiers tomb she kneels and prays across on another grassy hill bill dotted with white tombstones Is a squadron of field artillery guns ready tor for action it Is the funeral of a major general and he be Is being accorded full military honors back on the crooked roadway Is a long line of limousines that have carried the funeral party A flag draped coffin Is being lowered into the grave bang I 1 the salute the muffled report echoes and re echoes through the peaceful hills the visitors in the cemetery are startled for an instant to some of the men here and there t ild firing filing recalls the days they passed on the western front beautiful and peaceful the little woman fin finishing labing her prayer stands beside the massive rall rail ins ing taking in the scene she watches the soldiers performing the last rites sit t the generals grave beyond across the red brick cemetery fenced fence she sets gets a view of the city of washington the towering shaft of the washington monument appears to be just over the narrow ribbon of water that Is the potomac to the right Is the capitol dome and close to it but lower the gU bronze top of the congles library there are rows of squatty buildings with many windows the bureau of engraving and printing the new quarters of the war department and the navy department the outlines of the white house are faint in the mist the lincoln memorial stands out distinctly among green foliage everything away from city noises Is quiet and peaceful the woman is one of the mothers ot of on known soldiers of whom there were 1600 she has come to arlington cemetery feeling she la Is visiting the grave of the boy she gave to the war nobody can say that the soldier burled there Is not her son it Is good to be close to him many mothers at grave this happens many times nobody knows how many mothers of unknown soldiers have visited arlington the number has been large they are brokenhearted broken hearted women and to many of them the journey to washington has been accomplished only after many privations these unknown mothers almost every one of them are certain the body in the unmarked marked un tomb Is of their blood some of them have quaint wave of convincing thom of tile the fact stories are going the rounds among tle me employees at arlington of hoff bow this mother or that found evidence of the men hen city of the honored soldier approximately persons visit the grave crave of the unknown soldier every month the estimate Is that of 0 the superintendent at arlington based on tabulations tabulation lr kept n year or two ago |