| Show NORTHY OF HO OR washington national monument association has deserved well of country N EVERY birthday of 0 george washington 0 ON tor for the last 71 years a meeting ot of a small but distinguished body has been held in the city of washington this body is the wash ington national monument society tile the organization which brought about tho the construction of 0 the giant shaft which dominates the landscape in the federal city while the war department has tho the care and custody of 0 the washington monument this society has a quasi public tatus exercises a paternal watchfulness over it possesses the right to send under frank and stands ready to resist any plan or proposal which seeks to change in any way the monument or its surround ings ingo john marshall that great jurist was the socie tys first president since then beginning with jackson the presidents of tho the united states have been ex presidents ot of the society the organization of tile the monument society lit in 1833 was undertaken by representative citizens of washington after long experience had caused them to despair of congress acting in tho the tr matter iatter of erecting a memorial to george washington the continental congress as early a 1783 had promised to erect a lehl in i ahil to washington and major lennant LEn tant nt lit in laying out the city of washington bad set act apart reservation er no 3 1 containing 30 acres on which tho the monument now stands as the bite alte for a inen memorial lorial to washington and his compatriots the monument society on organization issued a an n appeal t to 0 th the e country countr Y and proceeded to collect subscriptions in amounts not exceeding one dollar to erect a monument money came in fairly well then tho the society having found privately owned sites increasing in price whenever the owners were ap preached proa chod appealed to congress in 1838 asking the donation of a site not until did congress respond brid with a joint resolution authorizing the society to 10 erect the monument on euch land as aa the president of the united states and ana the society might select the 30 acres of reservation no 3 were chosen and deeden deeded to tho the society by deed signed by president polk july 4 1848 lit in tho presence 0 of f some fifteen or twenty thousand pers pera ons the cornerstone was as laid td la the he northwest angle of tin the foundation with impressive ceremonies actively tile the society continued to raise money throughout the country and to rear the monument six years barf after the cornerstone had been laid the shaft ehatt had a height of let feet at an ex expense penso all paid by private subscription of some at last in 1876 1976 congress voted for the building of the monument to ll 11 ba appropriated at the rate of a year tile law provided for the work to be ba carried on by a commission in which the was cepro rented tile the shaft itself Is feet high on top of which Is set net the BB 55 feet 55 inches in vertical height the baso base is 65 55 feet 11 inches square and the top of the shaft below the pyra is a 34 feet 5 inches square at two and one half times its height the shaft would come to a point the caps capstone tono weighs pounds and is crowned crooned by a small pyramid of 0 pure aluminum 56 laches inches at its base and aal 89 inches high weighing ounces no mention of the monument would be complete without reference to the splendid engineers who had charge ol of completing the work these include gen thomas lincoln cosey casey chief en elneer and architect gen george IV davis gen john INI wilson engineer in abo final stages and now retired a resident reel dent of washington and ber nard it II green civil engineer assistant to general casey |
