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Show Would Erect ! Great Shaft ! to Lincoln A Lincoln monument lowering fjOO feet high, visible for 20 miles and surmounted sur-mounted by a powerful searchlight to mark the way for air mail pilots Is suggested hy Herbert Wells Pay. cus todian of the Lincoln tomb and monument, monu-ment, as a fitting memorial for the Great Emancipator. Sucb a monument would be Illinois challenge to the charges that the Immortal Im-mortal Lincoln was being forgotten by his native state. It would also challenge the genius of the world's greatest artists and sculptors, for Mr. Fay suggests a gigantic standing statue of Lincoln 2(Ki feet high mounted mount-ed on a pedestal 300 feet high. I Surrounding its base he would build I a suitable memorial hall to match the proportions of the monument and suf ! ficlently large to house Lincoln me mortals. Plan of Mert.orial. "Make three circles of rooms." sug j jests Mr. Kay. "(in the outer wall arrange to record the principal event j In Lincoln's life, especially from the j cradle unlil he went ro Washitig'on :-:rV'. i renter i Sketch of memorial suggested by Herbert Welti Fay. custodian of the Lincoln tomb and monument at Springfield, III. It would be 500 teet high and have powerful tcarchligbt on top of it to guide air mail pilots. In frames on (lie nails and In slum cases put pictures of every spot hP ever visited, letters and speeches he wrote, things he said, stories he tolil : friends, documents and surveys he made. A systematic arrangement of nil of these would give a paimi-Mina of his life that would give a patriotic thrill to eveiy visitor. American or foreign. "In this exhibit eould ho shown n copy of every letter, speech, suivey or document he made In chronological order. Pictures of every person men-Honed men-Honed mid places visited could be shown. There could be shown nil pub licalions about Lincoln, authors ,, books, photos of the scenes and everything. every-thing. Make It answ er every quest ion asked about Lincoln. Have every county of the state represented. "In the center circle reproduce Ids birthplace, probably evact sio. showing show-ing Us surroundings. Build Jn miniature minia-ture the contour of the country nnd make It show all the places ho fro-quonted fro-quonted In Kentucky. "Then In the next room faithfully reproduce the Indiana home ami vi-clnity. vi-clnity. In adjoining rooms of the ecu ler circle show n miniature of the 1 e rulur home of Thomas Lincoln, the Soles county home, nod reproduce the New Salem log-cahln village. One room could he devoted to the Black Hawk war. showing the contour of each county traveled. Rooms for M.ijor Events. "Booms could he set aside show ing Vti mini In. the campaign for congress Lincoln I louglas debates, depict l he bailies of the civil war. the assassl nation and luneral. Another room could he sol aside lo the Lincoln me luorlals erected In his honor. '"I he Inner circle of rooms next lo the base of the statue could he do-voted do-voted to n display id paintings of I in ,'oln, scenes of his life depleted In sculpture and photographs. To gel such n collection ullcr $10,000 ouch for the five best paintings of Lincoln or pertaining to his life and $5,000 for the next five best Offer smaller sums for miniatures of Lincoln, traos. pareneies, scenes or photograph! "This amount of money would en- i list the best efforts of the greatest artists of the country and such i collection, properly housed, would at. i tract every Lincoln lover of the world ' This would make the tomb of Lincoln the last word in detail. One of the ir 'st expensive and desirable acquisitions acquisi-tions would be a boulevard connecting the -state capitol, the tomb and the Lincoln home. With this Idea followed fol-lowed out, criticisms that Illinois doej not appreciate her Lincoln advantsge would forever be silenced." Tomb a World Shrine. Mr Pay, who, as custodian of the Lincoln monument. Is recognized ei one of the best authorities on Lincoln, asserts that there Is a growing sentiment senti-ment that Illinois does not fully ar-predate ar-predate her great historical asseL "The home and tomb if Lincoln attract at-tract more attention over the wor'd than ay other single feature, probably prob-ably more than all put together," ssid ' Mr. Kay. "If 'he citizens of Illinois were alive to tl.eir historical advantage they would appropriate a couple of trillion tril-lion dollars to sl.ow their appreciation apprecia-tion of what c.iine to them hy tie workit.g of fate. Nearly SS.i j.oil was expended on (he memorial tt Washington ai.d it answers every h r of those w!o are satisfied with en stt. pe.il to the spectacular. It awes tie guest end g;ves fri. r.d find f-ie tie proper thrill. Something d:ffra: should 1-e p I. .lined f. r Ppringr.eM." Pushes Idea B;fore State. Mr. Kav sugge's lie niorr.'K.ert wish i'ih s'trroundirg memorial till simply as a means of getting his ion before the public, t-c'ieving that lit time Is ripe for Illinois to begin riving riv-ing constructive thought to the matter. mat-ter. The I res, nt lomti and conoTt weie erect d in 174 at a cosi of '."-).-ti It Is in urgent need of rrp-i-l now-. Visitors comment on its cer,-:;-tion. Tee small nx'ms In the tif the inoir.imt i t are far Px s.iil and the ehoi, e collection of Lir.-a documents, memorials and souveri-s cannot he displayed. Mr. Kay's per-ootial per-ootial collection of Lincoln papers, piv-lures piv-lures and documents more thsn il . the limited space at present. . There are nine acres in the Liruva monument plot In beautiful Oskr:i;e cemetery In Springfield, giving a.r space for the erection of a fitiinc tie morial and shrine to Illinois' gift W the nation. |