In this year an act occurred at the Monument which created much
indignation and excitement in the District, and was the subject of much
public discussion throughout the country.
The facts furnished to the press by the Society, after an investigation
by it, were reported thus in the "Daily National Intelligencer" on March
8, 1854:
"A deed of barbarism was enacted on Monday morning last, between one
and two o'clock, by several persons (number not known, but supposed
to be from four to ten), which will be considered as belonging
rather to some of the centuries considerably in our rear than to the
better half of the boasted Nineteenth Century. We refer to the
forcible seizure from its place of deposit, in a shed at the
Washington Monument, of a block of marble sent hither from Rome, a
tribute to the memory of Washington by the Pontiff, and intended to
become a part of the edifice now erecting to signalize his name and
glory. It originally stood in the Temple of Concord at Rome, was of
beautiful texture, and had for its dimensions a length of three
feet, height of eighteen inches, and thickness of ten inches. The
account we hear of the matter is this: That at about the time above
mentioned several men suddenly surrounded the watch box of the night
watchman, and passed a cord, such as is used for clothes lines,
around the box, and piled stones against the door, calling to the
man within that if he kept quiet he would not be injured, at the
same time they pasted pieces of newspapers on the two or three
window openings that commanded the particular shed containing the
fated block, so as to prevent the watchman from seeing their
operations. They then removed one of the strips in front of the
place where the block stood, and passing in and out by the opening
carried it off by placing it on a hand cart used about the premises.
There is no doubt they took the block to the river side, not less
than a quarter of a mile off, and pitched it over the steep bank
upon the river beach, where they enjoyed a favorable opportunity of
breaking it up undiscovered or boating it off into the river, which
they probably did after defacing it. All this went on, it seems,
without effective remonstrance from the watchman, although he had
with him a double-barrel shot gun loaded with buck shot, and the
operations at the shed were within easy shot. As for the pasting on
the windows, there was nothing in that, for they slid up and down
like the sashes of an omnibus. These proceedings, the watchman says,
took place about half-past one; but he gave no notice of it to the
family residing at the Monument until four. For these and other
similar reasons he has been suspended."
A meeting of the Society was held on the 7th of March in reference to
this vandalism, and it was resolved to offer a reward to discover the
perpetrators. Accordingly, the following advertisement appeared in the
"Daily National Intelligencer" on March 8th:
"$100 REWARD. The Board of Managers of the Washington National
Monument Society will pay the above reward of $100 for the arrest
and conviction of the person or persons who, on the night of the 5th
instant, stole and destroyed a block of marble contributed to said
Monument."
This advertisement availed nothing as to the discovery of the guilty
persons. It was understood to have been the work of persons belonging to
the party styled "Know-Nothings;" one of their professions being
opposition to the Roman Catholic Church and any political preference of
its members. It was not thought the persons were generally depraved
characters, but, on the contrary, were supposed to be identified with
the respectable part of the community. From the time of the reception of
this stone from Rome by the Society until its destruction, there had
been frequent expressions in a portion of the daily press in opposition
to its being placed in the Monument, and the Society had received many
protesting letters and, in some instances, long petitions from various
parts of the country, numerously signed, urging that the stone be not
used by the Society, as it was representative of the Roman Church, &c.
Many petitions from New Jersey recited:
"We, the undersigned, citizens of ----, in the State of New Jersey,
believing the proffer of a block of marble recently made by the Pope
of Rome to this country for the Washington Monument to be totally
inconsistent with the known principles of that despotic system of
government of which he is the head; that the inscription, 'Rome to
America,' engraved upon it, bears a significance beyond its natural
meaning; that the construction is an artful stratagem, calculated to
divert the attention of the American people for the present from his
animosity to republican institutions by an outward profession of
regard; that the gift of a despot, if placed within those walls, can
never be looked upon by true Americans but with feelings of
mortification and disgust; and believing that the original design of
the structure was to perpetuate the memory of Washington as the
champion of American liberty, its national character should be
preserved, do therefore most earnestly protest against the placing
of said stone within the Monument, or any other stone from any other
than a republican government."
But the Society was not organized on sectarian or political lines, and
to the opposition and protests no heed was given. The Society was
composed of men of different political beliefs and church affiliations.
The immediate effect of the destruction of the "Pope's stone" was to
anger a large body of the citizens of the country, members of the
Catholic Church, and then, and for a long time afterward, to estrange
any interest they had had in the building of the Monument, and to this
extent to impair the field for the collection of funds for the Monument.
It has never been certainly known what the precise fate of the stone
was, though occasional uncorroborated statements of individuals,
alleging knowledge of or participation in its destruction, have been
made as to it. But their variance has rendered them of no value.
The further collection of funds for the Monument was not only curtailed
by the destruction of the Pope's stone, but the political and business
conditions of the country in 1854 caused a great falling off in
contributions. The Monument had now reached a height of 153 feet above
the foundation, and the Society had expended on the entire structure
$230,000. The funds being now practically exhausted, and all its efforts
to obtain further sums proving abortive in this year, 1854, the Society
presented a memorial to Congress representing that they were unable to
devise any plan likely to succeed in raising the requisite means, and
under the circumstances asked that Congress might take such action as it
deemed proper.
In the House of Representatives the memorial was referred to a select
committee of thirteen members, appointed under a resolution July 13th,
of which committee the Hon. Henry May, of Maryland, was chairman.
By a previous order, Mr. May, on the 22d of February, 1855, made an
eloquent and able report to the House, in which, after a careful
examination of the whole subject, the proceedings of the Society were
reviewed and approved, and an appropriation of $200,000 by Congress was
recommended "on behalf of the people of the United States to _aid_ the
funds of this Society." There was no suggestion made that Congress
should assume the completion of the Monument; the Society were to
continue actively in the work they had been prosecuting. Congress would
make simply a donation to the funds. The sum proposed was the same in
amount which the House of Representatives, by their resolution of
January 1, 1801, had agreed to appropriate for erecting a mausoleum to
Washington, in the City of Washington. The report referred to the
Society and its work in the following terms of approval:
"The Society was organized on an admirable plan, and its officers
undertook the duties assigned them by its Constitution, and have, as
your committee are well satisfied, faithfully performed them.
"The funds were to be collected in all parts of the United States;
and agents as competent and as faithful as could be found were
appointed, after giving bond for the performance of their duties.
These agents were sent to all parts of the country, and
contributions were commenced and continued by the subscription of
$1.00 for each person. This plan was adopted in order that all might
have the opportunity to contribute.
"In the appointment of these agents a careful scrutiny was exercised
by the Society, and undoubted recommendations of both character and
capacity were in every case required, and though an opinion may
prevail in some parts of the country to the contrary, your committee
are satisfied that these agents generally proved to be worthy of the
confidence reposed in them. Of the large number employed but two of
them failed to account for the money collected, and legal measures
resorted to promptly by the Society against their bonds have, in one
of these instances, obtained the full amount of the liability.
"It may well be questioned if any Society executing a plan for
collecting money so extensively has met with equal success in
justifying the integrity of its agents, and it is pleasing to state
that not one cent of the funds received by the Society has at any
time been lost by investment or otherwise."
This report, recommending "that the sum of two hundred thousand dollars
should be subscribed by Congress on behalf of the people of the United
States to aid the funds of the Society" was submitted to the House with
every assurance of its adoption, and that the appropriation recommended
would be made. But an unfortunate occurrence arose, news of which, upon
reaching Mr. May upon the floor, occasioned a suspension of further
consideration of the report, and the whole matter was laid upon the
table. The occurrence was the result of "a plot, secretly contrived and
suddenly disclosed, to reverse the principles on which the Society had
uniformly acted, and to degrade an enterprise, sacred to patriotism and
humanity, into an instrument of party or sect." On the day the report of
Mr. May was submitted to the House of Representatives, "a crowd of
persons assembled at the City Hall and there voted for seventeen
individuals, named in a printed ticket, to be officers and managers of
'the' Society. The only previous announcement of this proceeding was
notice signed 'F. W. Eckloff, clerk W. N. M. Society,' and published on
the evening of the 21st of February in the American Organ' and the
'Evening Star,' and on the morning of the 22d in the `National
Intelligencer.' On the 24th of February the result of the election was
proclaimed in the Press," by which it appeared 755 votes were cast,
resulting in the election of the following officers: Vespasian Ellis,
First Vice-President; George H. Plant, Second V. P.; Charles C. Tucker,
Secretary; John M. McCalla, Treasurer; and the following Board of
Managers: Samuel S. Briggs, French S. Evans, Henry Addison, Charles R.
Belt, Joseph H. Bradley, J. N. Craig, Thomas D. Sandy, Samuel C. Busey,
James A. Gordon, Robert T. Knight, Samuel E. Douglass, Joseph Libbey,
Sr., Thomas A. Brooke.
This pretended election was not had according to the Constitution of the
Society. The constitutional time of election was every third year from
the year 1835, and the last election had been held in 1853.
It was the province of the Secretary of the Society to issue all notices
of meetings, and the clerk (Eckloff), a mere recorder and messenger, had
no color of authority to issue any such notice. The last regular weekly
meeting of the Society was held on the 20th of February, and it had then
adjourned to meet on the 27th of that month. Of the 755 votes cast all
were given to each of the seventeen persons elected, except one, who
received 754 votes, and not one of the persons elected was a member of
the existing board. This election was carried on certificates of
membership, which could be obtained from the Society or its agents on
the payment of one dollar, but which were issued without any knowledge
of the Society, and no money representing them was ever received by its
Treasurer.
Abundant evidence shows that the plan of this election was "silently yet
solemnly resolved," and framed in the secret lodges of the
"Know-Nothing" or American party of that day, its object being to
transfer the entire and exclusive management into its own hands, and to
oust every other description of citizens from participation in the
trust.
On the 24th of February, the existing Society held a special meeting,
protesting against the pretended election of February 22d, and appointed
a committee "to investigate the existing state of things and report
thereon at the next regular meeting."
The committee reported at a meeting of the Society on the 27th of
February, and in accordance therewith adopted resolutions declaring
"that the election held on the 22d instant of officers and managers of
the Washington National Monument Society was in direct violation of the
Constitution of said Society, and therefore null and void; that this
Board, being by virtue of the Constitution of the Washington National
Monument Society, the existing Board of Managers, and as such charged
with a trust of the most solemn character, in behalf of the American
people cannot voluntarily surrender the same; that the above resolutions
be communicated to the gentlemen claiming under the election of the 22d
instant, and that we propose that an amicable suit be instituted for the
purpose of testing the rights of the two parties."
Replying to a transmitted copy of these resolutions, the "Know-Nothing"
board adopted resolutions not admitting any right in "the late Board of
Managers" to participate in the "administration of this Society other
than as _members_ thereof," and appointed a committee of three persons
"to confer with those gentlemen in response to the resolutions received
from them to-day, and that they report to the next meeting of this
Board."
The two committees met on the 3d of March, but were unable to agree on
terms of arrangement, the committee of the "Know-Nothing" board adhering
to a refusal to submit the dispute to judicial decision.
The Superintendent in charge of the Monument, William Dougherty,
declining to recognize the authority of the pretended board or to
surrender possession of any of the buildings on the Monument grounds to
the new superintendent appointed by it, on the evening of the 9th of
March these buildings were forcibly taken possession of in its name, and
the "new" superintendent was installed in place. Thereafter, for several
years, the Society had no further communication with the "Know-Nothing"
board, and published in the daily press a full account of the
controversy, which demonstrated the illegality of the organization of
the board in usurped possession. Arrangements were also made to secure a
decision by the courts in the premises. The Society's agents were also
advised of the existing conditions. Being bonded, no moneys collected by
them were paid to the treasurer of the "Know-Nothing" board, which board
shortly issued the following address, thereby stamping its character:
"BRETHREN OF THE AMERICAN PARTY:
"For twenty years past a voluntary association has existed in this
city, formed for the purpose of raising funds to erect a monument to
WASHINGTON. It was founded on the scheme of voluntary contributions
among the people of the United States, in such sums as would enable
every citizen to contribute towards it. After years of patient
waiting, a sufficient amount was accumulated to justify them in
adopting a plan and beginning the work. A plan was adopted of a
single shaft of white marble, of four equal sides, having a base 55
feet square, and rising to the height of 600 feet, diminishing
gradually from base to top, and to be 33 feet square at the top. The
base is to be a pantheon, surrounded by columns and ornamented by
statues. The interior of the Monument is a square chamber: the
walls, 15 feet in thickness, are composed of the solid blue stone of
the Potomac in large masses, faced on the outside with white marble
18 inches thick, firmly bonded at every course into the blue stone.
The corner-stone was laid on the 4th of July, 1848. The structure
has reached the height of 170 feet at a cost of upward of $230,000.
And it appears to be firm as the materials of which it is composed.
"Last year the contributions were wholly insufficient to keep up the
ordinary progress of the work, and the managers were constrained to
apply to Congress for aid. In the course of its construction they
had thought it expedient and proper to receive not only
contributions in money from every quarter of the globe, but they
invited contributions in ornamented stones, to be placed, under the
direction of the architect, in the face of the wall of the chamber.
Among others, a stone sent from the Pope of Rome, and was received
by the managers, to be placed, as the others, in some conspicuous
place.
"It was an American Monument, and its construction and management
was said to be mainly in the hands of Catholics and foreigners.
Complaints were also made of the administration of the association,
and of the expenditures and losses in the collections of funds. For
these and divers other causes, the Americans of this District
resolved in their respective Councils that this work ought to be
typical of their Government, completed by the free act of the
People, under the direction and by the hands of the natives.
Accordingly, at the election held on the 22d of February last, they
nominated and elected a ticket of their own Order, who now have the
control of the work.
"It will require at least one million of dollars to complete it as
it was originally designed, and that sum must be raised by the
Councils of our Order, or we must suffer indelible disgrace and
become a bye-word. There are enrolled in the Order at this time not
less than two millions of freemen. A contribution of fifty cents
from each, a sum within the reach of every member, will effect it.
There may be some too poor--there cannot be any too mean or too
insensible to the obligation upon them--to give this sum. If this
shall be so, we have adopted a plan by which that difficulty may be
met. For every contribution of one dollar, a certificate of
membership is to be issued to the person in whose name the
subscription is made. It is therefore proposed that collections
shall be made in each Council throughout the Nation in such manner
as each may deem most expedient, and the money remitted to JOHN M.
McCALLA, Esq., Treasurer of the National Monument, accompanied by a
letter addressed to CHARLES C. TUCKER, Secretary of the National
Monument, stating the amount thus forwarded, and transmitting a list
of the names to whom a certificate for each dollar thus paid in is
to be sent. For each single subscription of five dollars a handsome
engraved plate of the Monument, of large size, will be sent.
"But, Brethren, while the sum of fifty cents from each member of the
Order may be barely sufficient to complete the structure, it will
take as much more to finish the work and the grounds, and leave a
surplus to be invested and yield an interest to keep it in repair
end defray the incidental annual expenses.
"We have pledged the American party to this work. We have taken the
great step of overthrowing, on this pledge, the administration which
has preceded us, and which not only failed but went as beggars to
Congress to ask legislative aid for that which loses all merit,
unless it be the free-will offering of grateful hearts.
"Have we done right?
"Brothers, we come to you to demand your aid in this great work to
which we have been appointed, and to which, through us, you are
pledged. We do not come alone. Our brethren in the District of
Columbia, beneath the walls of the Presidential Mansion, from which
a frowning brow is ever turned upon us--these brethren, moved by the
sacred fire that ever burns in their hearts, the altars of
patriotism, defying the scorn and contumely and lust of those
temporarily in power, have come up freely to our aid. They have set
to you, the free citizens of free States, with power to remove and
bring to account those who dare to turn a wrathful eye on the
movements of those native to the soil--to you in every sense
Freemen--they have set a bright and glorious example. May you walk
by its light. The Councils in this the heart of the Nation--yet not
one of its members--our Councils have, with wondrous unanimity,
resolved to contribute _one dollar_ for each member enrolled in each
separate Council. Let it go forth--publish it wherever in this broad
land, those born beneath the stars and stripes, the glorious banner
of our Union, have met, or shall meet, to resolve that Americans
must and shall govern America. Ring it in the ear of the
slothful--breathe it into the heart of the earnest--the native
Americans in Council, in the District of Columbia, have resolved to
contribute a dollar for each member toward the completion of the
work; and they have already begun their contributions.
"Brethren, it is a national work--it is the heaped-up offering of
mighty people--it is the work of the age. To it, from every kindred
and nation, offerings have been brought--the tribute of far-off
lands to that name which stands single, alone, mighty, majestic, in
the history of the world, as though it were written in letters of
starry light in the high heavens, to be read by all men. These are
but the homage paid to virtue end renown, while the heart is cold or
hostile.
"But to you, Brethren, his name is a household word. It was breathed
over you on a mother's name and graven on your heart by a mother's
love. It was taught you by a father's watchful care, and has been
held ever before you as your beacon and your guide by a father's
ceaseless anxiety. It was your watchword in the sports of youth; it
is, it must be, your polar star in the mazes of a maturer life; it
is the name for patriotism; it is little less than that of a god.
Oh, the heart--the true American heart--the heart that beats
responsive to the call of country--the heart that thrills at those
words of wisdom and warning which fell from his lips, teaching us
the dangers of foreign influence--the heart that swells with
gratitude to the great human benefactor, who, having led us through
the perils of the terrible conflicts of the Revolution, and guided
us through the scarcely less perilous history of the Federation, and
presided over that grand and august assembly which framed our
matchless Constitution, laid in practice the deep foundations of
this mighty Nation--the heart of the native-born American leaps up
with joy to testify its deep love and veneration for him and seeks
some adequate means to express it. And, Brethren and Countrymen, we
bring it to you; we give you, by the means spread before you, an
opportunity to enroll your names in the book where is found the
mighty company who have contributed to this the most remarkable
Monument ever erected to man, which, as his name, shall stand
unique, lofty--towering above all others known among men.
"Brethren, come to our aid.
"By order of the Board:
"CHAS. C. TUCKER,
"_Secretary_.
"WASHINGTON, D. C., _May, 1855_."