JOHN DICKINSON SHERMAN
OKK Jims been begun upon a new
wonder of the world ? the "Lost
Cause" in granite ? the meniori.il
to t ho Confederate States of
America to be carved on the face
of Stone mountain, sixteen miles
east of Atlanta, Gu.
Stone mountain!) is in itself a
natural wonder. It is a solid
mass of granite rising abruptly
from the level farmlands. It
covers an area of seven miles. It
slopes on three sides. There is
& lath to t*Iie summit from the south side; its
1 h Is approximately a mile.
It is estimated that the mountain eontnlns grnn
it" ?Mough to pave a highway 70 times around the
Ii. Quarrying has been done for years and
i' : y notable buildings the country over are
1 >:r* of its granite. The Venable family owns the
tn?M-nf;tjn and quarrying has made them rich. It
J* > 'i<! that Sam II. Venable swapped a mule for
t-1 " aiouniain.
U is a popular belief in Atlanta and towns ad
1; ? to the mountain that it was once the home
. great Indian tribe and that the Indians were
"?jly ones who were ever able to scale the
j <?: rn-ndioular side. But so far as known history
i." there has never been a human being who has
s'li-.-nwiH in climbing this side. Many have tried,
have met death, others have been able to
"'?* a part of the way up, but never has a man
l""n able to go all the way to the top of Stone
i;s"untalii except along the one beaten track from
south approach.
The present day Ku Klux Klan held Its first
i; iti;.'tion at midnight atop the mountain and since
time has held many ceremonials on it. It Is
s '!,l that in the carpetbag days just after the Civil
w"ar the real Ku Klux Klan held many meetings
there.
-Mr. Venable has donated the sheer north cliff
t" the Daughters of the Confederacy, under whose
auspices the memorial is being made.
The memorial will be carved on the sheer face
Stone mountain. Therefore this memorial to
*he "Lost Cause" faces the north? an accidental
but interesting!
This sheer north face of Stone mountain Is
about 700 feet high. It is only slightly corroded
hy the elements through the centuries an<t bears
no vegetation. Nature has made it ready for the
rhisel of man.
The memorial, in brief, represents the fighting
mofi of the Confederacy marching across the face
the cliff. The host will occupy a space of ap
proximately 700 by 100 feet. The carved strip
Hill have about 300 feet of cliff below it and 300
above It. Incidentally, the illustration herewith is
n"t in proportion.
*?en. Robert E. Lee, with Jefferson Davis, presi
'h'nt of the Confederacy, leads the muster. His
,!*-;ul Is nine feet high. A body in proportion would
he 03 feet tall. A good-sized horse stands 15 hands
? inches. A 63-foot man on a 50-foot horse
wouid b? about 81 feet high from ground to hat
This indicates the size of the figures of t fie me
morial.
The memorial is to represent tlie mobilization of
t lie Confederate forces. All branches of the army
? infantry, cavalry, artillery ? will he shown march
ing across the face of the mountain. A group of
Confederate leaders will he seen in the foreground
reviewing these troops. This group will include
Lee, Davis, Jackson. Johnston, Beauregard, Steu
art, fjord on and Wheeler.
Gutzon Borgium, the American sculptor of world
wide fame, is the presiding genius of the work. He
is quoted as saying that he has donated his serv
ices; that the memorial Is with him n Jnbor of ar
tistic love; that he intends to make it his life
work ; that completion may be expected in about
eight years; that the completed memorial will take
a front rank among the wonders of the world.
If the memorial is to be one of the wonders of
the world, the methods of its making are scarcely
less wonderful.
As a preliminary to the actual carving of the fig
ures, the biggest photographs ever imagined by
man will be printed on the face of the cliff.
These photographs will be printed on the cliff
exactly as a photographer in his dark room prints
a picture on a piece of sensitized paper. The side
of the mountain will be the piece of paper. It
will be sensitized with chemicals. At a distance
of 700 feet away on the flat plain will be stationed
a huge projecting machine. Mr. Borglura will
stand at the machine and throw his picture on the
mountain side, where the chemicals will retain
the impression on the solid rock.
"First I will determine the exact location for
General Lee's figure, which will be the first to be
carved. I will make that spot on the mountain
sensitive to light by pouring chemicals over it.
Men will be lowered down the mountain side with
several barrels of nitrate of silver. The application
of the nitrate will, in effect, turn the granite tnto
a sensitized plate. Working only at night, because
the night Itself will be my dark room, I will let
the rays of the lamp shine against the sensitized
mountain side for several hours.
"After that, more men will be lowered down
the mountain side. They will pour over the ex
posed spot developing fluid and then 'fixing' fluid.
At last the spot will be washed with about 10,000
gallons of water poured over the brink of the preci
pice. When daybreak comes the picture should
be Imprinted plainly.
"When one spot is printed the workmen will
begin carving on it at once In order to avoid the
picture fading by any chance, though it should
remain there for months, perhaps years. I will
treat the side of the mountain In this way, sec
tion by section, until the entire memorial is printed
and carved."
The lamp to which Mr. Borglum refers Is thus
explained by him :
"When I first thought of this plan I wrote to dif
ferent manufacturers of lamps, but at first my
plan appeared to them to be impossible. It wasn't,
however. I have finished assembling at my studio
In Stamford, Connecticut, a lamp, the most power
ful ever built In this country, that will throw Its
rays ji distance of 700 fret, which is the distance j
I must project my drawing from the foot of Stone
mountain to thr point where I intend to carve.
"It will be necessary to fix the lamp so that It j
can he held absolutely motionless. This will be J
due to the fact that the negative I place in the !
lamp will be magnified many times over on the
mountainside. For instance, in experiments I have j
made in my studio at Stamford, t lie head of Gen- j
eral Lee's horse was little more than the size of j
a pinhead on the slide, and yet when I projected '
it on a canvas 0<X> feet away, it was enlarged to j
the height of 24 feet. A tiny error in the adjust
ment of the lamp or in the proportions of the draw
ing on the negative will he magnified manyfold on
the mountain. This means that we will have to
use great pains, and that our task of completing 1
the outline of the memorial will not be finished
In a night a"
It is evident that the carving of the memorinl
is a dangerous undertaking. Mr. Borglum sayjs on
this point: ' ,
"Of course the work will be filled with dangers.
Many of the men engaged in it may lose their lives,
for a false step at any time will mean an instantan
eous death ? yet the thought of danger only height
ens my desire to overcome all obstacles.
"It is my plan to carve the figures of Lee and
of Davis first, a work that will cost about $100,000;
then I will proceed with the others in the main
group; and after that I hope to carve an entire
army marching across the face of the mountain.
If I am able to do that, the various groups of the
memorinl will extend for a distance of 700 feet
across the mountainside.
"The memorial, as I plan it, will without doubt
be the greatest monument ever built.. The single
figures will dwarf other pieces of sculpture, and
the entire effect of an army marching across the
mountain In review before their leaders will be big
ger than anything of Its sort ever before at
tempted."
The successful completion of the memorial will
doubtless result in other features that will trans
form the neighborhood.
Mr. Venable, who lives In Atlanta and Is a mil
lionaire, has subscribed liberally to a project for
an open-air theater at the foot of the cliff, below
the memorial. It has been demonstrated that the
sheer cliff constitutes a most remarkable sounding
board. Marie Tiffany, an opera star, sang with
her back to the cliff and It Is said that her voice
was heard at a distance of a mile. An orchestral
concert was recently given at the foot of the cliff
with astonishing results. So It Is proposed to
build an enormous open-air theater, patterned
after the Coliseum of Rome and seating 20,000 per
sons.
Mr. Venable also says that he hopes the Daugh
ters of the Confederacy will build a hotel adjacent
to the park of several hundred acres to be estab
lished at the foot of the mountain. He Intimates
that unless they do he will himself build a fine
tourist hotel to take care of the crowds of visitors..
Then there is talk of a museum along lines su*
gested by the memorial. This may be established
In chambers to be blasted out of the mountain*
s Even
ysL
? 4
ciiry
"Maudie."
MARY" GRAHAM BONNER
oomiGMT r* vtmiN niwami union ? . . ?
IN ZOOLAND SOCIETY
The Giraffe Family are still the lead
ers .in Zooland society. There are none,
it is said, who
stand higher than
they do.
' Miss Libby Hip
popotamus is the
debutante daugh
ter of Mother
Chloe Pygmy Hip
popotamus. This
means, the mother
states, that fier
daughter is ready
to be a ^ Pygmy
Hippo society bud.
The daughter was
nu^iied after Li
beria where the
mother was born.
The old home
stead was given
up when the fam
ily moved to the zoo in the city.
Four American Bison have arrived
at the zoo this year. They are all very
choice and tine and Zooland society
welcomes them.
The Indian Mongoose 13 giving a
series of Friday afternoon talks on
"Snakes We Have Killed," and other
interesting topics. The Indian Mon
goose is famous in India for the num
ber of deadly King Cobra snakes which
it kills so bravely, even though the
! Mongoose is a little creature. /
The Mongoose sees and acts quickly
and knows just how to catch a snake
behind the head. The Cobra, strange
as it may seem, has a weak heart, and
after the Mongoose has caught the
snake behind the head he whirls him
about so fast that the Cobra becomes
dizzy and his heart gives way. These
and other interesting facts the Mon
goose will tell in his Friday afternoon
talks. No admission charged. The
Cobra would kill many thousands of
people in India were It not for the
brave members of the Mongoose fam
ily. As it is the Cobra does a great
deal of wicked work.
Two pairs of Rocky Mountain Sheep
and one pair of Mountain Goats have
arrived in the zoo. -
Another young GirafTe lender is ex
pected to arrive with his mate almost
any day now. They, of course, will
add greatly to zoo society. Besides,
they give the visitors so much to talk
about. They are almost as popular
as a topic of conversation as the
weather is, they say.
The zoo is hoping to get a West
African Pygray Elephant before long.
The other animals say that this will
be an addition to zoo society.
Some Royal Elephants are expected
to arrive, too. They will surely give
an aristocratic touch to the society of
the zoo.
The Rifle Bird is trying out his
voice, which, it is said, sounds some
thing like, shots being lired. lie says
he has never been robbed for lie is his
fiwn policeman and burglars would
always bo afraid of him.
Maudie, the Australian Kangaroo, is
celebrating the approach of spring by
coming out of her den, also bringing
with her a fine young daughter which
she carries in her pouch. She also
carries a handsome son in her pouch,
too, for Kangaroo mothers think baby
carriages are not nearly so smart as
pouches for carrying children about
In.
A porcupine arrived at the zoo last
week and it Is said to he a handsome
and a worthy creature for Zooland so
ciety.
A South American beaver, whose
name among those who know him well
Is Coypu' has also taken up his resi
dence in the zoo.
A white-faced monkey has arrived
and is a charming young monkey, It
is said.
Khartoum, the African Elephant, has
been getting fixed up for spring so
ciety by having a
massage or rub
and a fine bath.
.His toe nails, too,
have been cut.
The Lions and
the Tigers are
greeting spring In
their usual rest
less fashion by
pacing up and
down their yards.
Silver King, the
Polar Bear, spends 1 1
all his time in his
bath. Spring is
here and warm
weath'er is on its
?vay, he announces.
The Frogs have ?|n H|, Bath."
begun to croak
and the Frog Glee club meets every
evening for practice In preparation for
the great spring concert. The other
creatures say that the frogs need
plenty of practice.
The Squirrels and Sparrows about
the Park are still boasting of the
Christmas party they had when the
children came and hung bags of nuts
and suet on the trees and wished them
a Merry Christmas.
These are some of the latest items
of news In Zooland society.
True.
Sunday School Teacher ? Now, Tom
my, do you know what we should do
before our sins can be forgiven?
Tommy (anxiously) ? Well ? er ? I
guess we must ?ln,
"In His Bath."
&50Y?
SCDUTS
(Conducted by National Council of the Boy
Scouts or America.)
PARENTS AID BOY SCOUTS
One of the greatest tributes to th?
boy scout program of character build
ing and citizenship training is the In
creasing interest of mothers and
fathers in the work of their scout sons.
Scouting is creating a bond of com
radeship between thousands of sons
and fathers who In Increasing num
bers are spending week-ends together
at scout camps, relaxing in the out of
doors, skating, skiing, hiding and sled
ding together. Father acd son hikes,
banquets and get-togeth?rs are held
in practically every community. Con
tests between "lads and dads" create
splendid rivalry and make (lad want
to get out with son in the oj>en more
and more.
One big-hearted father who, as an
incentive to his own boy, joined the
ranks of the tenderfoot scouts recent
ly with his son reached t^le very top
of the ladder together ? ESgle rank. ,
And mother! .You may be sure she
Is very proud of son's manliness, his
scout hearing, his practice of the
scouts' daily good turn, ot' being ready
at all times to help other?, his cour
tesy to the old, the weak, tfce sick, his
deference to those older then himself,
his growing strength from his outdoors
life. These things with their ultimate
bearing on character building, mothers
are keen to appreciate. rJ o further
the work, scouts mothers' c>ubs, com
mittees, , and associations Are being
constantly formed. Mother and son
hikes and even mothers' week at camp
are evidence that the scout inn knows
"the best pal of all" is rig.'it behind
him in his advance in scoui.?raft.
Scouting does not supplant the home
training. It supplements it and for
tifies it. Scouting's best supporters
are the mothers and fathers tvho from
dally observation see with gratifica
tion sons who are living every inch as
scouts.
"A SCOUT IS THRIFTY"
Boy scouts Honored benjamin as an
expositor of thrift, a3 well as a great
patriot, on the occasion of franklin's
two hundred and seventeenth birth
day, when, in common with 40 other
national, educational and Civic soci
eties, the scoots laid a tribute of flow
ers at the great statesman's ntatue in
New York city, Scout Adolphe Schmidt,
a member of Troop 2, Brooklyn,
N. Y., at the ceremony impersonated
Franklin at the age of seventeen, ar
riving at Philadelphia.
A FEW SCOUT "GOOD TURNS"
Here is a series of "good turns" with
a splendid cliinnx for which credit is
due Troop 1, Ashland, W. Va.: Pruned
50 trees, cleaned streets, removed de
bris from lot where house bad partly
burned, cleaned around dwelling
houses, set out 60 treos and helped
find boy who, had run away from home.
CO-OPERATE WITH BOY SCOUTS
Thirteen theological seminaries In
various parts of the United States are
showing active Indorsement of scout
ing by Including training for future
scout leaders as a regulai part of their
cnrricull.
BOY SCOUTS AID BIRDS
Carrying food daily throngh the win
ter to game refuge, and distributing It
at places where thousands of wild
birds congregate, is one ^vay Troop
No. 1, Hamilton, Ohio, Iutb *rt carry
ing out the sixth scout lav/, "A Scout
Is Kind." During the autumn migra
tion of birds the boys threw food along
the lake shores after tha sarctuary
birds had been penned op for th*
night It la said the birds now recog
nize the scout uniform &s a sign of
friendliness.