WASHINGTON ELM MAY RISE IN STONE

The Washington Elm, preserved until its decay as a memorial of the spot on the west of the Cambridge Common where George Washington took command of the Continental, Army in the Revolutionary War, may be reproduced in an enduring form, if plans materialize which A. F. Blanchard '04 has proposed to the Massachusetts State Legislature, in which he is a representative from Cambridge.

Blanchard has a bill pending before the Legislature proposing a suitable Washington Eim memorial. To this bill he has just added the suggestion that the memorial include a replica of the tree as it appeared a few years before its removal, a replica to be similar to work done by Dionecio Rodriquez of Mexico City, who has reproduced oak and cedar trees in cement for the park departments of Houston and San Antonio, Texas.

The work of Rodriquez has been highly commended by C. L. Brock, superintendent of the Houston public park department. Brock states, "It is impossible to convey with words an adequate idea of the perfection of the work of Rodriquez. It is the coloring which makes his reproductions truly remarkable. He uses no forms, but fashions every piece of bark, and makes every weather check by hand before the surface cement has hardened. His color process is secret."

City Sanction Given

Blanchard said that the City of Cambridge has given its official sanction to a Washington Eim memorial, and has placed a tablet marking the spot where the tree stood. "There is a real danger," Blanchard stated to a CRIMSON representative, "of losing our Washington traditions in Cambridge by a failure to erect a suitable memorial. There seems to be a tendency to destroy the traditions and the reputations of our national heroes. The Washington Elm is a tradition of which Cambridge should be proud, and which cannot easily be relinquished."

To Be on Common

While the final form of the memorial will be determined by the Art Commission of the state, the location is practically certain to be on the Cambridge Common, directly opposite the site of the historic tree.

The cost of reproducing the elm, according to Blanchard, will not exceed $1000. The other feature of the memorial in the event of the passage of the bill, would be determined by the Art Commission, and the cost of the whole defrayed in part by the city, the state, and popular subscription