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One Shrine for All the Presidents To /«'. grave at Arlington, Va„ where he was eligible to rest by having been Secretary of War and also commader-in-ehief of the Army and Navy While President* Death of IVilliam Howard Taft Revives Interest in Proposal to Assemble Within a Pantheon, at IVishington, D. C., Remains of All American Chief Executives. Seven Presidents are buried on the ‘home place"—Washington, Jefferson, Madison. Jackson, Taylor, PoUc and Wil liam H. Harrison. Seventeen lie in their native States, eight in States of their adoption, one in the Capital, one in Arlington and one in New York City. ’ There are six presidential graves in Virginia, five in New York and five in Ohio. Three Presidents are interred in churches—the two Adamses, beneath the portico of a church at Quincy, Mass . and Wilson in a cathedral vault at Washing ton. BY KATHLEEN READ. w- yr tr HENEVER death claims a Prest- M M / dent or ex-President of the M/E/ United States, a time-honored Mr Mr and much - debated question arises. Will the United States Government eventually decide on a national presidential shrine at Washington, to which may be brought the ashes of its chiefs? Such a shrine, argue the supporters of the movement, would serve to heighten the Nation’s patriotic fervor, besides adding a fitting touch of majesty to the Capital. It would also enable the thousands of Americans who yearly journey to Washington to visit In a single pilgrimage the last resting places of these lllustrous men. A traveler in England may, within a few hours, visit the tomb of every English ruler, so close together are Westminster, Windsor and Winchester, the great national shrines. But when one starts out to visit the graves of our Presidents he must travel into 11 different States and into the District of Columbia, and cover thousands of miles. Representative Tinkham of Massachusetts, who is sponsoring the national-fame idea of a temple honoring the illustrious dead, hopes to see the building included in the new Federal building plan. Sooner or later the Presidential Pantheon may become a reality, but whether it will receive into its cold white bosom the earthly remains of many Presidents is another question. Many of the Nation’s departed great expressed a desire to be laid to rest in their home States, and the States which have kept a jealous guardianship over their illustrious dead are loath to part with their ashes. In the Capitol is a crypt marked with a golden star. This is pointed out to sight-seers as the place designed for the tomb of our first . President. Mrs. Washington, accustomed to the demands of patriotism, to which she had so often bowed in her life, consented to the removal of his body from the quiet Mount Vernon garden, but Virginia refused to ac- Eutesce to the plan. Virginia had cradled jeorge Washington in babyhood, nourished him to young manhood, sent him forth to the highest offices of the land—his dust must be forever Virginia’s. And such, no doubt, would be the sentiment of the other States which are honored with presidential dead. 'J'HIS homecoming sentiment Is not only re flected in the States, but In a large de tached following as weU. In the arguments against the assembling of the Nation’s illus trious dead under one dome, the idea Is ad vanced that such an institution would not be as much in keeping with the democratic struc ture upon which this Nation Is founded as is the present custom of presidential shrines in the various States. Col. U. S. Grant, 3d, director of public parks and buildings of the National Capital and grandson of the eighteenth President, when approached upon the subject of an American Westminster, said: “I am sure that no member of the Grant family would consent to the re moval of my grandfather’s body from the New York tomb under any condition. It was his THE SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C, APRIL 13, 19301 , ,■! '• </ 1 > *■"» - - - - - -* The late William Howard Taft is the first President to rest in the National Cemetery. Grant's Tomb in New York City ia one of the most impressive monuments to mark the resting place of a President. The grave of Theodore Roosevelt at Oyster. Bay, N. Y., is located near the Summer home which he loved so weU. expressed wish that he be not moved from New York.” The Grant Tomb, on Riverside Drive, is one of the most famous monuments in America. It was built by popular subscription at a cost of $600.0000 and is visited each year by countless thousands. Many of the other presi dential graves are not so well known, but today they are all accessible and all fittingly marked. Several of the Presidents lie within a stone’s throw of the spot on which they were bom and reared, and those who argue against any proposed removal declare that nothing imparts a greater intimacy with the departed great than a joint visit to their homes and last rest ing places. Since the World War there has been a tre mendous awakening of patriotic fervor as re gards historic landmarks. Associations of wom en and patriotic societies are responsible for the restoration of many old homes of history and romance which would otherwise have passed Into oblivion. Especial interest has been centered in the homes of our Presidents. Their birthplaces and later homes have been sought out and converted into national shrines. Os the 28 Presidents who have passed on, 17 lie in their native States, 8 in the States of their adoption, 1 in the Capital, 1 in Arlington and 1 in New York City. President Wilson is the only President buried in Washington. His tomb, in Bethlehem Chapel of the Episcopal Cathedral of SS. Peter and agg 3&£^3^;??fs^«ys»aw«WßM>*MaMawaaißMßigSßgg»B>SgßßjSBgMraf»jßa»*feaaHMlftlllLM>BHJlßdßfll> aSS; BaßaBs^3S3BBMKS33aMßß^^BMß»^...rf.^^,«^jaKp^Eastai^vjaa»M«wßft» rm •• 1 Paul, Is the object of many pilgrimages. The great cathedral, which will be many yean In the building, has incorporated within its plans a section for Illustrious American dead, re gardless of sect or creed. At first it was thought that the body of President Taft might join that of his successor there. Instead, the man who had received the two highest offices in the United States and whose lovable smile and hap py philosophy of life endeared him to all went to Arlington, the first President to sleep in the National Cemetery. In Cincinnati the old Taft home still stands, although it Is not now in the family. Undoubt edly, some day It will be added to that ever increasing list of presidential shrines. The graves of our Presidents range all the way from magnificent and Imposing structures to simply marked tombs in quiet rural church yards. A mental pilgrimage to these hallowed spots might not be amiss at this time, when the Nation’s tears and flowers have just laid to rest one of its best-loved Presidents. SIXTEEN miles from Cincinnati, at North Bend, stands a bit of the home associ ated with the two Harrison Presidents. In it lived President William Henry Harrison after he came from Virginia, and in it was bom his grandson Benjamin, the twenty-third Presi dent. Nearby is the tomb of the first Harrison, while Indianapolis claims the ashes of the other. The cabin in which President Grant was bom was moved from its original location in Clermont County, Ohio, and Is now at the State Fair Grounds at Columbus. Nearby, in Delaware County, Ohio, was bom the man who succeeded Grant in the presi dency, Rutherford B. Hayes. His later home at Fremont, Ohio, is occupied by his son, OoL Webb Hayes, who presented to the State the 25 acres which surround the old home and is known as Seigel Grove—a beauty spot, splendid ly maintained as a park. On a little knoll in a quiet thicket is the simple tomb of President Hayes. Lawn field, the Mentor, Ohio, home of Presi dent Garfield, is excellently preserved by his son, James Garfield, who makes it his home and who has accumulated an Immense Garfield collection. The Garfield tomb at Lakeview Cemetery is one of the treasured sights of Cleveland. Part of President McKinley’s birthplace at Niles, Ohio, is still standing and has been converted into a small local museum. His tomb at Canton is one of the most imposing in the country. Marion County, Ohio, holds the body of President Harding in a temporary tomb. When Continued On Twelfth P age 3