The masonry constructed by the Government is the best known to the engineering art, and the weight is so distributed that, subject to a wind pressure of 100 pounds per square foot on any face, corresponding to a wind velocity of 145 miles per hour, the Monument would have a large factor of safety against overturning. The entire weight is 81,120 tons. The weight of the foundations is 36,912 tons, and there is a maximum pressure on the underlying soil of 9 tons per square foot. In the morning the Monument catches the first rays of the sun. In stormy weather the top stands like a mountain peak, immovable, as seen amidst clouds. So, indeed, does the great and noble Washington overtower all of his contemporaries of the Revolutionary War and the formative period of this Republic. The Washington Monument has been fittingly described as typifying the character of George Washington--lofty in its grandeur, plain in its simplicity, and white in its purity. The following is a quotation from the oration of Speaker Winthrop delivered at the laying of the corner stone on July 4, 1848: Lay the corner stone of a monument which shall adequately bespeak the gratitude of the whole American people to the illustrious Father of his Country. Build it to the skies; you can not outreach the loftiness of his principles! Found it upon the massive and eternal rock; you can not make it more enduring than his fame. Construct it of peerless Parian marble; you can not make it purer than his life. Exhaust upon it the rules and principles of ancient and modern art; you can not make it more proportionate than his character. SOLDIERS’ HOME In the United States the founding of a soldiers’ home dates from March 3, 1851, when an act of Congress was passed and approved “to found a military asylum for the relief and support of invalid and disabled soldiers of the Army of the United States.” For years before this, however, the principal officers of the Army, particularly Maj. Gen. Winfield Scott, had given the subject attention and had made special efforts to procure the needed legislation. In February, 1848, General Scott transmitted to the Secretary of War a draft for $100,000 as part of the tribute levied by him on the City of Mexico for the benefit of the Army, and he expressed the hope that it might be allowed to go to the credit of an Army asylum. This home for the Regular Army was established in the District of Columbia in 1851-52. It is located about 3 miles due north from the Capitol. The original purchase of land was 256 acres. Additional tracts added since the original purchase make a total of 500³⁄₄ acres. [Illustration: UNITED STATES SOLDIERS’ HOME]