dealt with the railroad corporations, the Senate bill did more; it
not only grappled with them, but laid a broad and deep foundation
for an admirable system of railroad law, which should govern all
the railroads of the country.

CHAPTER XLVIII.
DEDICATION OF THE WASHINGTON MONUMENT.
Resolution of Senator Morrill Providing for Appropriate Dedicatory
Ceremonies--I Am Made Chairman of the Commission--Robert C. Winthrop's
Letter Stating His Inability to Attend the Exercises--Letters of
Regret from General Grant and John G. Whittier--Unfavorable Weather
for the Dedication--My Address as Presiding Officer--The President's
Acceptance of the Monument for the Nation--Mr. Winthrop's Address
Read in the House by John D. Long--Inauguration of the First
Democratic President Since Buchanan's Time--Visit to Cincinnati
and Address on the Election Frauds--Respects to the Ohio Legislature
--A Trip to the West and Southwest--Address on American Independence.

On the 13th of May, 1884, the President approved the following
joint resolution, introduced by Mr. Morrill, from the committee on
public buildings and grounds:

"Whereas, The shaft of the Washington monument is approaching
completion, and it is proper that it should be dedicated with
appropriate ceremonies, calculated to perpetuate the fame of the
illustrious man who was 'first in war, first in peace, and first
in the hearts of his countrymen:' Therefore,

"_Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United
States of America in Congress assembled_, That a commission to
consist of five Senators appointed by the president of the Senate,
eight Representatives appointed by the speaker of the House of
Representatives, three members of the Washington Monument Society,
and the United States engineer in charge of the work be, and the
same is hereby, created, with full powers to make arrangements for,--

"First. The dedication of the monument to the name and memory of
George Washington, by the President of the United States, with
appropriate ceremonies.

"Second. A procession from the monument to the capitol, escorted
by regular and volunteer corps, the Washington Monument Society,
representatives of cities, states, and organizations which have
contributed blocks of stone, and such bodies of citizens as may
desire to appear.

"Third. An oration in the hall of the House of Representatives,
on the twenty-second day of February, _anno Domini_ eighteen hundred
an