I have recevd an inquiry through your Secretary asking my judgmnt upon an application for permission to erect a commemorative monument upon the mountain. The character of the monument and the object of commemoration not being stated I can only briefly indicate a few general rules which I think should govern the city in determining questions of this class.

The chance of getting a monumnt that will not in any position which would be selected for it be in some way out of place is a small one. A monumnt that would appear appropriate and dignified in a public place of moderate extent framed in by buildings will appear meanly and discordantly in the midst of natural scenery of large scale. And the essential object of monuments is much better served if they are placed in the midst of the people in their daily lives, rather than in positions where they will be chiefly looked upon as holiday sights and seen incidentally to a very different form of amusement.

Regarded as ornaments it must be always remembered that the mountain is a mountain and all finished artificial ornaments upon it will be more or less incongruous. Every artificial object upon it should be placed there only and obviously only to serve in some practical way the main purpose of the enjoyment of natural scenery, and the less conspicuous it is the better.

All funereal monumnts and all with which would stir sad associations, all monumnts tending to kindle or keep alive differences of creed, of [318] race, of politics or which would be provocative of antagonism of any kind should be excluded.

Finally no monuments should be admitted which are not works of art of a high and dignified type, such as very rarely offer.

Whatever the character of the monumnt now offered and the occasion of it, I would strongly urge you not to accept it until you have adopted a general plan to which every detail can be systematically subordinated.

I am aware that what I have said would exclude all monuments and I must admit the possibility of public interests which would overrule this position. I can only say therefore that on general principles monumnts should be admitted if at all with extreme caution and careful circumspection.

My draft of the plan has been for some weeks complete and I have two draughtsmen engaged upon the final drawing. The hand work of this is very tedious, much more so than that of any other plan I have ever undertaken. Judging from the rate of progress thus far the drawing cannot be completed within a month from this time.