“Like two cathedral towers these stately pines
Uplift their fretted summits tipped with cones;
The arch between them is not built with stones,
Not Art but Nature traced these lovely lines. . .
Enter! The pavement carpeted with leaves,
Gives back a softened echo to thy tread;
Listen! The choir is singing; all the birds,
In leafy galleries beneath the eaves,
Are singing! Listen, ere the sound be fled,
And learn there may be worship without words.”

—LONGFELLOW

HOW TO PLAN AND ORGANIZE
A LIVING MEMORIAL

ARS end; one good day the present War will end,
Sse Wao a

When the world is quiet again the com-
munities of this Nation will feel a need to express the abiding consciousness
of the sacrifices which have been made for it and for us.

After every war the same urge is felt. Frequently the task of planning
is placed in the hands of citizens who have the best will in the world but
who do not have the experience or the specialized knowledge to bring to
the effort the long range planning and imagination so essential to use-
fulness and permanency.

As a result, the memorials of each war have left an impression of the
cra in which they were erected. While the memorials of the American
Revolution, The War of 1812 and the Civil War are somewhat similar,
consisting mainly of battle monuments, battlefields and stacks of cannon
balls, the first World War marked a distinct change in the conception of
war memorials. Many of them embodied an excellence of architectural
and landscape beauty still revered today. ‘The trend to utility combined
with natural beauty, however, was not emphasized sufficiently after the last
World War to give these memorials the greatest usefulness and esthetic
value. Therefore, the first and most important consideration in planning
a memorial is to be sure that it is designed with foresight and that every
detail is considered before actual construction begins. In most communities
it is better to plan large, cooperative memorials than a number of scattered
insignificant ones.