[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 15]
[Senate]
[Pages 22660-22661]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



               LIBERTY MEMORIAL IN KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI

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        RELOCATING AND RENOVATING THE HAMILTON GRANGE, NEW YORK

  Mr. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the Energy 
Committee be discharged from further consideration of the following 
resolutions, and further, the Senate proceed to their considerations en 
bloc: S. Con. Res. 114, S. Res. 368.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the resolutions by 
title.

[[Page 22661]]

  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       A concurrent resolution (S. Con.Res. 114) recognizing the 
     Liberty Memorial in Kansas City, Missouri, as a national 
     World War I symbol honoring those who defended liberty and 
     our country through service in World War I.
       A resolution (S. Res. 368) to recognize the importance of 
     relocating and renovating the Hamilton Grange, New York.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the 
resolutions.
  Mr. MURKOWSKI. I ask unanimous consent that the resolutions be agreed 
to, the preambles be agreed to, the motions to consider be laid upon 
the table, that any statement related to the resolutions be printed in 
the Record, with the above occurring en bloc.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The resolutions were agreed to.
  The preambles were agreed to.
  The resolutions, with their preambles, read as follows:

                            S. Con. Res. 114

       Whereas over 4 million Americans served in World War I, 
     however, there is no nationally recognized symbol honoring 
     the service of such Americans;
       Whereas in 1919, citizens of Kansas City expressed an 
     outpouring of support, raising over $2,000,000 in 2 weeks, 
     which was a fundraising accomplishment unparalleled by any 
     other city in the United States irrespective of population;
       Whereas on November 1, 1921, the monument site was 
     dedicated marking the only time in history that the 5 Allied 
     military leaders (Lieutenant General Baron Jacques of 
     Belgium, General Armando Diaz of Italy, Marshal Ferdinand 
     Foch of France, General John J. Pershing of the United 
     States, and Admiral Lord Earl Beatty of Great Britain) were 
     together at one place;
       Whereas during a solemn ceremony on Armistice Day in 1924, 
     President Calvin Coolidge marked the beginning of a 3-year 
     construction project by the laying of the corner-stone of the 
     Liberty Memorial;
       Whereas the 217-foot Memorial Tower topped with 4 stone 
     ``Guardian Spirits'' representing courage, honor, patriotism, 
     and sacrifice, rises above the observation deck, making the 
     Liberty Memorial a noble tribute to all who served;
       Whereas during a rededication of the Liberty Memorial in 
     1961, former Presidents Harry S. Truman and Dwight D. 
     Eisenhower recognized the memorial as a constant reminder of 
     the sacrifices during World War I and the progress that 
     followed;
       Whereas the Liberty Memorial is the only public museum in 
     the United States specifically dedicated to the history of 
     World War I; and
       Whereas the Liberty Memorial is internationally known as a 
     major center of World War I remembrance: Now, therefore, be 
     it
       Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives 
     concurring), That the Liberty Memorial in Kansas City, 
     Missouri, is recognized as a national World War I symbol, 
     honoring those who defended liberty and our country through 
     service in World War I.
                                  ____


                              S. Res. 368

       Whereas Alexander Hamilton, assisted by James Madison and 
     George Washington, was the principal drafter of the 
     Constitution of the United States;
       Whereas Hamilton was General Washington's aide-de-camp 
     during the Revolutionary War, and, given command by 
     Washington of the New York and Connecticut light infantry 
     battalion, led the successful assault on British redoubt 
     number 10 at Yorktown;
       Whereas after serving as Secretary of the Treasury, 
     Hamilton founded the Bank of New York and the New York Post;
       Whereas the only home Hamilton ever owned, commonly known 
     as ``the Grange'', is a fine example of Federal period 
     architecture designed by New York architect John McComb, Jr., 
     and was built in upper Manhattan in 1803;
       Whereas the New York State Assembly enacted a law in 1908 
     authorizing New York City to acquire the Grange and move it 
     to nearby St. Nicholas Park, part of the original Hamilton 
     estate, but no action was taken;
       Whereas in 1962, the National Park Service took over 
     management of the Grange, by then wedged on Convent Avenue 
     within inches between an apartment house on the north side 
     and a church on the south side;
       Whereas the 1962 designation of the Grange as a national 
     memorial was contingent on the acquisition by the National 
     Park Service of a site to which the building could be 
     relocated;
       Whereas the New York State Legislature enacted a law in 
     1998 that granted approval for New York City to transfer land 
     in St. Nicholas Park to the National Park Service, causing 
     renovations to the Grange to be postponed; and
       Whereas no obelisk, monument, or classical temple along the 
     national mall has been constructed to honor the man who more 
     than any other designed the Government of the United States, 
     Hamilton should at least be remembered by restoring his home 
     in a sylvan setting: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That--
       (1) the Senate recognizes the immense contribution 
     Alexander Hamilton made to the United States as a principal 
     drafter of the Constitution; and
       (2) the National Park Service should expeditiously--
       (A) proceed to relocate the Grange to St. Nicholas Park; 
     and
       (B) restore the Grange to a state befitting the memory of 
     Alexander Hamilton.

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