This imposing monument of marble and bronze in the nave of the cathedral at Santo Domingo was dedicated December 6, 1896, the four hundred and fourth anniversary of the discovery of "La Española" by Columbus. Plans provide for the removal of this monument to a chapel contained within the proposed Memorial Lighthouse.

right to promote this act of recognition to the greatness of Columbus, no one is better able than they are to see that the memorial is worthy of the Great Navigator, and that it may serve posterity as a beacon of light and enlightenment in the dark night of the Ages.

It will be noted that the suggested site of the memorial is Cape Isabela, and that the first suggestion for a memorial was that it take the form of a lighthouse.

Not until 1880, under the provisional presidency of Gen. Gregorio Luperón, did the project again receive public mention-this time of an official character. In that year General Luperón issued a decree calling upon all the nations of the Americas, upon Spain, Italy, and all other nations of Europe to cooperate in the erection of a monuThe decree contained comprehensive plans for the formation of a committee composed of the diplomatic and consular corps in Santo Domingo to receive contributions from the various Governments, and in collaboration with the Government of the Dominican Republic to see that the project was carried to a successful completion.

The decree, however, failed to provide the spark to touch off the imagination of the world. Again in 1887 the idea was revived, and there stands to-day in the Plaza de Colón, in Santo Domingo, a statue to the Discoverer, which was placed there in that year as a result of the labors of the committee which had been formed. This was far from sufficient, however. The magnitude of the achievement demanded a more impressive memorial for its commemoration.

On October 12, 1892, the four hundredth anniversary of the discovery of America, there was formed in Santo Domingo the National Columbian Committee, which was charged with the erection of a suitable monument to commemorate the Discoverer. This was dedicated on December 6, 1896, 404 years to the day after the discovery of Hispaniola, and is now in the cathedral at Santo Domingo.

The committee did not believe that its work was completed by the construction of this memorial. In its opinion its labors were only partially finished, the committee expressing the hope that the memorial would eventually be moved to a lighthouse, which would serve as a lasting tribute to the Great Navigator.

With the advent of the twentieth century the project gained additional support, when in 1914 Mr. William E. Pulliam, General Receiver of Dominican Customs, initiated a publicity campaign in which the idea received the attention of the press throughout the Americas. Mr. Pulliam also appeared before the Committee on Foreign Affairs in the United States House of Representatives urging that the Nation support the project.

It became evident that interest was international when in 1923, at the Fifth International Conference of American States, held at Santiago, Chile, Dr. Tulio M. Cestero, Delegate of the Dominican

Republic, proposed the following resolution, which was signed by all the nations participating in the conference:

The Fifth International Conference of American States
RESOLVES:

To recommend that the Governments of the American Republics honor the memory of Christopher Columbus by the erection of a monumental lighthouse which shall bear his name on the coast at Santo Domingo, capital of the Dominican Republic, and which shall be built with the cooperation of the Governments and people of America and any others who may so desire.

Subsequent to the adoption of this resolution at the Fifth Conference, various of the Republics, members of the Pan American Union, officially indorsed the project in their legislative bodies. The concurrent resolution passed by the House of Representatives on January 17 and by the Senate of the United States on January 27, 1927, reads as follows:

Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), That it is the sense of the Congress that the United States approves the international project advocated at the Pan American Conference, held at Santiago de Chile, April, 1923, to erect a memorial lighthouse at Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, to Christopher Columbus, and that the several States participating in that conference be notified through the usual diplomatic channels of the desire of the people of the United States to participate in this movement to honor the memory of the Great Navigator and Discoverer.

Following the action at the Fifth Conference, events moved more quickly in the direction of a practical working out of the idea. May 5, 1926, the Governing Board of the Pan American Union adopted the resolution given below:

The Governing Board of the Pan American Union has heard with deep interest the presentation made by the Minister of the Dominican Republic of the plan for the erection of a Columbus Lighthouse. In view of the fact that the Fifth International Conference of American States recommended to the Governments of the American Republics that a memorial be erected to Christopher Columbus, to take the form of a lighthouse off the coast of Santo Domingo, which lighthouse will bear his name,

BE IT RESOLVED: By the Governing Board of the Pan American Union, to express its concurrence with the proposed memorial in honor of the Discoverer of the New World and its adherence to the recommendation made by the Fifth International Conference, and to recommend to the countries, members of the Pan American Union, that they cooperate in the erection of this memorial.

Some months later the Pan American Union was officially intrusted with the task of bringing to a successful conclusion the erection of the memorial in the Dominican Republic, through the following resolution adopted by the Governing Board on March 2, 1927:

BE IT RESOLVED: That the Pan American Union take the necessary steps to assure the realization of the project to erect the Columbus Lighthouse. The Governing Board of the Union understands that the Dominican Government will pay all the necessary expenses incidental to the preparation of plans and awarding of prizes, etc., from the $300,000 appropriated by the Dominican Republic. The

Pan American Union will do everything possible to obtain the cooperation of the other Republics of the American Continent in the appropriation of the total contribution necessary, in accordance with a plan approved by the Governing Board.

A report adopted by the Board on April 12, 1927, contained the following resolution:

The Governing Board of the Pan American Union, in order to comply with the resolution of the Fifth Pan American Conference, which recommended to the nations of America that they cooperate in the erection of a memorial lighthouse to the glory of Columbus and the discovery of the New World:

RESOLVES:

That the Committee appointed by the Board to study the form in which the project should be executed constitutes itself a Permanent Committee to study and recommend to the Board the best means of complying with the resolution of the Fifth Conference.

The Board authorizes the Committee to employ the services of an American or Spanish architect residing in the United States to determine, on the ground, in agreement with the Government of the Dominican Republic, the most appropriate site for the erection of the lighthouse, and to advise the Committee in regard to the conditions to be established for a contest which will be open to all architects in Spain and all the countries of America.

When the preparatory studies have been concluded, the Committee shall submit to the Board the conditions of the contest and the bases for the cooperation of the American nations in the erection of the monument.

On June 1, in accordance with the terms of the above resolution, Mr. Albert Kelsey, one of the architects of the Pan American Union building, was secured as technical adviser to the Committee.

As will be noted from the basic resolution adopted at the Fifth Conference, its explicit recommendations were restricted to the Governments of the American Republics. In order to widen the scope of the project so as to include all the countries of the world, especially those directly connected with the history of Columbus, the resolution cited below was adopted by the Governing Board on November 2, 1927:

Whereas, the resolution of the Fifth International Conference of American States, although limited to a recommendation that the Republics forming part of the Pan American Union cooperate in the erection of the Columbus Lighthouse, contemplates the possibility of other countries of the world participating in the tribute to the memory of the Discoverer,

The Governing Board of the Pan American Union,

RESOLVES:

1. That the governments and peoples of all the nations of the world be permitted to participate in the tribute to the memory of the Discoverer;

2. That the competition for the erection of the Columbus Lighthouse be open to all architects without distinction of nationality, the resolution of the Governing Board of April 12, 1927, being amended in this respect;

3. That the report of the Committee be approved, together with the modifications recommended therein of the report of the architect, Mr. Kelsey;