Art: First Bath

In Washington, stocky Prince Tsunenori Kaya, first cousin of the Empress of Japan, and his tall, toothy wife, Princess Toshiko, last fortnight peered up at the Washington Monument. “How high is it?” asked the Prince. ”It is 555 ft. 5⅛ in.,” replied his guide. “How easy to remember!” exclaimed the Princess. “Just half the Empire State Building.” She was not quite right. The Empire State Building is 1,248 ft.

Had the Prince and Princess put off their U. S. tour four months, they would have found the height of the Washington Monument unchanged but its appearance vastly improved. Last week a vine of steel scaffolding began to creep up the shaft’s sides. When the scaffolding reaches the top workmen will scramble up, remove dirt, soot, dust, fill in chinks, bathe the entire monument in soap and water until it looks as clean as it did on Dec. 6, 1884 when its aluminum tip was finally set into place. Cost of the monument’s first bath: $90,000.