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and shortly afterwards Senator McMillan secured authority from Congress for the appointment of a special commission of experts, who should recommend a plan for the beautification and development of Washington.

That Commission included Daniel H. Burnham and Charles F. McKim,  architects; Augustus Saint Gaudens, sculptor; and Frederick Law Olmsted, landscape architect. It was a notable group, such as has seldom been brought together in one undertaking. Burnham, McKim and Saint Gaudens and the father of Olmsted had brought about those beautiful architectural and landscape effects at the Chicago World's Fair in 1893, which gave an impulse to city planning and to the rebirth of beauty and good taste in this country.

After a careful study of Washington and its possibilities, these men presented a report, known as the Plan of 1901. In it they recommended a return to the original plan of Washington and L'Enfant, with such extension of it as might be required to meet modern conditions and the city's growth. After submitting their report, the Commission passed out of existence; but its members were consulted unofficially by Presidents Roosevelt and Taft with regard to the location of public buildings and memorials. Later Mr. Burnham and Mr. Olmsted, who were the only members then living, were made members of the Commission of Fine Arts, a body created by Congress in 1910 to serve in an expert and advisory capacity regarding questions affecting the development of Washington. This Commission, which was established during the Administration of President Taft, owes much of the backing which he gave it and also to the interest and understanding of Mr. Root. Under the chairmanship of Mr. Charles Moore, it is now doing splendid work for Washington and the country.