The marble tablet that rested in the south wall of the ladies' waiting-room of the Baltimore and Potomac Railway Company's depot and the brass star placed in the tiled flooring of the apartment to mark the spot where President Garfield fell when assassinated have been removed. A superstitious dread on the part of the traveling public of a constant reminder of a tragedy seems to have led to the removal of these monuments. The immediate cause of the removal of the tablet and star was the fire which occurred in the depot on the night of March 4, which damaged the tablet to such an extent that the officials of the company declared it was not in condition to be replaced.
A portion of the marble tiling also had to be removed, and although the metal star placed where the President fell might have been put back in its old place, it was permanently removed, and the spot is now marked only by a piece of red tiling, which would pass unnoticed except to those familiar with the place and the tragedy that was enacted there.
Officials of the company stated that there was no purpose in removing the monuments except that they have been damaged by fire. From other sources it was learned that there had been much complaint on the part of the traveling public of having the horrors of the assassination constantly recalled to their minds when going through the depot or waiting for trains. To such an extent has this feeling prevailed that the company has long regarded the reminder of the tragedy as a disadvantage, and it is believed by many that the officials were only too glad to have an excuse to obliterate the monuments. — St. Louis Globe-Democrat.