Bacon to Daniel C. French, August 15, 1919

Piccirilli is completing the work on the statue. Reply to above quote: "Where in the world did you hear that I had made half a million out of the Lincoln Memorial? Of all the works I have ever engaged in, this Memorial has been the most unprofitable financially. It is over eight years since I started on the drawings, the Government does not allow my travelling expenses to Washington, which have been on average, I should say, once every ten days for the eight years, the cost of the drawings and models has been abnormally high, furthermore the red tape and officiousness of some of the bureaucrats in Washington has been incalculable in cost to my temper, and finally I wish to have nothing more to do with any Government work whatever under present conditions, and I so notified Colonel Harts in no uncertain language before he left for Europe! The total commission I will receive will be less than 150,000, the larger portion of which has been spent in drawings, models and supervision. Selah!"