Read the excerpt from "Opening Ceremonies of the New York and Brooklyn
Bridge" by Hon. Seth Low,
Mayor of the City of Brooklyn.
Which of the following best summarizes the central
idea of this excerpt?
In the course of the construction of the Bridge a
number of lives have been lost. Does it not sometimes
seem as though every work of enduring value, in the
material as in the moral world, must needs be
purchased at the cost of human life? Let us recall with
kindness at this hour the work of those who labored
here faithfully unto the death, no less than of that great
army of men who have wrought, year in and year out,
to execute the great design. Let us give our meed of
praise to-day to the humblest workman who has here
done his duty well, no less than to the great engineer
who told him what to do.
The mayor gently lectures on the importance of
speaking kindly about those who have died.
O The mayor commemorates and gives praise to
those who were killed while building the bridge.
O Low gives a monotonous explanation of the costs o
the materials that were purchased for the bridge.
O Low remembers those humble men who labored
intensely and faithfully to execute this dream.