Daily evening star. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1852-1854, 1853-07-16
Encouragement to American Poetic Talent
$500 Premi um.

| $500 Premium.
IMPRESSED as am with the controllingin-
IL fuenee which Is exercised by the fine arts
| arts upon the direction and destiny of human
affairs, it has given me infinite pleasure to
| witness the bountiful manner in which, from
time to time, painting and statuary have been
encouraged and rewarded by the Councils of
| the Nation .W @. ----
/ But, while this acknowledgment is due to
the discerning and worthy patrons of these
noble, it is an equal source of humiliation and
sorrow to behold the apparent apathy and in
! difference with which they seem to regard the
incomparably moro valuable creations of
| poetry. ...--r, .,--..... -......
| To see them adorn the walls of the Capitol
| with the glowing revelations Of the pencil, and
decorate the public grounds with the costly
chef d'9uvres of the chisel, is an omen of
| good which win be hailed and applauded by
an as cheering pledge Of the progress of re-
fnement. But. whilst they lavish their thou
sands upon those i1nmobile products of canvass
| and marble and bronze, they offer no reward
for the more exalted, more enduring and re.
newned ovations of the pen. No fostering
hand from these high places has ever yet in
| vited the Promethean fire of poetry to animal
the history Of our country, which, with all it's
harmony of form and wonder of proportion,
| lies asleep around the humble vault of Mount
4 y
at the first kindling touch of this genial in
| spiration. -' - ri Ee. eFs- p.
l. 1t surely were work of supererogation to
| Introduce the proofs that crowd the records of
| the past to show how far above all other stands
the g divine art" of poesy. What are all the
| paintings statues, and regalia of Versailles.
| Of Fontainbleau and the Tuilleries. compared
kingly panoply of gold and gems heaped up
| in the Tower of London what the collections
Of the Royal Academy, or even the time hal
lowed shrines of Westminster Abbey, when
| compared with the songs of Burns, and Dib-
den, and Campbell? Or what has the world
that we would take in exchange for - Hail
| Cplumbia' and the Ct Star Spangled Banner"
| Well might the British statesman exclaim
| 'slet me but write the ballads of a nation,
and care not who makes its laws"
As far as the living, breathing man is above
| the cold insensate marble that is made to re-
present HIM Us far as the radiant skies of
| summer are above the perishable canvass to
| which the painter has transferred their feeble
RESEMBLANCE, so far is poetry above all other
| arts that have their mission to console and
elevate and inspire the immortal mind of
| man. .#t,1it ...
In view of these facts and considering the
lamentable paucity of patriotic songs in my
distinguished and beloved country, and with
the hope of being the humble means of a pro-
per public feeling upon this interesting sub
ject, 1 have been induced to offer, and do
| hereby offer. the sum of FIVE hundred dollars
| as prize for the best National Poem, Ode or
| Epic.
| The rules which will govern the payment
! of this sum, are as follows:
! LIST. have selected without consulting
theml the following persons to act as judges
l or arbiters of the prize thus offered. namely:
| The President of the United States.
Hon A. 0. P Nicholson, of Tennessee.
| Hon. Chas. Sumner, of U. S. Senate.
Hon. R. NJ. T. Hunter, do
| Hon. Jas c. Jones, do
HON HON aass che %bse of d Do s. r. DO Reps
Hon. Thos. H. Bayly, do do
| Hon. D. 7. Disney, do do
| Hon. J. P. Kennedy. Secretary of the Navy
D. J. w. c. Evans, of New Jersey.
| D. Thos. Saunders.
| Joseph Gales.
| DR.. G. Bailey, Va wv
| ! w. W. SeatOn,
| Prof Henry, of the Smithsonian Institution.
! VIM. Seldom, late Treasurer of the L. S.
| Rev. G. M. Butler, Episcopal Church
Rev. r. r. Gurley, Presbyterian Church
Rev. S S. Roszell NJ. E. Church
| Rev. Mr.. Donelan, Catholic Church
| Cd These gentlemen or any three of them
l are hereby authorized to meet at the Smith
| sonian Institutute, on the second Monday of
December next at such hour as they may ap-
point, and there proceed to read and examine
! the various poems which may have been re-
| ceived, and to determine which of them is
most meritorious and deserving of the prize.
And 1 hereby bind myself to pay the sum
| aforementioned forthwith, to whoever they
| Shall present to me as the person who has
| written within the time prescribed. the best
| National Patriotic Poem and upon the repre-
| sentation that he or she is an American citizen
| Sd. All communications must be sent to me
at Washington (post paid before the first
Monday in December next, with n full and
complete conveyance of the copyright to me
and my heirs and assigns forever.
4th l hereby bind and obligate myself to
| sell the poems thus sent to me as soon as prac
| ticable, for the highest price and TO give the
proceeds to the poor of the city of Wash
| ington.
5th. No poem will he considered as subject
| to this prize which shall not have been writ
| ten subsequent to this date, and received be-
| fore the first Monday in December next
! r. W LATHAM
| WASHINGTON, FEB. 10, 1853 feb IL
| CHARTER OAK LIFE INSURANCE COM
| r.... PANY. @
.n HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT.