The Arkansaw traveler., 1888-01-14
MONUMENTAL FOLLY,
NanArc RlA,lr.

When great man dies the next thing in order af(er the funeral Is 10 start subscription for monument to his memory. Unless the great man in question Is one oi those few im- mortal names that were not born Ia die, long bctore his monument Is tin- ished his memory win have passed entirely out of the minds of men, That 1t Is contrary to tho genius ot American institutions to build monu- ments in the shape of useless piles of granite is evidenced by the fact that it was over eighty years atter the death of Washington hciorc a national monument was erected to his memory.
 Monuments were barbarian devices for perpetuating the memory of national heroes when there wero ao other means of transmitting their fame to posterity. Thus the name of Cheops has been remembered by his great pyramid thousands of years alter the memory of his dectls-if he ever dld anything been forgotten. No one at the present day oWs to remember Cheops. Aside from tho feeling of awe which the grandeur of the pyra- mids inspircs, they only excite our feelings of pity for tho great Chcops' gigantic folly. If Cheops had over done anything worth remembering. he would never have needed pyramid to rcmind people of It. As it is, hls pyramid only enshrines the immortal. ity of his folly.
 Why should IL be considered neccs. sary to give the memory ot Gcncrai Grant the useless compliment of q monumcntp It will not help the na- tion to remember shiloh. and the VII. derncss and Appomattox any bet ter. The genius of the aK- is against any such memorial displays, and It wrongs the memory of this plain. quiet man 10 hawk his name about the country to raise money to pur- chase pile of stones. A monument raised by systematic hggary, we may deceive ourselves, Is the spontaneous offering of grateful people. But lt Is, In reality, nothing of the kind. People give their dollar because of the importantly of some newspaper who takes up the Grant monumcn, as a shrewd method of advertising itself. The money for monument Is raised only aiter the most thorough canvass- ing and after the most stubborn and repeated importuniiies. Whatever the orator may say when he lays the corner stone, monuments arc never the spontaneous tribute of n gmteful peo- pie. Because man has been useful to hls age ''a grateful people" scc no pertincnce in building useless Egyp- tlan ob .lisk over his remains.
 General Grant was shy retiring American citizen whose pet aversion was ostentation. When the country needed A savior he came and went about his work as quietly as he had carted cord wood into St. Louis at u dollar day. He conducted an army and controlled million men with as little pomp md circumstance as he had previously conducted hls farm. A million dollar monument Is not the tribute that such man requires. His deeds were of such gigantic propor- ton, and his fame Is of such eternal texture, that the name "Ulysscs \. Grant" written over the gateway of his tomb. would excite profounder emotion In all observers than the most towering structure of granite. Why should we insult the memory of such man with the old barbarian device of monument2 The building of mon- ument Is usually monumental folly.