The Mason County journal. [volume] (Shelton, W.T.) 1886-1927, 1889-07-12
WASHlNGTON'S STATUE.
alstorical Points Concerning Greenough's
Pet Work of Art


r. Pet Work of Art.
Librarian Spofford thinks that the statue
Of Washington which stands in front OF the
Capitol should be covered, as exposure to
the wind and rain is seriously damaging to
marble. There are other reasons, probably,
why the statue should receive better care,
remarks Washington correspondent. Van
Ealism has no respect for him who was
hrst in war, first in peace and first in the
hearts OF his cOuntrymen." Not long ago,
Rcme juvenile artists penciled the eyes to
give them q strabismic effect; in other
swords, dis6guring the hero in marble as
Guch IS in life he MADE havoc with the cher
n tree. For the past forty years or more
people have laughed at the cold air and
naked form of George Washington. The
stetuo which was designed by Gree1ough
ha- been the butt Of all the jokes of Sena-
to1c, Representatives,, strangers and guides.
Eves: solemn Allen G. Thurman is said to
have aided in the ridiculing.
"The outstretched hand of George" re-
married tho Ohio statesman once, "seems
to me to say: Here's my sword, my clothes
are ir tie Patent Offce.'"
Another .Tag commenting on the statue
OF Columbus en- the front steps of the Capt.
col, balancing the world in his right band,
remarked:
"George Washington is playing ball with
COLUMBUS and saying: Quit your fooling
ana ylsy hail."
Sal tn;s statuc has a longer history than
any nth-r ct the Capitol, probably. It was
begun st .ho end Of Andrew Jackson's first
term. ard took eight years for Horatio
e. l,ugn tc. make it. He did the work in
Florence. Italy, end made the statue in
sittiu. posture instead of standing erect, as
the act Of Congress commanded. It was de-
sig2"': to stand in the center OF the rotunda
inside tho Capitol, when it was completed in
1S4o. Tho next question was how to get it
from Italy to America. Congress haggled
over It for some time, and finally sent
man-of-.var TO bring it from Genoa to Wash
ington. IN tho meanwhile Nr. Greenough
had started it to Genoa. 1t weighed twelve
tons, and it took twenty-five yoke of oxen to
haul it. As it went on it's way through Italy
the peasants thought it an image of some
saint, and here and there they kneeled and
crossed their breasts as it went by. When
1t got to Genoa it was found that 1t was SO
large it could not be gotten through the
hatchway of the man-of-war which was to
carry it to Washington, and merchant
vessel had to be chartered.
At Last it arrived at the Washington navy
yard, and Congress was horrlfied to see
that the statue, which they expected was to
stand upright, was sitting in chair, and
that it was nude to the waist. Henry A.
Wise then said:
"The man does not live. and never did
live, who saw Washington without his
shirt." And the country applauded the
sentiment.
But the navy yard is not the Capitol, and
1t cost s., Geo to bring the statue from it to
8ne rotunda When it reached the Capitol
doors it was found that the statue, like the
painting Of the Vicar of Wakefeld's family,
was too large to go through, and the mason
~ had to be cut away and the door en-
aarged When 1t was finally put in, it is
said that the floor began tosink, and pedes-
tai had to be built to support it. TWAS soon
found that the rotunda was no place for it.
Somc penp,e thought that it was too large
and out OF proportion with it's surroundings,
and others, harrying from the Senate over
to the House. found it an obstacle in their
path; still others insisted that it lacked
artistic merit But whatever the reason,
the statue, AFTER q number OF removals, was
taken to where it now stands in the bitter,
cold, bleak air of the Capitol plateau, where
the winds can howl out " as hington agony
as they 20 tearing By, and where his
nakedness "has the boundiess arch Of the
sky for his canopy" Originally it was to
cost 900; it has already cost s44,000, and
this sum has considerably increased at
every removal.