The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1890-03-07
VANDALS AT WASHINGTON
RELIC HUNTERS DESTROYING MA
TlONAL MONUMENTS.

IIONAL MONUMEN >.
Outrages Often Inspired by Malicious Mis-
chief-The Penciling Fiend Gets In His
Work-Damage Amounting to Over a
Million Dollars.
Vandalism by relic hunters and mali
cious persons who visit Washington has
been carried to such destructive point
that measures of exceptional severity are
to be adopted by the department of pub
! lie buildings and grounds to restrain the
+ evil. The damage that has been wan
tonly done in this way within the last ten
years would, if reduced to dollars and
cents, mount up to frightful aggregate.
Many who are in a good position to
judge say that it would cost $1,000, 900
to repair only such injuries as are act
ually visible to the casual observer.
To begin with, as you enter the rotunda
of the Capitol from the east front, you
observe that the beautiful bronze doors,
fac-similes of the Ghiberti doors at the
baptistry in Florence, have been badly
chewed up by iconoclastic visitors.
These doors cost the United States gov
eminent $29, 500. AT present they would
not be worth anything like that amount.
The figures on the panels, representing
historical scenes, stand out in high re-
lief, and somebody has found no diff
Guilty in wrenching away the sword that
Henry VII of England formerly held in
his hand. Columbus has lost the reins
of the animal he is riding, and his brother
Bartholomew has also been deprived of
his sword. Balboa's sword has been all
bent out of shape by some one who was.
presumably, interrupted in an attempt
to twist it off.
Two luckless monarchs, King John II
of Portugal and King Charles VIII, have
both been robbed of their scepters, of
which they now retain only the stumps.
just examples these are of the mischief
done to these beautiful gates of bronze
To commit them must have required ex-
ceptional nerve, situated, as the doors
are, Immediately outside the rotunda,
where there is always man on guard.
1t is this latter fact that is accountable
for the fortunate circumstance that no
damage whatever has been done within
the rotunda itself.
Save for the watch kept, the great his
torical pictures there would have been
all cut to pieces long ago. The heads of
the Father of his Country and other re-
spectacle characters of American an
tiquity would have been sliced out of
the canvases, merely to begin with. For
nothing is sacred to the relic hunter; he
will not hesitate to cabbage red hot
stove, if opportunity offers.
On the right hand side of the Ghiberti
doors, as you go in, is superb colossal
statue of Mars, the god of war. A van
dial visitor unknown broke the end of
his marble sword off, probably by reach
ing over the railing and giving it sharp
bang with a heavy stick. The ''busted"
portion has been stuck on again with
glue or something, but the effect is I'M
slightly. On the other side of the doors
is corresponding statue of Ceres, the
goddess of the crops. Her left hand was
smashed off while ago, and so bunch
of marble olives has been placed in her
grasp to hide the break. Outrages like
these, of course, are often inspired by
malicious mischief, pure and simple.
But the case is rare of an individual who
will destroy property in cold blood, just
for the sake of destroying. The bulk of
the vandalism is committed by relic
hunters-people without souls, savages
of civilization, who will not hesitate to
wipe out in five minutes as much value
as the labor of their lifetime will pro-
duce for the sake of procuring half
dozen worthless memorabilia.
Such are the persons, doubtless, who
have attacked the magnificent bronze
doors of the east senate front-original
cost, $50 ,000-on which are depicted in
relief scenes in American history. The
guns of the soldiers at Yorktown have
been wrenched off-those of them that
were sufficiently in alto relieve to make
it possible-and the reins of Washing
toms horse, on his journey through Tren-
ton, have disappeared; also the gun in
the hands of the woman who looks on
upon the combat between the Jersey far
mer and the Hessian has lost its barrel.
The presidents room has suffered many
times, not only from relic hunters, but
also from malicious destroyers. The
| rene HtlilteIo nave SOilAllcu lIlcuSelNSS
here chiefly to cutting the silken tassels
from the chairs, though now and then
they have sliced piece out of the hand
some red leather coverings of the sofas,
and occasionally strip has been cut off
one corner of the costly carpet, made es-
pecially to fit the room, just to remem-
Der the place by afterward. Tassels.
however. are the favorite spoil.
The guard ventured out of the room
for less than two minutes one day, and
when he came back three tassels were
gone glimmering. On an average, the
equivalent of full set of new tassels has
to be put on the chairs each year to re-
place those carried away. Beyond a
doubt this room is the handsomest on
! the American continent. Curiously
enough, it is occupied for only one hour
in every twelve months. The president
always spends the last sixty minutes in
it before Congress adjourns the session,
SO that he may sign bills up to the very
stroke of IL o'clock and save them from
becoming void.
Nothing that money could do to make
the apartment gorgeous has been left UNI
done, and its more than palatial splen-
doris appear to tempt the destroyers for
mischief's sake. At all events the sofas
have been repeatedly ripped from end to
end with knives, and other such wanton