Johnstown weekly Democrat. (Johnstown, Cambria County, Pa.) 1889-1916, 1890-03-07
VANDALS At WASHINGTON
RELIC HUNTERS DESTROYING MA
TIONAl. MONUMENTS.

! OutfhEcs Ohtth hhsDiTeu DI NAalIclOus MIS-
chief--7he 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 good position to
judge say that it would cost $1,000, ,000
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
ernment S2S,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 Balboas 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-
ceptionaI nerve, situated, as the doors
are, Immediately outside the rotunda,
where there is always a 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-
Specialize 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 tag,,ate to cabbage u red hot
stove. if opportunity offers
On the right hand side or the Ghiberti
doors, "s you 20 in, is a superb colossal
statue OF Mars, the god of war. A van
dal vj-i,a unknown broke the end of
his narL!e sword of, probably by reach
ing over the railing and giving it sharp
bang with heavy stick The busted"
portion has been stuck on again with
glue or something, but the effect is un-
slightly On the other side of the doors
is a corresponding statue of Ceres. the
goddess of the crops. Her left hand was
smashed off a while ago. and so a 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.
pu' t''N Nto' Is ldlS vi All iHulN luudI WHO
VIII >.eS,"2y property III Geld blood. just
for tho sake OF destroying. The bulk of
the vandalism is committed 10y relic
hun;er5-peopIe 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 a
dozen worthless memorabilia.
Such are the persons. doubtless, who
have attacked the magnificent bronze
doors OF the east senate front-original
cost. S15,OOo-on which are depicted in
relief scenes in American history. The
guns of the soldiers at Yorktown have
been wrenched oif-those of them that
were sufficiently in ALTO relieve to make
It posslbie-and the relns OF Washing
tons horse, on his journey through Tren-
ton. have disappeared; also the gun in
the hands ct the woman who looks on
upon the combat between the Jersey far
mer and the llessian has lost its barrel.
The president room has suffered many |
times, not only from relic hunters, but |
also from malicious destroyers, The |
relic hunters nave confined themselves
mere chiefly TO cutting the silken tassels |
from the chairs, though now and then /