New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1891-06-28
WHAT BROOKLYN TALKS OF
srruytER TOPICS ON THE LONG ISLAND
SIDE OF THE EAST RIVER.

-. them AS a rule. II they were on time and IL was
avs fault but their own if they were late. Whether
A., cats were good seats or not-whether they enabled
s.,r oocupants 70 hear we'll seeis another Ques
.n AZ all events the crowd was a good nstured one
,ro,,sarAs Of umbrellas raised during the hour
IA more that the people waited patiently for the
80 40 open but when O'Clock arrived they all
18th one accord lowered so not to Obstruct the view
=, the multitude. IL was rather hot place TO wait
"a che walters had chance to realize themselves
that 1t is to sit the sOcaled beacheries" at the
,assbal grounds. Probably, If they had chance TO
,nr4ss an opinion Just then. they would have given
: hearty Endorsement to the Nev-YOrk Aldcrmen's
.nsae that the bleaching boards" must lie covered
xeveytheIess a finer day could not have been chosen
t the services In honor Of the great preacher The
Ne, was mitlgsted by refreshing breze otherwise
a. "a for an hour on those super-hoated benches would
haze been torture that not every one could have
endured.
u wss a sight worth seeing. though. The City Hall
.s effectively decorated. Every square inch Of ITS
cn. and p0ff1co filed. and the open space
an front where the speakers platform and the seats
a., those entitled 10 them placed. The committee
exercised great in sending tickets to all subscribers
A the statue fund, and in where addresses had
s changed subscribers found that they had not been
osyrloozed The platform of the Kings County ee-
g,sed road at Court-st jammed, and some people
,oak station the plank walk between the elevated
tracks The windows of the City Hall and Of the tall
Office buildings the opposite side Of Fuon-st were
tely used and some of Ie adjacent roofs held many
srectaors. The exercises were well planned and pos
sessed the browning merit of not being too long. This
vras especaly a merit ia the eyes Of the thousands
who could not hear a word of what said on
The speakers platform. Not Onetenth OF the specta
tor, were able TO hear what uttered Even those
within fifteen feet Of the speakers stand not able
10 hear ii all. Mayor Chaplin most effective IN
making himself heard, but he spoke briefly. aud pos
sbly his voice could not have stood the strain that he
nut upon it had ne spoken longer DIR. Hall turned his
back upon the assembly in front Of the stand. and
those close IT could only guess at his words. PIesi
dent Low kept his back to the sun. that the thou
sands on the suward side of the platform could not
even see his face. The people rule had TO depend
upon the newspapers to find out what the speakers had
said Those who had the good fortune to hear found.
however that verbatim report Of the exercises would
not have corresponded with the reports published Mr..
Low spoke without manuscript, and did not follow
closely the copy Of his Grafton given in advance @ the
newspapers. Ills address occupied half an hour.
Though set down Grafton IL was not such in the
usual acoeptaiiOn of the word. There nothing
oratorcal" about It flights eoquence; no strain
ing after effect. II simple and straightforward
address regarding Mr.. Beecier and his work, bright
ened here and there by we'll told anecdotes Illustrating
the celebrated preachers delicious humor. DR. Low
displayed excellent taste both In matter and manner;
not least Of all in COMPRISING his remarks into half
an hours space.
The statue itself is noble figure, though must
confess TO some disappointment The pose is stately.
The face is Mr. Beechers face, but IL looks older and
more wrnkled than Mr.. Beecher l remember him.
And then the heavy cape OvercOat seems somewhat
incongruous especially on a midsummer day. AS one
spectator remarked after the exercises, Surely Mr..
Beecher big enough without putting such burden
upon him." The revealing Of the statue TO the public
gaze does appear 10 have altered the prevailing
opinion that 1t is not ideally placed. There rs
in fnPff
tace is turned toward the Court House IN which the
famous Tlton- Beecher trial took place. How much
more fitting that the bronze memorial OF this Nature
lover should have been reared in Prospect Park AMID
surroundings that he himself would have chosen! l
may remark in passing that the splendid lines OF
Tennyson which Mayor Chaplin quoted in Justification
OF the site selected (which he msquOted is nearer the
truth are without apposteness to the present stnauoh
No one ever suggested the placing OF Mr. Beechcrs
bones in BrOOklyns central roar ana there Is
a worldwide difference between the noisy City Han
Square and the quiet vastness of ST. Paus Cathedral
amid which, 10 quote LOnCfellOw's lines,
"The loud vociferatiOns o. the street
Become an undistinGushable roar
What place of confused noises the statue stands IN
was mpressively shown by the fact that, though the
elevated trains slowly and as still as possible
during the exercises DR.. Low compelled 70 pause
several times in the Of his address while they
were passing in order to make his words audible even
10 his closest hearers.
There are those who noted DR.. storrs's absence
from the city az the time of the dedication Of the
statue He preached at Amherst College-Mr Beechers
alma mater as well as his own-On Sunday, and re
mared there through the commencement exercises.
presiding at the alumni dinner No one who attended
the unveilng of the stranahan statue and was present
al the exercises on Wednesday could fail TO observe
that on the former occasion DR.. StOrrs, who Is con
SANITY accustomed TO preach without manuscript read
hs grafton from beginning 10 end, while DR.. Low,
who is not an habitua public speaker made his address
without a scrap of paper before him.
This being the statue era for Brooklyn II IS sug-
gested that there ought 10 be appointed forthwith an
art committee In anticipation Of emergencies which
would properly have to do with the character OF the
future works Of art also with their proper location
etc. No sooner the Beecher statue firmly settled
its base than enterprsng local florist submitted
80 the Park Commissioners proposal 10 provide at his
own proper cost Aowerbed around the pedestal. AM
20 maintain the perpetuallyhat is. in due sea-
son and during his lifetime. If candy colors. instead
Of the simple and beautiful turf to be In order,
sculptors and landscape artists viii have 10 ecas their
Oldfashioned ideas Of appropriate ard harmonious sur
roundngs. The Park Commissioners. having been adj
vlsed bv Colonel Culver at their meeting on Thurs
DAY that such accessories would be entirely out Of
keeping referred matter 10 Mir Ward, the sculptor,
for his opinion His approval of Colonel Cuylers ad
vice can hardly be doubted.
The Brooklyn Institute is striving 10 Guido itself
next year. That is at least fair Inference from the
list Of well-mOwn whom il hopes to secure as
lecturers in the courses Of next winter. Here are
q few Of the names the mention Of which furnishes
sufficient basis for the prediction that this viii be the
most popular series given in BrOoklTn: james
Russell Lowell George William Curtis. Andrew d.
White. senator Edmunds, President Eliot Of Harvard
interstate Commerce Commissioner Cooley, Senator
sherman, Dr. Edward Eggleston, Francis A. Walker
and Theodore Roosevelt Of course this is not
complete programme, for the acceptances Of all the
gentlemen in mind have not yet been obtained; but
Il IS certain that the members Of the Institute will have
exceptional opportunities for instruction and entertain
nent In the course Of next winter.
In spite Of denias dalleged false reports
Lb... he falk a