The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-08-11

at hand. In the city of New York there is an
organization known as the National Sculpture
Society, the members of which full many
time and oft have made life unhappy for the
average citizen by toplofty criticisms on the
statuary of which the voting strength OF the
population is so habitually proud. Not once or
twice only, but on grlevously many occasions,
the members of the society have told the world
that New York is more ignorant of art than the
goat is ignorant of botany; and all because of
the way the statuary is fashioned, or else be-
cause of the way the Park Commissioners have
placed 1t, it being the argument OF the society
that if the people knew anything about art
they would hang. the Commissioners. Now the
Commissioners have decided to remove many
of the statues from their present positions, and
in order that the best effects may be obtained
they have asked the National Sculpture Society
to select the most appropriate site for each.
The society in an hour OF pride consented TO
do So The plans suggested were published,
and To- the critic of yesterday is on the horn of
the critic of to-day. How the fight will end
there is no saying, but at the last reports all
the papers of the city were urging the Park
Commissioners to leave the statues where they
were.
While the voices of approving critics are
nearly always pleasant there are times when
they overdo the thing and thus enable modest
An example of this OVERRIDING good thing
occurs in a description of Santa Clara County
in the last number of Harper's Weekly. The
writer with the best intentions to do US proud
and thrill the East with ideas of our Elysian
life, says of that thrifty valley: "There are
few fences in this county and the visitor may
wander at will from orchard to orchard, or
through the sweet scented vineyards, and eat
as he chooses of their choicest yield" This
conception OF CALIFORNIA; "freedom of the
orchard" to casual visitors has been taken by
many tourists, and in the southern part OF the
State where tourists abound has been the cause
of much trouble. In fact the visitor filled with
wide ideas of the profuse hospitality OF the
Golden State wanders through the orchards at
his own sweet will and not infrequently breaks
the limbs of fine trees, thus compelling the
owner TO break the illusions of the visitor and
sometimes even to break his head. 1t is pity
that such things should happen in Elys1um,
but then 1t should be remembered that after
all Elysium was intended for the Elysians
The rightful object of all serious criticism is
to tell the world of that which is good. The
professional critic should account i. his duty
to studiously seek out all the best things that
have been said and done in the world and
diligently make them known to others. If you
would follow this path read the poem of
Joaquin Miller. "Father Damien of Hawaii"
publ1Shed In IHE CALL TINS morning, ana When
you have frightened your mind with the in
spiration of the music and the meaning tell
your neighbor of it, and be glad that California
has such poet and that humanity has had
such man as Damien-nay, that 1t has one
worthy to succeed him, for at this moment
there is on his way to Hawaii, to take up the
self-sacrifcing work OF the sainted priest, a
member of the Salvation Army. In the glow
of deeds like these, and in the music of the
lofty verse that commentaries them, very
small and very thin and empty will all satire
and cynicism appear this morning to "the
great, wide, honest, the wise, big world