The daily morning journal and courier., 1895-09-20

US popular character Slloulu pN~''t'N
 lost, It was finally an enthusiasm that
 appeals to the human heart, and brings | men of every condition together ana | whispers in their ears that society IS | brotherhood and thus steadies thelr nerves for a common battle for e%ls- tence, It Is because the memorial rep resents to me more than anything else enthusiasm from which springs love of city, love of state, love of country ana pride in citizenship, that l regard It's unveillng with unbounded gratitude, It was because Harry Lewis, as he was at- fectionately known, was not ashamed of his enthusiasm, that I have gladly as- sociated myself with its gradual build ing up.
 | And there is yet another reason why | the erection of this memorial shatt ana
 bust is a cause for popular congratula- l ton. It represents here in New Ha-
 ven the pioneer effort to overthrow the cold philosophy that forbids the rec | ognition of individual worth, and con cerns itself exclusively with the de- lection and punishment of individual l weakness. There may be reason in the philosophy that teaches that vir- tue and morality and sobriety and hon. esty are not elements of character to
 be rewarded; that they are elements
 that bring their own reward; that is
 our duty to be virtuous and moral and
 temperate and honest; that one de- serves no credit for doing ones duty;
 that society can concern itself only
 with those who fail in it. But it some
 times appears as if this view of ones
 duty disregarded, on the other hand, l the limitations of human nature in its
 power of conservation to the good and the beautiful and, on the other hand,
 took too much for granted as to the
 general philosophical acuteness of the world. It is trite to say that the world
 is weak, or rather that the people in
 the world are weak, for the world it.
 self is beautiful. Nowhere has the eye
 ever detected a dscordant note that was not a discordant note struck by the thick finger of crude and clumsy man. But the people of the world are l weak, and require quite as much a: " they require food and raiment, healthy : normal and wholesome encourag gemen s for service well performed Our viev
 
 : respect is sadly mixed The fea should be, not that we may occasional
 ly exaggerate neighbor's importanc y and magnify his deeds, but that b. :. accepting an undervaluation as a ba e sis upon which to build, we may trail d up citizenship that will be, by tn very impurity of the atmosphere il 1t which it is bred, a brand of citizenshi 'f to which public interest cannot be safe tt ly intrusted. It Is a serious thing t ], teach the public servant that he is kep n useful by constant criticism rather tha 1t by criticism when it is deserved an t. by cordial support when 1t can strength of en his arm and his purpose.
 le Wonder memorial, which would ia under the ban of this school of col v philosophy, is to my mind both con k, memorative of the actual service sr Henry G. Lewis rendered his city, an Id an encouragement to others to go an le do likewise. It does him as an ind y vidual great honor honor which, as os have already said, he is the first
 New Haven to profit by in this populs le manner, but the particular service til does is to commemorate his executiN nt | ability as the mayor of New Haven { r. a period in it's history when it require r. for it's health and happiness new ar G. modern facilities. Therein lies it's vall IT.. and it's significance. If it possesses n h. that value, but commemorates alol
 the human clay that moved and wake
 and had it's being among us, the soon
 it is removed from it's picturesque sit which towers above the city he fait
 fully served, and which stands sie but pleasing sentinel of the lake al
 the valley and the hills to the nor ,.H and west, the better. Memorials of tn ID character are not to be tolerated unle .il they receive their commission from t H- hearts of the people, and unle | they serve a. purpose essentially civic 'e- their inspiration. The cemetery ,whe -a- we tenderly lay away the sacred I ur mains of those to whose affections ' we had an especial claim, and the char TOT of whose lives belonged exclusively ne us, is properly reserved for the fir 'as expression of our personal grief al rat our love- It has it's own architectul CT, it's own sense of proportion, it's own c in elusive mission. Frequently in
 is countries, but more especially in Il Ute lusty young country of ours whi ,u- bubbles over with it's intense indepen in ence and generosity, public memori; in are permitted to be erected in pub
 it places that tresspass on the rights his the fields of sacred interment, and ( his courage an appeal to ones emoti en- when an appeal to ones citizenship al their solitary excuse for existing. T self personality of the individual is offe the sively thrust to the foreground wh ent deeds alone are to be commemorate
 in A distinguishing mark of this sim1 hat but artistic memorial that We are q, lze, icating to-day and presenting to rye city of New Haven, as an expressi the of the popular admiration for thu
 in qualities that combine to fortify a
 secure our trust in the safety and p his petuity of our free institutions of 2, sm ernment-a distinguishing mark is u life it stands for official service well D
 r. formed. It commemorates this, a .om about it's bronze and granite is dri1 nal gently by moving winds and atm on phere charged with the gratitude O ,ro community that struggled for ena ,iva ed opportunities of life, and that V he aided in the achievement of its des | IL, ,,,-sinr, ,os-