Evening star., 1897-02-08
MOON STRUCK FOLKS
they Are Finding Fault With the
Inaugural Ball Souvenirs.
FHELUNACLAIMED rOBEOUfOFPLACE
Both Sides of a Question That
Threatens to Become National.
EVEN A POET TAKES PART

| TO the Editor Of The Evening Star:
With all due respect to the designer of
the inaugural ball ticket I wish to say
| that should >be so fortunate as to ne in
Judiciary Square upon the evening OF the
| 4th OF March. among the last whom 1
should expect to see full and especially,
in this condition. groping his weary way
| through the extreme northwestern heavens
a resort which he is very much inclined
| to shun at this season, would be our much
| esteemed satellite-the moon.
or course, we all know he has his little
| failings; these are, to go monthly sprees.
he always has done II and always will.
| Now. the time for his little spree in March
happens to be upon the 18th for this year.
| DO any of us suppose for one instant that
| he would allow the excitement of the COM
| ing in of new President to cause him TO
| forget himself so far as to break such a
long-established custom? Not much; he's
not that kind Of sport" I've seen him
| full lots of times, but have yet to see him
| when he does not carry himself with a
| lofty bearing and keep in a course pre-
Scribed by the laws of nature. Upon the
4th of March our friend will retire about
80, taking with him a very scanty light.
| Is it not shameful, then, that he be de-
picted being at such a place in the sky
and full at that? p C.
To the Editor OF The Evening Star:
Somebody perpetrated either a big blum
| der or joke while designing the illustra-
| ton of the inaugural ball ticket, by placing
full moon in the northwestern sky over
the pension building. No such condition is
possible on the night of March 4 next nor
at any time unless An artificial moon is
placed there.
person viewing that building from
hoe OF of ,,,tlxl
| the moon at his back on that night or
over his left shoulder. and it will not be a
full moon either. SUBSCRIBER
The above missives are specimens of the
communications being received by The
Evening Star in relation to the engraving
Of the pension building on the first page
cover of the inaugural ball souvenir. There
Is no telling how many more will come
rolling in, because 1t is impossible to esti-
mate the number of persons who will look
up the phases of the March moon in the
pages of patent medicine almanacs or in
sist on regarding the picture as being taken
from southeast point, when it really rep
resents the pension building when looked
at from directly opposite view. But in
the hands of determined and energetic
people an astronomical fact is a powerful
weapon, indeed, it may be expected that
the correspondents who object to a full
moon on the night of March T. when as
the almanac shows. a very nearly young
crescent OF moon will be put to bed and
1t as early as 1:3O o'clock or thereabouts
will be in the large majority when the let
tiers are sorted.
Views of the RespOnsible Party.
Mr.. Zieber Of Bailey. Banks Biddle OF
Philadelphia, who designed and executed
the engraving In question, was in Wash
ington for a few hours last night.
The complaints. If they may be dignified
by such a term" he said, show anew that
peculiar penchant Americans of small men
tai caiiber have for finding fault with
things beautiful, no matter how attrac-
tive and inspiring they may be to more
advanced. and therefore, more appreciative
minds. On that seventh grade common
school intelligence which seeks the trivial
in everything. the etherealzing effects OF
art; the exaggerations of thu brush on the
graver which clothe the commonplace in
exquisite garments are totally lost. They
remind me of the individual spoken of by
the roet:
"A cowslip by the rivers brin1,
A yellow cowslip was to him,
And it was nothing more
IF We had desired to please the cham
pions of exact detail" continued Mr.
Zieber, I'VE might have put a corner of the
picturesque back of the city hall in the
dim perspective; placed the watchman's
house in Judiciary Square in the nearer
distance and included some of those hand
some edifices on 4th street to the left OF
the building, but We didn't. We merely
heightened the effectiveness of the beauty
OF the engraving by placing the full moon
in the sky. as a relief to the monotony.
and IL We didn't draw our lines according
to the almanac 1t was simply because We
took a poets license, as you might say,
which is entirely excusable save in the
opinion Of these ccrnbread and round
steak critics whose artistic home deco
rationS consist most probably of home
paintings. The criticisms are highly anus
ing to us, you may rest assured, but they
are well set off by the countless compli-
ments our work has received from appre-
ciative people who prefer real art to trivial
eties of detail In such matters"
Poet Shies a Castor.
Some bard who has evidently been re-
galed on the subject Of the engraving by
those who do not like 1t has sent The Star
the following verse apropos of the subject:
The Critic of the Souvenir.
Aha he cried e1ultingiy. his eyes aname with
''Gadzooks!! Hurrah. but have made great
He bent his gaze the Inauguration souvenir
And surveyed the Pension building with a most
exulting leer.
'sThe full moon shines there in the sky Jeewhil-
For anybody with half grain of sense to make,
When. in the almanac. It's found that on the very
The ball takes place no full moOa-no, nor nary
moons in sight!''
His gaze became mere eager and the cut again he
scanned.
Then he exclaimed in deep disgust: We'll, I will
be trepanned
II that engraver could have known just what he
about.
For he's left the lampposts round the Pension
building out!
And those old shrubbery bushes don't look scrag-
gily at all,
And can't see those chalk marks that are up
there the wall
That's how they fool the people who have got to
pay the bills
As IL We don't, already, tote q heavy load Of Ills.
Chairman Bell should have just sent that old en-
graver out OF town
Before he let him do Westinghouse up SO
brown!
L II bet II Billy Bryan had a-got there full moon
Would have been a-shining up there just about ten
days too s0Oni''
Funeral Of VIM. NARROW.
Tie funeral Of VIM. NARROW. colored. who
lived for over twenty years at his home on