The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1900-05-09

But a years time has softened the glaring
color of the stone. and nov L think better
OF them, and am quite sure that they are
real additions to the structure. How grace
full are the two water cascades, How
lifelike the soldiersi How harmonious
the entire noble Circle. with its well
come segments of green grassi How
suggestive the totality of the great truth
that there are nobler ends In life than the
splendid money-making machines at and
around the foot of this monument. and that
the memory OF the noble men who gave
their lives for their country is our best
possession
1 said that the Kutab Minar OF India was
a nobler work of art. IL certainly Is. for
as our Indianapolis monument. and vastly
more elaborate. The worst thing l know
about IL Is Its name; Kutab is a Hindoo
word that never can be civilized. while
Minar is only a contraction for minaret-
No work OF art-be IL music, architecture
or paintings genuine unless IL has the
power TO arouse in us the nobler emotions
and leads US into the higher life. Our sol
diers' and sailors shaft-stretching up its
great lines against this blue May Sabbath
sky and surrounded by a growing group OF
our statesmen and heroes-arouses in the
dullest mind healthy and useful thoughts.
If such a man cannot repeat the venerable
words, "Dulce ct decorus est pro patria
mori," he can and does say TO himself,
We'll, those boys in blue were noble fell
lows. and I'm glad Decoration day is near
at handi"
There is another grand work of art in
our capital which is not properly appre-
ciated. and that is the rotunda room or
the Statehouse. In many respects IL sug-
gests the later tomb of the Medici at
Florence, built by the pupils Of Michael
Angelo, and il is quite as perfect in its
proportions and as grand in its silences and
suggestions. Our Indianapolis rotunda
should be turned (as 1t will some day. into
a Hall of Fame. 1t should be encased in
pure white marble instead or the very
Objectionable Indiana oohtic limestone.
Marble is the only stone that is At for the
dialect of Fame. Here In the place OF the
gods and goddesses which now dignity its
noble proportions, should be statues or
Indiana's greatest men and women, just as
we find similar rooms similarly honored in
the Statehouses at o., and Bos-
ton. The process should be a work of time.
No one should be admitted not OF the
Hoosier family, and not until at least
twenty-five years after death, unless. as in
case of Morton, the claim Is unmistakable.
To attain a niche in this State pantheon
should be 1.-The last infrmity' OF our noble
youth, just as Nelson said at Trafalgar,
Now for victory or a place in Westmin-
ster Abbey!' Why should We turn our he
roes, as we do now. out into the cold-Hen-
bricks in the Statehouse yard. Morton upon
the Circle, and Colfax painfully balancing
himself upon his tripod in University
Square?
Every time 1 come to the capital / am
impressed with its growing beauties; Its
long lines of stately and beautiful homes.
it's parks. now knee-deep in May. and its
shapely business blocks. The most urgent
task now before Indianapolis is a worthy
United States building. Nothing less than
the entire square TO the south OF Uniyer-
sity Park should be thought OF as its site
and yet this will involve the loss of what to
me Is the most impressive sight In the city,
the row and cluster Of churches which is q
standing witness that the founders of the
capital city were men and women who
feared God and wrought for their fellow
$3.50 a-d g~hAEa nHrnrfA - ALMA ~ -
be honored. ID. p.
Indiananolje Nav e.