The Grit-advocate., 1901-07-12
INTERESTING FACTS CONCERN
ING THE PENN MONUMENT.
Metal Shoes Repaired Statue Uas Blown
Down-Ths Memorial Once IA . junk
shoP-Now on the Hospital Green In
PhilAdelphiA.

where it was placed in the grounds
OF the old hospital at Eighth and Pine
streets. The minutes OF the Pennsyl-
Vanla hospital tell the story of its
coming, a gift Of John Penn. In No
vember. 1902. John Penn. through his
attorney, offered a portrait of William
rem to the managers of the hospital,
requesting to know where it would be
placed. reply was duly sent to John
Penn, but the picture was never pre-
scented. On Sept. "a. 1904, the minutes
record "A statue in lead of William
rem is arrived in the ship Pigon from
London No letter accompanied the
statue which was accepted in lieu of
the portrait which John Penn had at
nrst purposed giving to the hospital.
IN quaker language beginning with the
familiar greeting Esteemed friend"
ana couched in friendly 'thees' and
Lhous, the president, Josiah HeweG,
wrote to Penn. thanking him for his
gilt and telling him Immediately after
Its arrival some young men OF Our
city VINO are friends to your family
requested the liberty of raising graf
hitously for this purpose a pedestal of
the Whlte marble OF Pennsylvania, Ito
ne nxed at the green south front OF
the hospital, with suitable Inscriptions
10 record the birth of William Penn
the memorable era when he founded
the Province Of Pennsylvania and the
time OF his death" Penn is represent
ed II colonial costume. He holds In his
nahc scroll engraved with charter
OF privileges to Pennsylvania. MDCC.,"
etc. The statue stands on a slab OF
malsole marked Presented by John
Pena, A. D. 1904" This surmounts the
pedestal, which is engraved as follows:
IN 'front.' the well-known coat-of-arms
with Penn's roundels. Over it is en-
sraved William Penn Born 1914.
Died l71S." On the east side we read:
pennsylvania Granted by Charles u.
TO William Penn, 1861" On the north:
The Proprietary Arrived 1852, Made
Just and Amicable Arrangement
with the Natives for the purchase Of
Their Lands and Went Back to Eng
land 1854" The west side reads: Re
turned to Pennsylvania 1899 and Fin
ally Withdrew to His Parental Estate
A'"A' hc hlSIOIS Ol lne SUBSTITUTION
OF statue for picture was not explained
until 1876, when letter of Benjamin
Franklin. written in 1855, threw light
on the transaction says the Philade!-
phia Record. In this epistle Franklin
describes visit to his friend Lord
DeSpencer, and seeing the statue OF
William Penn holding the scroll
Franklin admired it so much he then
wished copy made to stand in the
state house grounds in Phila ielphia.
The letter, with copy of the scroll de-
scilptlon. is now among the archives of
the Pennsylvania hospital Lord De-
spencer's successor took no Interest in
William Penn. The statue vas sent to
Junk shop to be sold fDr old metal.
Here John Penn found i; and pur-
chased it for presentation TO the Penn
sylvania hospital. We may now see
the statue facing Fine street. on the
hospital green. Penn still holds the
charter, in perpetual remembrance of
that famous treaty. never sworn to
and never broken" 1t is curious to
know that in course of time one Of the
statues shoes wors out. In 1850, dur
ins severe storm, the statue of Penn
blew down. 1t was found that the sup
port of one foct was corroded and the
metal had decayed away A new sole
and high heel were supplied to Penn,
and his statue was then securely re-
placed on the pedestal, where it now
stands today.