The Washington times., 1902-02-09
ARTISTIC IGNORANCE
AMERICAS DRAWBACK
Preponderance of Examples
Of the Poor and Abortive.
SPOILS SYSTEM RESPONSIBLE
Government buildings. Statues in
Capitol, and Paintings of Our
President and Public Nen Cousid-
cred MonstrOsities

1t Is indeed difficult here in America to
get statues erected, Bat it is far easier
than to get rid OF them after they have
Deen. We as nation are still in our
teens-perhaps nineteen; We have learned
a great deal. but we art still ignorant of
much that our elders among nations
| know and have profited by Our lack of
understanding and appreciation of the fine
arts Is not our only nor, perhaps, our
most important shortconiirg, but it is
conspicuous and may be discussed with
prCpriety in this column
washington is the capital of a great
and prosperous country; it is the heart of
the nation; it is the seat OF tie Govern
inent and should be the centre of culture
and learning, and yet the man who has
Travelled and observed, he who has
learned that beauty is not merely a word
but reality-a potent factor in TIE lives
of mel-if he be a visitor he sneers, if a
thoughtful American he contempiatcS our
monuments and statues, our pictures, and
our buildings with sadness. We have
some good statues. some good pictures
some good buildings, but the great pre-
ponderenee are examples of but poor and
abortive art.
The thoughtful American naturally asks
why is this? How can it be that a people
whose intelligence in most things is un-
questioned, whose fame for being practi-
cal has reached the four corners of the
globe, whose common sense has placed
them among the dictators Of the world,
should allow themselves to be so imposed
upon?
The spoils system and it's collateral
curses are directly responsible for this
condition. Such ncnstrosities as the PEN
sion Office Building, the State, War, and
Navy Building, the City Postoffice, the
Jackson Statue, the Farragut, the Scott, !
ard that chamber OF scuiDtured horrors
at the Capitol; the many wretcted paint |
ings of our Presidents and public men that |
hang in the halls OF cur Federal build |
ilgs, are enduring and fitting monuments |
to corrupt politics-an everlasting rebuke |
to poor statesmanship.
To illustrate we will relate one incident |
which is typical Of our Governments at
titude toward art The Society of the |
Army OF the Tennessee resolved to erect
a monument to the late Gen. William T.
Sherman, appropriating and raising by
subscription S25 OO0. 1t then asked Con-
gress to augment this amount by appro-
priating $4,000, and also to provide a
site for the statue. Congress passed
resolution appropTiating the desired
amount and gave the site which is locat-
ed just south CT the Treasury Department.
The committees Of the Army of the Ten
nessee started out in the right way. They
called for an open competition by Amer
lean artists and specified that models
should be submitted by a certain date.
In order that the competing artists
should feel confident that their work
would be judged upon its merit. this COM
Inittee invited two OF Americas S best
architects. men of international reputa-
ton, and cur greatest sculptor to form
an expert jury The instructions to this
jury were that they should select the |
five models that. il their judgment were
the best, and that their committee would