The daily palladium. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1904-1905, 1904-02-19

ment' Of part of Fl. Wayne Avenue.
This is one of the most picturesque
portions of the town, at least from
the artists standpoint, Mr.. j. A.
Seaford having made many stunning
sketches of this street and its imme-
date environs, and It would be a
thousand pities to have it i'm
proved. =
The fact is there has been a good
deal of aimless and impossible talk
about what was really essential In
this rather vague movement for
civic Identification. If the city
had well filled treasury to draw
from the talk about "focal points =
and the like might be of some mo-
ment, but, considering the depletion
Of the city s exchequer, it would look
much saner to first turn attention to
the inexpensive, simple things that
could be made the basis of the initia-
tive. There is great deal of ref
erence to the 'gridiron' and "ring'
systems of plotting town-all Of
which can be easily read in Robin
sons "Civic Art" in the library and
doubtless has been-but it is with
conditions in Richmond as they are,
not as they might, could, should,
or woull be, that the citizens have to
deal with. Prof. Sackett s remarks
anent the gridiron talk were certain
ly pertinent AM the most sensible
made by any speaker at the CONNER
cial Club meeting. If we could keep
the few remaining trees that are in
condition from being butchered and
hewed to the point of mutilation, and
the city would enforce various ordi-
nances like that concerning the dis
position Of waste paper, a fair be-
ginning would have been made to-
ward civic Identification and we
could rest well content to walk round
three sides of a triangle as we do
now to get to various and Sundry
places. The other evening in the
amusing comedy "The Earl of Paw
tucket'' the English hero is very
much mystifed over the American
expression "hot air. The sort of
talk that this colloquialism applies
to, however, is readily understood in
the home of its creation Good com
mon sense and the Selling of the
comparatively simply means within
our power at present are the two
things which should be b rought into
play in the movement for civic beau
Itification.
The Editor Of the Fine Arts Jour
nal, Chicago, an ever increasing par
tisan of the Indiana artists, notably
Mr.. J. E. Bundy and several Of the
Indianapolis painters, has this edi-
torial comment to make upon the dis
play of the Society of Western Ar
fists, which has recently closed its
Chicago season.
"Why will such men as clever and
intelligent as the group of Indiana
artists seen in the exhibition allow
Chicago to dominate its exhibitions
with stuff that has been seen time
and again at the local and American
Artists exhibition, previously held
in this city? Why should Chi
cago artists dominate an exhibition
supposedly on such broad and far
reaching basis as the title Western
implies. Does the 'West' stop at
Chicago? The whole idea of
what constitutes a western society
Of artists is wilfully wrong as cata-
logued in the eighth annual of
the society. Each year it is getting
worse, too The artists who should
have representation are thrust aside
for the honor and glorifcation of the
same clique that had to evince signs
Of shame in the manner in which it
dominates local exhibitions it
it did not really feel shame Fur
Their on the editorial says: 'In the
Western Artists exhibit the laurel
should be awarded the Indiana group
for poetic andscape. j. Otis Adams,
John Elwood Bundy, w. Forsyth, L.
H. Meakin and t. c. Steele are
names to conjure with" Meakin, is,
however, of Cincinnati and not of the
Indiana group.
Richmond has had some, Of the
"clique' pictures exhibited here in
the past-rank some Of 'em were too,
altho' there has been much that IS
good here from the brushes of Chi
cago artists. But the most Of it was