The leader., 1905-10-11
4 BROOKHAvEN YOUTH WINNING
FAME.
Comment From d Prominent Pen.

readers will readily recognize the
familiar name Of Jack Nc
Grath,o the eldest son Of the la
mented 7. j. S. McGrath, himself a
gentleman of intellectually and
literary attainments. His son
promises to shed lustre upon the
family name; and no one appre-
ciates this more in Brookhayen
than his revered and beloved
| grandmother, Mrs. Ellen Nc
Grath, and his sister, Miss Nellie.
John P. Cowan, a gifted staff
correspondent, writes in the Pitts
burg Gazette, under the heading
Young Kentucky Poet Rebukes
Selfish Politicians, = the following:
A stinging protest in verse
from the pen Of Jack j. McGrath,
young Kentucky poet, is being
flung at the lawmakers of the Blue
Grass State in an effort to secure
the early restoration of the statue
of Henry Clay. For two years
the headless monument of the
great statesman has stood on
CHASTITY guard above his grave
here in the Lexington cemetery.
The heroic statue of Clay was de-
capitated by bolt of lightning in
July, 1908, and since that time
the uncanny piece of marble, rear
ed on a column 100 feet high,
Points the finger of scorn to the State that
denies
To its statesman tribute where worth has
been proved
At the last session of the Ken
lucky legislature two bills for
monuments we're passed. One
appropriated 1900 for the pur-
pose of cementing the stone head
on the mutilated statue of Clay.
The other was for $751; to be
used in erecting monument to
William Goebel. Gov. Beckham
promptly signed the Goebel ap-
preparation, but vetoed the bill
granting the pittance for the his
toric landmark which towers
above the hills of Lexington.
Several months ago an effort
was made to raise the amount by
subscription, but the noise of the
politicians caused the generously
inclined people to hesitate. Can
didates for the legislature are now
electioneering and are making
promises for next year. Why
should they not pledge themselves
to repair the Clay monument?
Instantly the question became a
campaign issue.
Thousands of people from the
North passed through Lexington
last winter on their way to the
Florida resorts and this summer
thousands from the South have
travelled the same route in their
vacation jaunts to the lakes. Ey-
cry one of these multitudes of
tourists passed in the shadow of
the headIess statue and the hid
eousness of the silent marble caus-
ed every lip to express yoIuntar-
lily some remark of regret and
shame.
The better people of Central
Kentucky keenly feel this assault
on their pride. Kentuckians are
won't to boast when they speak of
their native State and it is against
their principles to make apollo
gies, but for two years they have
gazed up at the marble specter-
and are silent before strangers.
"Mr. McGrath, who is young
newspaper man in Lexington, at
this iuncture wrote four stanzas
which emphasized the whole sit
uation. The poem was printed in
The Lexington Herald one morn
ing and the politicians were sent
to cover. The poem is now being
printed on a placard beside a pic
ture of the mutiIated statue and
its decapitated head which rests in
the Great Pacifcator's mausoIeum,
where is engraved the Clay cpl
gram, Il would rather be right
than be president. y
THE p.acards are now being
distributed throughout Kentucky
and after the November election
will be placed in the hands of
every member of the Legislature.
When the Legislature meets the
whole country will be acquainted
with the patriotic campaign which
the people Of Lexington propose
to inaugurate and powerful in
Auences will be brought to bear
on the State administration
just to test if the bent
Of the modern Kentucky is worthy OF Clay.
Mr.. McGrath came here from
Mississippi, and has scarcely at.
tanned his majority, yet he is vel
i known in the South through his
contributions to current litera-
/ ture. !"
The poem follows below:
THE HEADLEss STATUE.
Is it just for the hero who battled so long
For the good OF Kentucky, who fought tile gool
fight
And won in the face Of weak against strong
Is it fair that we treat his achievements 81
Tght?
Is it fit that the statue Of him who hath swayed
The rapturous multitude stand with the bust
Proudly reared to the sky, cen gesture portrayed
While the boltriYen head covers low in tn,
dust9
'Tis the statue Of Clay, yet its ghastllness lies
As a silent reproach to the land that he loved
Points the finger Of scorn to the State tina
denies
4 To It's statesman q tribute where worth has