Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-08-07
A National Sage Memorial.

Mrs. Russell Sage Is now the sole pos
sessor--barring a breaking of her husbands
will-of an immense fortune which she pro-
poses, according to the announcement or
her representatives to distribute before or
after her death in charitable gifts and en-
dowments of various kinds. 1t may be as
sumed that in disposing OF this vast prop
erty Mrs. Sage will endeavor to stamp her
bounty with the name Of the man through
whose industry and thrift the millions were
accumulated, to serve a memorial to him.
Mrs. Sage is Of course at present the re-
cipient of a volume Of volunteer advice,
more or less selfishly inspired, and the OBJ
ject of strenuous opportunities. She will
not lack for suggestions. She will probably
be embarrassed by not only her material
riches but by the multitude of her oppor-
tunities.
Should it sbe Mrs. Sage's desire to estab-
lish at least one great institution to serve
as a monument to her husband to remain
permanently before the eyes of the whole
country as tribute to him, 1t is to be
hoped that she will not overlook the unique
opportunity offered her in the federal Dis
trict for such an establishment. There Is
no other city in the United States where
a memorial becomes so truly national in
CUdrdCltT, WutIe II DelOTe tlic pSo-
pie of all sections and states and where it
assumes a truly countrywide significance.
When James Smithson planned the insti-
tuition which he designed to perpetuate his
name before the world he rightly chose the
city of Washington as Its seat shrewdly
realizing that here above all other cities
would 1t stand forth conspicuously and ma
tionally. His Judgment has been empliati-
cally confirmed and the Smithsonian Insti-
tuition is today both a national and an
international memorial to his wisdom and
philanthropy. The Corcoran art gallery
in this city has not only locally but ma
tionally perpetuated the name of its
founder, through its position before the eyes
of the millions Of Americans who visit the
capital 1t may not be questioned that Mr..
Carnegie's gift of public library to Wash
ington has nationalized his public-spirited
enterprises more conspicuously than any
of his similar donations to the scores Of
other cities that contain similar institutions.
The latest endowment of a truly national
character which emphasizes this peculiar
advantage of Washington location is the
gift of Mr.. Charles Freer of Detroit, who
has chosen the Smithsonian Institution az
the owner of his Incompatible collection of,
paintings and objects Of art, to be held
after his death as a distinct gallery under
his own name, thus insuring beyond the
possibility of failure that that name will
stand forever before the American people.
Mr.. Freer was aware of the fact that every
year Washington is the scene of visitations
from every part of the United States and
indeed from all parts of the world, and that
the public and semi-public institutions here
are subject to the closest inspection by
these representatives of modern civilization.
Sage memorial, of whatever kind. To-
Gated in Washington would nationalize the
memory of Russell Sage more surely and
simply than any other endowment. And it
is to be believed that when she reaches the
point of decision Mrs. Sage will desire to
have her late husbands memory placed
upon such basis. While New York city
was the scene of his main activities, his
operations in truth were on a national
scale. He contributed to the Industrial de-
velopment of the whole country. Its rail-
roads, its manufacturing enterprises. its
progressive constructive establishments Of
all kinds were more OF less directly fos-
tered by his keen work in the manipula-
ton of mis- fortunes. He was one of the
nation builders of the period OF its greatest
commercial development. and the fullest ex-
preston of this phase of his character and
his works should come In a form which will
appeal to all the people of this country.
not locally or incidentally, but nationally
and directly, through it's location In and
Identification with the federal capital,
where Mr.. Sage spent four years as a
member of the House of Representatives
half a century ago