The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-03-30
BERNSTEIN, SMASHRR OFKnNGS
u,,n no MAKE NYCK HAYES DE.
MOLISH PET DE PIG,

81. Iouls, Moses, Mohammed n william
NJ Orange to Suhfer Along with Major
andre II no A%ssemblyman From the
Tp,rty.nrst Gets HIS Bill Enacted.
ryan Sheriff Nick Hayes's worst enemies
J., the Citizens Union wouldn't accuse him
~ wanting to beat a wooden legged man
9TH A sledge hammer, but that's what he'll
S'ye 10 do In his official capacity IL AS
Aau,rly bill 1893, introduced at Albany by
: sidney Bernstein OF the T~hirty-arst
JI,.,rict beoomes a law. The man with the
u.ooden leg IL Peter Stuyvesant Of Bowling
Graen Other victims will be Moses and
I5obarmed and all the Caesars In the Metro
rolitan Art Museum, according to the
rw,nicipal Art Commissioners interpreta-
ton of the said bill.
sectionl 1 provides that it shall be unlawful
n erect any statue or monumen to any
emneror, king, prince, sovereign, monarch,
notontate or any ruler OF any monarchy or
ppov sny of such ruler-probably meaning
Toreign ministers and consuls-in any public
rloce in New York, And If anybody does
a. such a thing he will have to pay a fine Of
not more than $500 and go to jail for one
year.
Sheriff must demolish any such statue
os soon as it is erected. He mustn't even
whit for the dedication orators to make their
sneeches or for somebody to pull aside the
yelling,
The bill has been referred to the Commit
too on General Laws and there will be O
npblio hearing at Albany mex Wednesday,
when the Holland Society's lawyer will
object to the enactment Of the law because
the society has already raised nearly enough
money for a proposed statue Of William,
Prince OF Orange.
Layinia Dempsey's Colonial Danes have
not been heard from yet, but they may
look upon the bill az a personal attack
upon their former queen, although she 10
not yet dead.
1t is an impracticable bill, according to
one critic, for, suppose somebody should
eraot a statue In the Tenderloin to Kin g
Leopold in disguise, how would Nick Hayes
know it was a MONARCHY Suppose the
Friendly Granddaughters OF the Chorus
Girls should put up a statue OF the Grand
Duke Boris in a hanson cab, why woulo
any Sheriff want to interferef
The only defence Of j.. Sidney Bern
stein, who Is a lawyer and lives in Harlem,
is that he introduced the bill by request.
The request was made by some FARMERS
Of Orange and Rockland counties who OBJ
iect to the plan to erect q monument to
Major Andre, the British spy, near where
be was hanged.
The Municipal Art Commission will also
make objections at the public hearing and
the commission has already sent, q letter
Of protest to Edwin Merritt, chairman OF
the General Laws Committee.
.In the first place." the letter says, the
bill Is an insult to every monarch living
and dead, for it implies that not one OF them
is worthy our admiration and honor. Yet
we know that there have been many rulers
Of monarchies who were gifted not only with
great talents, but who have accomplished
i%ncaloulable good for the human race.
They were able men and women as well
as wise rulers. We admire them Tor their
splendid characters, not because they were
monarchs. To these we New Workers.
much. Indeed, we do honor them by study
ing their biographies in our schools. linen
why bar their statues-epitomized blog-
raphies-from our streetsT
IF this bill becomes a law the iconoclastio
Sheriff could demolish the statue Of Louis TX.
on the Appellate Court building, and the po-
sition Of Moses and Mohammed would be
insecure. In fact, the Sherifis OF the state
would be kept busy for some time demolish-
ing fine works of art in the shape OF busts
and statues to great and good men. 1t
would also prevent the ollan Society
erecting a statue to William Prince of
Orange, whom history places side by side
with Washington. Indeed, would not such
a law make it illegal to erect statues OF any
of our Colonial Governors-our own ances-
tors-for were they not monarchical rulers?'
The statues Of Moses and Mohammed re-
ferred to in the letter are in the Appellate
Court building with Louis TX. .
They are only a few Of the works Of art
that would have to be turned into junk
said Secretary Adams of the Art Commits,
sion Yesterday. peter Stuyvesant ruled
us under a king, and he'd have to go the
first thing. Think of a Sheriff marching
down to Bowling Green with a sledge ham
mer. And the Metropolitan Art Museum is
full Of Caesars. Every one Of their busts
would have to 60. And how about those
mummies of Egyptian kings. up there2"
Henry G. Quinby, counsel for the Hol-
land Society, is not only going to fight this
bill, but he is trying to have the fragments
Of the demolished George III, statue found
and restored, and he doesn't care II j. Sid
ney Berstein and the river county farmers
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