Arizona republican., 1907-07-05


 treatment, and. without undue exag- II geration. be typical of and embody the
 spirit of the west; and further, thai Ian artist should be selected whose
 work and proven talent would insure
 it's successful execution along the lines
 thus marked out by the commission.
 After mature consideration, MT. Solon
 H. Borglum of New York, was com-
 missioned to erect an equestrian statue
 in keeping with a design which he had
 submitted and which met with approv- al. MT. Borglum was selected, not
 alone because of his design, but for the additional reason. that he is recognized
 as one of the most distinguished among
 the younger group of American sculp-
 tors. group. which in the judgment
 of contemporary critics. for talent, or
 iginality and technique. since the age
 of Phidias, is unsurpassed by that of
 any time or country.
 | Since the award of the commission
 the responsibility has necessarily been | transferred to the sculptor, and now | after many months of anxiety and an- ] ticipation, We are here today to com | plete the work thus assigned us, and
 with you. to pass judgment upon the | manner of its execution. We have req
 son to believe that the work of Mir. | Borglum has been in this instance
 been worthy of his fame. and that it | will be found to be executed with that conscientious thoroughness which
 marks the true artist and sculptor, l and confidently hope that it may not
 only meet with the approval of all who
 are here today, but that, tested by any just and impartial standard of art it | may not be condemned.
 So much for the history of the mon-
 ument. Permit me now to say some
 thing as to its meaning and signlfi- canoe.
 Sentiment more than we are apt to think is potent factor in all human affairs. Without sentiment literature
 would be bereft of its interest and charm, and art would lose it's inspira- ton. It is the sentiment of patriotism which is prompting the erection, north and south, east and west, of SO many
 memorial statues. columns and arches,
 commemorating the services and char
 acter of our great. heroic and mighty
 dead. The same sentiment, mingled
 with pride, that this commonwealth.
 so early in her history, has exhibited
 type of manhood worthy to be com
 pared with the best examples of Amer
 ican bravery, valour and patriotism.
 has furnished the inspiration for the
 erection of this statue, has prompted
 this tribute to the Rough Riders whose
 names are inscribed upon one of it's
 tablets, and this endeavor to perpetu- ate, if not the exact face and form. yet the name and fame. and to repro duce in bronze somewhat of the spirit and bearing of the illustrious dead whose name it bears.
 There have been many distinctive military organizations. typical of the times and sections from which they were recruited. It is easy to recall Morgan's Virginia Riflemen. Jackson's Tenneseeans. Davis Mississippi Boys. and Terry's Texas Rangers. None the less distinctive than these were our own Rough Riders. They were dis
 lnctiveSnot because they were individ- ually of any one class, not because they were mountaineers, plainsmen, hunters. miners or cowboys, but be- cause they were for the most part truly representative of the viriIe. ad- venturous. daring. and yet keenly in teliigent race. that, in one generation. has builded this empire of the south west. Typically western, they exhib- ited at their best the manly virtures of the American pioneer. Never per- haps in any war of the future will their be another such regiment. The unifi- | cation of our people, the vanishing ! frontier, the conventionalization of l manners. customs, habits and life. | which are rapidly displacing sectional l characteristics. hitherto so marked a feature of our national life. will not admit of it. In this sense the Rough | Rider was of the past rather than of the future. He has already passed in- to history. Soon myth and legend will gather about the story of the Rough Riders. As. in the early years of the last century. the youth of New Eng land were stirred by narratives of the [ daring deeds of the Green Mountain Boys in the war of the Revolution. so will the patriotism of the future youth of our southwest be stirred with the names of Roosevelt, Wood, Brodie. ONeill. and their comrades. many of whom are, with us today. These men achieved the distinction which is given hose who appeal to the romantic and nero loving side of the American char ,cter. It has been their good fortune \ o achieve fame by brave deeds, cou- ,led with the possession of those in- iividual and personal qualities which rouse the imagination and win the ad- niration of men.
 In this tribute to the Rough Riders |. Ve are not unmindful of the splen- lid record of those other regiments. 'oth Of our regular and volunteer rmy. which carried the flag into I 'uba, and then later. through swamp ( norass and forest. from Luzon to $ fought with equal bravery l 'agalog and Moro and the deadIier ( ever. The other day there was 'un- ! eiled with elaborate ceremonies in the c lty of Indianapolis. the statue of that f eau ideal of the American soldier. T Ieneral Lawton. General Lawton died T 'ith the love and admiration of his V ountrymen; but the army of which a e was SO distinguished a leader is full i heroes though unknown to fame. lp $ loyal Americans We should and do b Ike a just pride in the professional O pirit. high sense of duty. lofty stand I'd of service and splendid efficiency. O hich make our regular army. man e