Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-11-27
Used by Washington Readers.

But the question may be asked. Whom
| does this profit; to what use are these
great collections put? The answer is ::
All who require it-practicing musicians,
students, writer's. The music division
| which is housed in the basement of the
Library of Congress, is open to readers
every weekday from am. to 400 p.m
and Sundays from 2 to 10 pm It's
| shelves are accessible and a pianoforte is
provided for prlma vista reading purposes
Washington is not, it must be admitted
| a musical center. and yet the records of
| the music division for the last year show
| that about 1900 books, pamphlets and
compositions have been lent to no less
than $500 readers. This is the local side
| merely for it must be remembered the
Library of Congress belongs not alone to
Washington. but to the whole country
Thus when nonresident musicians are
| engaged in serious research and require
temporarily the use of certain material
| included In the collections here. it can be
usually placed at their disposal through
the system of inter-library loans
More and more. however, this collec-
ton of music and books on music is at
tracing students to Washngton-men and
women desiring to make careful examina-
engaged in historical writing. Only 4 few
weeks ago the head of the department
of music in one of our great universities
wrote the librarian that 1t was his inten-
this city, instead of in Paris and Londcn
as heretofore, the collections in the Ii
brary of Congress now being sufficiently
strong to justify the change
With these facts before one il seems
quite unnecessary 80 refer to the rea-
sOnablenesS Of such effort or to suggest
that any might question the propriety of
such collection being here. And yet it
is interesting and reassuring TO know
that the work has the hearty support of
those beyond the boundaries of the Dis
trict of Columbia and that others less di-
| rectly protited than ourselves give it equal
encouragement. In order to esta blish. or
disprove. this fact, few months ago
those who stand In this country as au-
thOrities in matters pertaining to music
were invited to frankly express their op;n-
| ions to the justification of the attempt
whether or not the possible benefit was
one that our national government could
justly promote with public fundS-whether
or not the material should be here
Views of Teachers and Critics.
Among those thus appealed to were Ho-
ratio Parker of Yale. Walter R. Spalding
of Harvard. Albert A. Stanley of the Uni
| versity of Michigan, Edward Dickinson of
Oberlin. George c. Dow of Vassar, DR..
Chadwick of the New. England Conserva-
| tory of Music, P. c. Lutkin of the North
western University of Music. Philip Hale.
w. j. Henderson, Frank Damrosch, Louis
c. Elson and II. E. Krekbiel In all there
were fifteen-teachers, composers. critics
and writers-and with but two exceptions
the answers were all in the affirmative
These two negative replies came from
| critics who based their objection on the
| fact that Washington. not being an art
| center overlooking the larger national
a spect of the question, and one of these
| even admitted that a 'dweller in ITO
pia'' he should say Yes" that the 'Uto-