Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1909-07-17
VIRGINIA'S REPRE- SENTATION
IN STATUARY HALL,

IN STATUARY HALL.
Virginia has arranged to be represente'
il S a usry Hall, the nations Temple Q
Fame, 10 the nations capital, by statue
of George Washington and RobsrIE Ler
The sa us of Washington is a reprOduc
ton of Houdon's mastfr rpiece 10 th
Sac Capitol at Richmond. The siatul
of G GanersI Lee is the work of Valentine
native of the Old Dominion, q sculptor
OF eminence. In the Virginia view
Washington and Lee we're pre-eminently
the greatest sons of Safe which has pro
ducsd many great men.
Washington, Virgnisn to the core,
belongs to the nation. Now, as In the
earliest days of the republic, he is still
acclaimed as The American "fint in W r
first in peace, fret in the hearts OF bis
couutVymen." Robert E Lee was the
perfect flower of Virginia manhood. 1t
might be truly said that he was therefore
the perfect flower OF American manhood
slso. After time has sof,ened the as
perties of civil conflict and history has
reversed the Judgments of passion and
prejudice, Lees greatness will be the ma.
toms pride as 1t is now the pride of the
South. Mr.. Charles Francis Adams, OF
NJ Massachusetts,, an officer in the Federal
army, in a notable address few years
ago, said thst the nation owed Lee an il =
calculable debt oigrRtitude for refusiog to
prOloDg The civil war after Appomattox,
and for the nobility and unselfshuess OF
his life after the cor fct ended. And Mr..
Adams further expressed the hope
and the belief that the time
would come when the nations sd.
miiat on and reverence for Lee would
6nd expression in a nstionsl monument
TO the military leader OF the onftdsracy.
Within the last few weeks, at the unveil-
ing of the monument near Petersburg,
Va, t1 Penn,ylvanis soldiers who fell
in the battles around Petersburgthe presi-
dent of the Pennsylvania B.ttlefeld
Commission, a veteran of the civil war,
has made noble appeal for erection, oD
Virginia soil of a natiousl memorial
of the valor and devotion Of the soldiers
of the North and the South. And
as exemplifyiug the qualities which
msde the Confederate soldier the peer In
courage, in fidelity and patriotism Of
any other soldier OF whom history has
record, the name OF Lee, be proposed,
should head the roll OF homer Of the
South's great commanders to be incrib.
ed on this national memorial.
With ali brad mined men who faced
Lee iu battle bis fame Is secure. They
recognize the grandeur Of his character,
bis marvellous genius as q commander,
his steady coursge, his answering
loyalty TO principle. These men would
welcome to Slaina'y Hall the statue OF
Lee not only as q memorial of great
bat also Of an American who
in war and in peace was second to no
other American Of any period In the
history OF this republic. The sentiment
OF the Virginia people is indicsted In the
condition prescribed by their legislature
thst If The national government shall
not admit the statue OF Lee to
Hall, the offer to place the
Washington statue there shall be with.
drawn, and the Old Dominion will be
uure presented 10 the national Temple Of
Fame In Washington. This condition,
it may be assumed, was imposed 10 no
spirit of sectoDalism or resentment. l.
embodIes the profound conviction OF all
Virginisus that Lee Is entitled to equal
honor with Washington as a Virginisp
pre.eminently great 10 war and 10 peace.
A collection OF stalusry commemo.
rating the greatest men this country has
produced would be grotesquely made
quate if Virginia were uDrepresented.
The Old Dominion has given the re.
public so many illustrious men that she
could provide those Of her sister states
who have not mothered sops OF the high
est eminence with worthy representatives,
aud even then be embarrassed with the
richuess OF material from which to Sc
lect her own representation 10 the na-
tioDsl Temple of Fame in Washington.
Her choice for Ststusry Hall has fallen
upon Washington and Lee. 1t is al.
most unthinkable that any American
capable of sppreciating true greatness
would obi sct to memorials Of bo'h Of
these sons Of Virginia in Ststusry ball
But If there shouli be objection to
the statue OF Lee in any official quarter,
then Virginia will keep the memorials
of her two greatest sons in her own
Hail of Fame in Richmond, and broad
minded men everywhere will applaud
her determination to choose her repre-
sentatlon in Sistuary Hall or to remain
unrepresented. = Baltimore Sun.