The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1910-03-26

which was led by De Long nearly 30
years ago. It was Rear Admiral Mel
vile, then an engineer officer of much
lower rank. who commanded one of
the three whale-boats when the ex-
petition retreated. 1t was due to his
care, foresight and self-sacrifice that
the boat was saved and his crew came
out alive. while the crews of the 9TH
er boats all went down to their
death.
Melville found himself finally with
his boats crew on the storm-swept
barrens in the northern part of ST.
IBERIA. There 1t was that the crew
rested and recuperated as well as 1t
could in the midst of great privations,
for some time. and then led by Mel
vile the men found their way back
over hundreds of miles and succeed
ed in recovering the records of the
Jeannette's Journey.
Congress promoted Melville for his
great work. and the fact that he was
an engineer officer, holding a commits
sion in the staff, did not prevent his
receiving signal honor. The .engi-
neer to-day has the rank of rear ad-
miral.
1t was in the Fffty-first congress
that the senate naval committee, in
reporting the bill for Melville's pro-
motion, said:
In view of such a record the COM
mittee feels that the proposed promo
ton so long after the deeds which 1t
is intended to recompense is an act of
tardy justice and hardly adequate"
The promotion was given in ''recogni-
ton of his meritorious services In sue
cessfully directing the party under his
command after the wreck of the Arc
tic exploring steamer Jeanette, and
of his persistent effort, through dan
ger and through hardships, to find and
assist his commanding officer, and
other members of the expedition. be-
fore he himself was out OF peril"
1t has been proposed to give Peary
a gold medal and the thanks Of con-
gress. 1t should be said that Mel.
Vile was given gold medal in addi-
ton to his promotion.
National VaIhalIa Wanted.
A movement is gathering force in
Washington to establish a real ma
tfonal Valhalla. There have been SO
many adverse criticisms Of the stat
ues Of the great ones which are now
In the keeping of Memorial hall, the
old room of the house of representa-
tives In the capitol, that It may be
In the future a separate building
viii be provided or a great room set
aside In one of the existing buildings,
In which the statues sent by the
states as memorials to their famous
dead may be placed in a proper set
ting.
Representative Mann of Illinois has
called the present statuary hall in the
capitol "a hall of horrors" Another
member of congress says that he al |
ways shuts his eyes when he walks |
through the hall where the statues of |
he great are placed. Men who make
40 pretense to possessing artistic in
stinct say that they are affected pain
'ully Wien they look on the marble |
and bronze memorials in this hall of |
anne. Artists, also, many of them |
any prejudice in favor of this |
sculptor or that sculptor. say that the |
collection OF statues is little more than
Some OF the figures In Memorial hall /
ire of heroic size, while others appear
o be cwarfed by their proximity to
he others and to give the impression
hat the men whom they represent
we're absolute physical pigmies. Some
II the statues are of men who died
comparatively recently and of neces-
fty they are represented in the mod
I'm garb, and there is nothing in a
rock coat and a pair of trousers to give
enthusiasm or an imaginative chance
o the artist 1t is an invidious task to
'oint out the differences, artistic and
therwiSt, between some of these me-
norials In this hall of the capitol. It
an be said, however, that only a few
t the states are in any way worthily
represented in an artistic sense and 1t
3 not going too far to say that some
I the states have picked out men for
onor who certainly were not their
reatest citizens.
One ventures to be bold, and to pick
ut Illinois. The great prairie state
lafms both Lincoln and Grant, and
ct neither one of these men are rep
esented In Memorial hall as a son of
he state. There is bronze figure of
len. Shields, fine soldier and a good
cal of statesman, but sadly enough
inc people out of ten who look at
be figure of the soldier have to be
Did who he was, and the guides are
, large measure the sole authorities
q the subject in the capitol The 9TH
r memorial which Illinois has put In
he hall is statue of Francis e. Will
lrd. the great apostle of temperance.
Iiss Wizards memory is worthy of