The Tucumcari news and Tucumcari times. [volume] (Tucumcari, N.M.) 1907-1921, 1910-05-31
WAR TIME HEROES.


Recent arrangements for the compile.
tion this year Of a s250,000 statue to
Gen. U. s. Grant and the unwilling Of
a statue to Gen. Phil. Sheridan, the
dashing cavalry leader Of the Civil war,
following close upon the dedication Of
similar bronze figures of Generals Sber.
man and Mcclellan, betokens the in.
%tention Of the American people to pro.
vide, through their representatives in
Congress, q most notable testimonial in
sculpture to the leaders Of the war for
the Union. No other country In the
world can boast so pretentious a tri.
butte to the heroes Of any conflict in
its history.
To honor by counterfeit presentmcnts
in marble and bronze the saviors Of
the republic, will cost the nation, ulti.
mately, millions OF dollars, but IN.
q~uestionably IL will be worth all it costs
as q lesson in patriotism for coming
generations This labor Of gratitude
has been in progress for some years
past, and already a dozen or more Of
the foremost warriors in the Union army
have been thus honored. OF late years,
however, the importance has been EN-.
phasized by the increasingly elaborate
character of the monuments erected. The
climax will come a year (or less) hence,
with the completion Of the splendid me.
mortal TO General Grant for which the
Congress Of the United States has ap.
propriated a quarter Of a million dollars,
and for the foundation Of which ground
has been set aside in the shadow Of the
United States Capitol.
The scene Of this shrine TO military
fame is, appropriately enough, the ma.
tional capitalize city Of Washing.
ton, which is coming year by year TO
take on more and more Of the charac.
ter OF a beautiful creation in architec.
ture and sculpture and landscape gard.
ening that Is the property Of the whole
people. The statues to the victors in
the struggle between the north and
south occupy conspicuous positions in
the most advantageously located Of the
parks and circles with which the seat
Of government abounds-verdure-clad
breathing spaces which seem as though
they might have been specially provided
as sites for just such heroic or life.size
figures. Some of the statues are under
the shadow Of the capitol, others clus.
ter about the white house, and Others
are placed where they will kindle in.
spiraion in the patriotic pilgrim to the
capiol.
Much to the impressiveness Of the
statues to the military heroes Of the
Federal armies In doubtless due to the
fact that almost all Of them are eques.
trian. II Is customary in all countries
TO portray rs linen on horseback"
only to so.called royal p~ersonages, or
men who were actual commanders Of
troops, or enjoyed the title Of command
er. The first equestrian statue ever
erected In the Western Hemisphere.
was one Of Geoge III of England which
stood in Bowling Green at the foot of
Broadway, New York City, and which
during the war for independence was
melted up and cast into bullets by pa.
triotic daughters Of Miss Columbia.
The Oldest equestrian monument now
standing In the New World is a Colossal
statue Of Charles Nv Of Spain, in the
City of Mexico. TIE initial equestrian
statue in the United States is the re.
nowned one Of Gen. Andrew Jackson,
which stands In the park directly In
front of the White House at Washing.
ton. II il estimated that there are
400 equestrian statues in the world, Of
which number the city on the Potomac
win have with the completion of the
Grant Memorial, a total of IL, most of
them representations Of Civil War
heroes.
The hrst statue arranged for in hon.
or of a warrior identified with the Civ.
il War was that in which General Win
field Scott il depicted mounted on a
charger at rest. This monument was or.