The Washington herald., 1911-12-14
MEDAL OF HONOR
FOR ARCHITECT
Continued from Page One.

Table Cuts CaperH.
Amusing Incidents served to enliven
the formality which attended the presen-
tation and also slightly disturbed the dig
nifty Of President Taft and Ambassador
Jusserand. A table with a top which
could be lowered or raised on a wooden
bar was guilty of faulty mechanism, and
as a consequence the Chief Executive and
the French Ambassador were a trifie en-
barrassed.
Mr.. Taft, stepping to the edge Of the
stage to begin the impromptu ad-
dress, leaned rather heavily upon the
table top. The weight suddenly lowered
the top several inches and Mr.. Taft
lurched forward.
A somewhat subdued but Irresistible
laugh foated over the heads of the au-
dience, and Mr.. Taft Joined in the mer-
riment with his characteristic smile.
Every one thought Ambassador Jusserand
| had noted the incident. and he was not
warned. so when he started to deliver
his address he also leaned on the table
top. 1t fell several more inches, and the
diplomats complexion suffered a. change.
Again the assemblsge allowed its mirth
to escape in quiet laughter, but the Am
bassador still master Of the situation,
commenced his address, a polished, brill
~
Mr.. Post, praise Of the profession by
which he was honored. and an essay on
the art of architecture
A reception preceded the - esenta-
tion and the hall OF the New National
Museum was thronged. At 10 o'clock
those who received and were received
assembled in the auditorium and were
just comfortably seated when to a pa
triotic tune by the Marine Eand. pre-
" q nd aPHnr1nanip6
veritable encourage of distinguished
men, the President appeared in the
arched doorway and passed down to
the aisle to the stage.
Presidents Address.
Hardly had Mr.. Taft taken his seat
and the ceremonies properly observed
than Secretary walcott requested the
President to deliver a speech. The
President said:
II have been in a good many embar-
RAISING places, but l was never thrown
right into the water as l have been to-
night. 1 did not come to make an ad-
dress, but I came to lend such sanction
as the Office which I temporarily hold
may lend to an occasion like this, so that
you may remember in what consulshiJ II
was when this medal was presented to a
man who will receive 1t so worthily as
Mr. Post.
II count It a very fortunate circum-
stance in the profession OF the architect
that there is some definite certificate of
excellence. We don't have any such pro-
vision at the bar that I know Of or in
medicine, or even among clergymen. You
have to gather such certificates of excel
lence as you can from that uncertain
thing we call the public opinion of the
profession; but in architecture, appar-
emily they have the virtues so much more
solid, and their standing in their profess
classify them as golden. and silver, and
copper.
II am glad to be here and to lend,
both personally and officially. such weight
as 1 may TO the Importance and the ap-
propriateness OF this occasion-to the re-
warding of a man who for fifty years
has labored to elevate his profession. and
who has had the good fortune to live as
long as Mr.. Post has lived to see his
profession develop in this country and to
feel that much of it has been due TO his
efforts.
DIR. WaIcott's Tribute.
Ambassador Jusserand followed Presi-
dent Taft, and then Secretary Walcott
told why Mr.. Post had been selected as
the recipient of the highest honor which
the American Institute of Architects can
confer. DR.. Walcott said in part:
The gold medal of the American In
stitute of Architects is tonight conferred
upon Mr.. George B. Post in appreciation
Of his distinguished services during the
past fifty years in the cause of archi-
lecture. This medal is the highest dis
tinction conferred upon an architect, or
artist in this country, as is the medal of
the Royal Institute of British Architects
in England.
The institute confers this medal every
three years: the first being given to Sir
Aston Webb. the architect of the Vic
toria Memorial, London. The second was
conferred upon Mr.. Charles F. McKim,
an i'm Dortant member of the commission,
who made Washington's great park COM
mission plan. Mr.. Post Joined the
American Institute of Architects in 1850,
and for fifty years he has given his time
and talents to building up and improving
the standard Of art, looking to the benefit
OF the public and the improvement Of the
artist. His efforts have been one of the
factors in bringing the architect. sculp-
tor, and painter together in an effort to
produce harmony in the combination of
the arts.
Student of r. NJ. Hunt.
Mr.. Post was a student of R. NJ.
Hunt after his return from Paris, and
he was one of the noted group OF archi
tects in control of the Chicago EXPOSE
ton in 1893. where he designed the
Building on the Court
of Honor.
Among the prominent buildings de-
signed by Mr.. Post are the produce
and stock exchanges, in New York; the
group for the College OF the City of
New York, and the Wisconsin State
capitol. He made a design for the
State Department under Secretary Hay,
and for a Department of Justice, both
intended to face Lafayette Square in
City"
On the platform with the speakers were
the following regents of the Smithsonian
Institution: Senator Shelby NJ. Cullom,
Senator Henry c. Lodge. Representative
John Dalzell, Representative John r.
Mann, DR.. Alexander Graham Bell, An
drew d. White, John B. Henderson, Jr., |
ID. II. Burnham, president of the Ma |
tional Fine Arts Commission; Dom Bar
Der, president Beaux Arts Society OF |
Edwin H. Blashfield. presi- |
dent National Society of Mural Painters; |
Arthur ]. Parsons, Of the American Fed |
grafton Of Arts; Francis w. Kelsey, |
president OF the Archaeological In
stitute of America; William A. Bor-
ing, president OF the Architectural
MacNeil, president of the National Sculp- |
lure Society; Henry s. Pritchett. presi- |
lent Carnegie Foundation: William Ruth |
,rford Mead, president American Acad- |
.my in Rome; Charles c. Glover, presi-
lent OF the Corcoran Art Gallery. and /
he following presidents and representa-
ives Of institutions of learning: H. /