The Irish standard., 1912-01-27
Thousands of Knights to Take Part
in Ceremony Which Will be Held
in Washington Next May.
In allWashington's Wealth of Statues
up Until now Columbus has
not Been Remembered.
Erection of Memorial Due to Love
and Loyalty of Catholic Order
for the Great Navigator.

Next May, if the present plans car
ry, and indications were never bright
er than now, the Knights of Colum-
bus will demonstrate their patriotism
and strength in way that they have
never done before when in the capi.
tai OF the United States they will take
foremost part in the unveiling of
monument in honor of the great Cath.
olic navigator whose faith was as
large factor as any in the success
of his voyage to the New World. Com
menting on the Columbus memorial
at Washington the Columbiad, the Of
ficial organ of the order, says:
In selecting the site for the Colun-
bus memorial in Washington, D. G.,
neither the president nor the secre-
tary of state could hardly have been
wiser than they were. In the selec-
ton of the memorial, the committee
might have pleased as many with an
arch as it will please with the group
chosen. 1t certainly could not have
made a happier choice in the sculp-
tor.
The time of unveiling is singularly
we'll chosen, the sweet time of spring.
The memorial grew out of the 10y
atty of the Knights Of Columbus TO
the memory of the great navigator,
Columbus. 1t was suggested at
time when few felt sure that Colum-
bus was going to be so honored as he
has been in recent years. A Knight
of Columbus in Washington, at glo-
rious outdoor gathering, urged mag
nificent monument to the great Geno-
ese sailor. Another Knight of Colum-
the money for it.
At the time of the meeting a new
love of and new loyalty to Colum-
bus had sprung up in the hearts of
our people. 1t was said at the time,
that the sons OF the South, bringing
the palmetto from Carolina and mar
BILE from every Southern state in
which it could be found, would will
ingly erect monument to the mon-
ory of Lincoln in the northern part of
the great square in which the Colum-
bus memorial is to stand. Then the
sons of the North were to bring pine
from Maine and granite from many
northern states and erect monument
| at the other end Of the square to the
memory of Robert e. Lee.
"The standard guide book of Wash
ington," said Mary B. O'Sullivan in
Donanoe's Magazine, provides a list
of statues in public places throughout
the city, but, though Luther is remem-
bered, Columbus is forgotten. Per-
haps this may be due to the fact that
in the capitol his career is so fully
| illustrated in the paintings and bas-
relief panels in the Rogers bronze
door, but for the ten who make special
pilgrimages to this spot there are hun
dreds, adults and school children, to
whom a statue in the. park would be
more accessible means of instruc-
! ton.
ut is no exaggeration to say that
many young people have little or no
knowledge of American history prior
to the revolution of the colonies and
think Washington is greater man
than the discoverer of their country.
In looking for collection of patriotic
poems the writer noticed that out Of
one hundred and twelve selections,
there was only one Of which Colum-
bus was the theme. The other one
hundred and eleven went back no
farther than 1875, with few excep-
tions, one being Mrs. Heman's Land
ing of the Pilgrims
Memorial Nearly Complete.
"As another test Of the accessibility
Of poems and stories based on early
American history, series Of readers
intended for supplementary reading
and delightfully."- attractive in makeup,
was examined, but Columbus had no
place in the contents, though his ad-
ventures were of SURPRISING interest.
ut was useless for other great fig
ures of the fifteenth and sixteenth
centuries. Their achievements had