The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1913-07-10
STATUE -.
FOR MELLETTE
WATERTOWN SONS OF VETER-
ANS WOULD ERECT MONU--
MENT SHOWING FULL FIG
URE OF THE FIRST Gov
ERNOR.

WATERFOWL, S. D.-Under the di-
~rection of the local Sons of Veterans,
it is very probable that the memory
of the late Governor Arthur c.. Mel
lette will be perpetuated OH Memoir
ial Day, 1914, by an appropriate
statue.
Ten or twelve years ago the local
Grand Army post agitated the matter
of erecting a monument to Governor
Mellette, the first governor of the
state of South Dakota. General
George w. Carpenter, an old resi-
dent of WATERFOWL, prominent in
Grand Army circles, and a friend of
Mellette, having served as Quar-
termaster General OF the South Da-
llota Guard under him, took the mi
tiative in this work and had drafted,
at his w expense, a monument on
the base of which stood the full
figure of the governor. This figure
was drawn from a picture of the
governor and is said by his as
sociates to be an excellent likeness
and Il that could not be surpassed
unless it were possible to have it
produced from the living figure.
Mrs. Carpenter has lately turned
over to the Sons of Veterans COM
mittee, this draft of the monument
and the figure of which it forms a
part will be used as a model for
the proposed statue. Many promin-
ent men over the state, friends and
associates of Mr.. Mellette, have eX-
pressed a desire to aid in the work,
both financially and otherwise, and
the committee contemplates no diff
Guilty in raising the necessary amount.
1t is thought that q statue of this
kind should cost not less than So
10000; this would be done by an
artist of repute; no doubt one who
formerly made South Dakota his
home and now associated with one
of national fame.
The base of the monument will
be dedicated to the Grand Army and
upon bronze tablets will appear the
names of the local civil war veter-
ans, both living and dead; in secur-
ing funds for this kind of a monu-
ment, the law authorizes the city
and county commissioners to APP
propriate- money under certain CON
ditions and requirements, the for
mer without an ylimit, and the lat
ter to the extent of $1,000. 90. Hence
IL io pSiiSNSu piol RioPSi ulld q
be found to erect an appropriate
monument combining the two fea-
lures.
Watertown is the proper place fol
the erection of such a memorial as
it was the home of the Governor
during his term of office and a score
or more Of former friends and ad.
mirers still reside here and he is
buried in Mount Hope cemetery ear
this city. His old home, on the
hill in the northwest part of the city
is still standing; from it one can
gaze for miles on the fertile fields OF
the surrounding country and west
ward to Lake Kampeska, upon the
shore of which the Governor owned
a summer home.
The monument will be eercted in
the court house square directly cas-,
of the monument dedicated a num-
Der of years ago to Company "H":
First South Dakota Volunteer In
fantry, which served in the Philip
pine Islands; to the back of it will
stand a battery of civil wal artillery
donated to the state of South Dakota
by act of Congress. This battery
has been loaned to the local G. A
R. post by the state and on last
Memorial day was parked in the
court house square, after occupying
a prominent place in the parade.