Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1905-1919, 1914-01-20


beautifyng the waterway one prop
most points " the Atlantic and Pa
citlc entrances surmounted by statues
of heroic proportions Of Columbus,
Balboa, and others whose names have
been indelbly connected with the dts
coyery Of America and the develop
ment Of the canal Another proposal
has been for statue 20 Senator John
Morgan of Ala, one ~ tho pioneers
In this country for lsthmian canal
construction, De Lesseps, by the way
has not altogether been forgotten for
the house which he once occupied at
Cristobal Is still preserved In front
OF It stands small monument Of
Christopher Columbus,
The government commission Of fine
arts, made up Of many OF the leading
sculptors and architects Of the coun-
try. has already studied tho prob
lem Of boautfying the canal, but It's
report which IN awaiting action by
congress has only one specific pro-
posal for commemorative munu-
mcnt, This Is presented as follows,
The commission Of fino arts be-
lieyes that IA memorial record OF the
building OF the canal should be- made
In the form OF an impressive inscrip-
ton upon "A great monument surface
at some point of prominence and a
careful examination OF the whole
length OF the canal led to tho choice
nf hn ut Il
est cut. 492 feet, at tho continental
divide. While the size and design OF
this monument should be the result
Of careful study we are inclined TO
believe that II should be approximate
ly 100 feet In height and somewhat
more in width that 1t should be Sc
verely simple in design that the let
tering should be done In Roman V
shaped letters and that the material
should be concrete applied as q mas
sive facing to the irrcgularly fractur-
ed trap rock We strong
ly recommend this and regard It as
one Of the most important matters to
be considered. We suggest also the
possibility Of marking the highest
point Of canal excavation on Gold
Hin Immediately over the proposed
Inscription with some form Of monu-
mcnt. This should be considered
carefully by the designer of the prin-
cipal monument"
This report, which Is based on per
sonal inspection OF the canal route
by Daniel c. French. the sculptor. and
1 ~ H.. a
scape gardener. suggest that any fur
ther OrnamentatiOn OF the waterway
should be undertaken only after ser
ious consideration. bearing in mind
that the outstanding feature Of the
canal Is utility rather than adorn-
ment.
The canal" the report adds, like
the pyramids or some imposing OBJ
Ject In natural scenery, Is impressive
from its scale and simplicity and di-
rectness one feels that anything
done merely for the purpose OF beau
tifying it would not only fail to ac-
cOmplish that purpose, but would be
an impertinenCe. In such a work
the most that the artists could hope
to do would be to aid in selecting, as
between alternative forms of sub
stantal equal value from the engi-
neering point of view, those which
are likely to prove most agreeable
and appropriate in appearance"
II the foundation difficulties are
not too serious the report suggests
1t might be advisable to erect mon
ument I'm the form OF a lighthouse
sptclaliy designed for the purpose at
either side Of the canal at the Atlantic
entrance. The report points out that
the present aids to navigation in the
canal including lighthouses, small
range lights and tripods, all made OF
reinforced concrete, "are nearly all
open to criticism as to details Of ap-
pparance" but since most Of them
are completed it is too late to modify
the designs.
While It would appear desirable to
mark the Pacific end Of the canal in
manner similar to that proposed for
the Atlantic entrance, II Is said that
the Pacific entrance is so occupied by
docks and cold storage facilities that
any eXtraneous structures would be
in conflict. Moreover" the report
adds, there art points Of interest as
one approaches the canal from the
Pacific with which 1t would be un-
wise to attempt to compete by any
structure built for artistic reasons
alone. The shore itself with its rug
ged range guarding the entrances are
interesting in the extreme"