The daily telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1901-1926, 1914-01-19
ATlJI
of the Man Who Did the Early
Work on Panama Canal is
Now Suggested.


WASHINGTON, ID. C., Jan. 10
With the digging nearly done and
the Notifications we'll under way, the
decoration of the Panama canal IS
subject of renewed attention,
aroused particularly by the sug-
gestton from France that the early
work of Ferdinand lDe d4esseps, the
French engineer, be commemorated
by q statue to him at some conSptc-
uous point on the canal. This Is
but one of many ideas. however, and
the whole question of establishment
of the waterway is still open.
Artists generally agree with en-
gineers that the canal Is a monll-
ment to itself, but at the same time
there has been no lack of suggestions
for identifying the waterway. One
proposition is for colossal pillars at
the outermost points of the Atlantic
and Pacific entrances, surmounted
by statues of heroic proportions OF
Columbus, Balboa and others whose
names have been mdeltbly, connected
with the discovery of America and
the development of the canal. AM
other proposal has been for a statue
to Senator John Morgan, of Ala
bama, one of the pioneers in this
country for isthmian canal construc-
ton. DE Lesseps, by the way, has
not altogether been forgotten, for
Ine mouse WHICH ne OuCS OSSuPAO0 81
Crtstobal is still preserved. In front
of it stands a small monument to
Christopher columbus.
The government commission OF
fine arts, made up of many of the
leading sculptors and architects OF
the country, has already studied the
problem of identifying the canal, but
its report which is awaiting action
by Congress has only one spectnc
proposal for a commemorative mon
ument. This is presented as FOL
lows:
''The Commission OF Fine Arts be-
lieves that memorial record OF pne
building of the canal should be maze
in the form of an impressive tnscrip-
ton upon a great monument surface
at some point OF prominence, ana
careful examination of the whole
length of the canal led to the choice
of the East wall at the point OF
deepest cut, 492 feet, at the conti-
mental divide. While the size ana
design OF this monument should pc
the result of careful study we are
inclined, to believe that it should be
approximately 100 feet in height and
somewhat more in width; that u
should he severely simple in design;
that the letter should be done in no
man V-shaped letters and that the
material should be concrete applied
as a massive facing 10 Tue 4A4S5uASSA-
" fractured trap rock of the Gill.
We strongly recommend this and re-
gard it as one of the most important
matters to be considered. We sug-
gest also the possibility OF marking
the highest point of the canal eXca-
walton on Gold Hill immediately over
the proposed Inscription with some
form of monument. This should ne
considered carefully by the designer
Jof the DTfnniDal monument.
This report, which is based on per-
sonaI inspection of the canal route
by Daniel G. French, the sculptor,
and Frederick Law, Olmsted, the
landscape gardener, suggests that
any further ornamentatfon OF tbs
waterway should be undertaken only
after serious consideration, bearing
in mind that the outstanding feature
of the canal is utility rather than
adornment.
@.The canal" the report adds. like
the pyramids or some imposing OBJ
jects in natural scenery is impressive
from It's scale and simplicity and ul-t
rectness. One feels that anything
done merely for the purpose OF beau
trying 1t would not only fail to ac-
compiish that purpose, but would be
an inDertinence In such a work
the most the artists could hope to DO
would be to aid in selecting, as BEL
tween ALTERNATIVE FORMS OF suoSVeAA
TALLY equal value from the en-
.gineering point OF view, those which
are likely to prove most agreeable
and appropriate in appearance"
H the foundation difficulties are
not too serious, the report suggests
it might be advisable to erect mon
linent in the form of a lighthouse
especially designed for the purpose
1t either side Of the canal at the At
IsnfsT entrance. The report point
dtfk that the present aids to naVieel I