The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1916-11-23
New Organization Of keokuk Men
Will Endeavor to Save This
Unique Cigar Store Sign
From Oblivion.
is ONLY ONE IN WORLD
II is as Much of Landmark as the
Curtis Statue and Its Co.
ing Would be
Crime.

Wells M. Irwin is president, DR.. Il.
Walter Barr is secretary. and John
A. Dunlap is treasurer Of new or
ganization just formed to preserve
General Grant as a keokuk institu-
ton.
General Graz. for more than one
generation an integral part of the
landscape on Main street now stands
forlorn with his back to the wall in
a cul de sac facing Lucas avenue,
street more savory than aristocratic.
Instead Of the once deep blue uniform
and spotless shirt front. he now has
gobs of-tire dough on his fingers, to-
bacco stain on his bosom, cigar ashes
rubbed into his waistcoat.- and two
gaping holes like bullet wounds in
his left arm. His uniform is shabby
and his hat needs cleaning, dry or
otherwise. -
The plain truth, unvarnished like
his legs, is that General Grant is the
victim of iconclastic progress. He
has been replaced by geometrical,
lunsentimental. plate glass contraption
and relegated to the back yard.
But at a meeting held last night,
big cigars were smoked and it was
unanimously resolved to bring enough
pressure on the powers that be to
compel the restoration of General
| Grant to his rightful place as an in
stitution of Keokuk,. like the Curtis
monument, the Keokuk statue and
the wheel busting gutter at Fifth and
Z! Concert streets.
| Famous as Only One In World.
Keokuk men once spent $4,000 in
an unsuccessful attempt to get the
only stuffed condor in the world for
Keokuk museum. Other keokuk
men secured for keekuk the only
wooden statue of General Grant in
the world and placed it on the side
walk on Main street near Sixth. II
has been there ever since until re-
Gently. When it took its position
there, it was adjoining the postoffice;
! it has seen the business center move
down to lower Main street and later
gradually come back the span be-
| tween Fifth and Seventh streets.
Aside from being keokuk insti-
tuition, this statue Of General Grant
became famous all over the country
| by the conversation of travelling
statesmen who knew It and talked
about it as the one unique cigar store
sign in the United States. 1t actually
is the only PINE in the world.
! For Forty Years Landmark.
About forty years ago, in 1873,
| Epstein & EisenhutA had the statue
made in New York from their original
idea of cigar store sign to replace
the Indians then in almost universal
use. They brought it to Keokull and
placed it in front of their cigar store
which has been a cigar store with
General Grant in front ever since. 1t
is not unusual for strangers to be
directed to go up Main, street to the
sign of General Grant and walk 'steen
blocks and turn to the right or eft
as the case might be.
The departure of Epstein & Eisen-
hut one night without telling anybody
of their Intentions is another story
belonging to commercialism rather
than to art and sculpture and NUM-
cipal institutions. AS one result of
their hegira, George T. Higgins. one
time sheriff, secured the cigar store
there and he later sold out to Glib
bons & White. These men were DR..
John A. Gibbons and d. e. White
about whom much of interest might
be written, Tor they were really
prominent citizens in the last GEN.
fury.
Nav Go Hiuher Than Ever