The county record. [volume] (Kingstree, S.C.) 1885-1975, 1919-12-11
SOUTH CAROLINA
SERVICE MEMORIAL
FULL EXPLANATION OF PRO.
JECT SET FORTH BY COM
MITTEE IN CHARGE
To the people of South Carolina:


the proposed memorial building and
to set forth the objects for which the
campaign for $4OO,000.00 is being
prosecuted the South Carolina Memo
ria! Commission Gcems it cXpcdient
to make nc following statement:
Tie General Assembly of 1919
passed a joint resolution, approved
March Z, 1919. providing for the
creation of a committee, composed Of
Governor R A.. Cooper, as chairman
and Ex-Governor Richard l Manning
as vicc-chair1nan, and fourteen other
members, two from each of the seven
congressional districts of the State.
This commission was empowered to
erect a suitable memorial building OF
architectural beauty and approprl-
ateness at the Capital of the State,
upon grounds now owned by the
State and held by the Board of Trus-
tees of the University of South Caro-
lima the structure "to be designed
as a memorial building" which will
preserve in marble or bronze or 9th
er imperishable form the names OF all
South Carolinians, whether soldiers,
sailors, nurses or other workers in
the cause of liberty, who offered their
lives as the supreme sacrifice in the
winning of the world war; and
wherein will be placed all the records,
data, memoranda, and other manu-
scripts and documents historically
portraying, describing or otherwise
bearing on the South Carolinians and
the organizations from this State
participating in the world war.
Pursuant to the requirements OF
the Act, Governor Cooper appointed
the South Carolina Memorial Com
mission, naming on it several Of the
prominent women of the State. In
it's initial meeting the commission de-
cided to ask the people Of the State
to contribute $4O0,000.00 to supple
ment the legislative appropriation OF
500, 100000, for the erection Of the
building, the appropriation being con-
tingent upon the voluntary contribu-
ton of the amount decided on by the
commission. The details of the soli-
citation campaign was placed under
the supervision of subcommittee
with Ex-Governor Manning as chair
man.
This Subcommittee decided to be-
gin the campaign for funds on Sep
tember 29th, the first anniversary OF
the breaking of the Hindenburg line
by the Thirtieth Division, and have
it terminate on November 18th, the
initial anniversary of the signing OF
the armistice.
Movements were soon begun for
change in the form of the memorial
to one of utilitarian purpose, the
most emphatic of these proposals be-
| ing for great memorial hospital at
Columbia. Consideration was given to
these movements at a full meeting of
the commission, which decided to ad-
here to the original plan, as the leg
islature issued concrete, statutory IN
structions to the commission as to
the form the memorial should take.
To have decided otherwise would have
meant that the commission could not
have gone on with the project but
would have had to recommend to the
1920 Legislature that the Act be
amended so as to embody the utilita-
rian idea. Likewise, it appeared
hopeless task to attempt to conform
the various utilitarian projects as
proposed.
At the recent convention of the
South Carolina division of the Amer
lean Legion, the mouth piece of the
soldiers of the world war, the hospital
idea was debated on the floor of the
convention, with the result that the
non-utilitarian memorial was endors-
ed by a vote of ten to one. This was
definite expression of the comrades
of those who had fallen.
The divergent ideas as to the form
the memorial should take, the accu-
mulative contemporaneous campaigns
for funds for other purposes, unset
tied domestic and industrial problems
engaging the thoughts of the people,
the let up in the strain from war con-
ditions and other intervening matters
have somewhat retarded the memo
rial campaign. However, the commits
sion feels that the people OF South
Carolina will contribute to this worthy
cause. when they are approached and