Perth Amboy evening news., 1920-12-09
THE HASKIN LETTER
rNuoRTALIZING LADIES
NJ frederic J.. Haskin.

THE National Capitol Is soon 10 na'e
r.w statue added to its collection
Sro1ortal This statue Will DC
vn,,te ANYTHING else in the Capltvl
~ are, II will consist of three neaus
Is, nut of the top Of n BLOCK OF
nosrbis. leaving the lower part Q
he biock for q pedestal. 1t Is IuI-
.her unusual because the tnree
snsas arc of women. There Is Q
aniy one statue in the Capltol 70
The OF a wornan n ina
he marble figure of Frances VIII
ara. given by the state OF iiih'oi'
IN ststuary hall in 1908.
Tho new gift % n Capi.oi ~
memorial 10 susan 81: 60,
cretja Mott and Elizabeth Csus
S.enton three women who first
snonsored the then forlorn cause OF
syooen's rights. The idea OF I'M
n,ortalizius these women in marble
nss really conceived long ago. wnen
!, was planned to display busts o.
.hen at the Worlds Fair. Adelaide
Inbn.on the sculptor, modeied
n,,sts OF Susan 3. Anthony ana
pii,abeth stanton from life, but
,bn time for a memorial seemed not
cutie rfpe then, with the feminists
sims ~unachieved. Now, when the
work 10 which the pioneers Y
their lives is completed, a memorial
has greater significance, n MISS
Johnson has resumed work on the
combination statue on a larger scare
than was first planned.
The national woman's party Is
raising $4,000 to pay for the mate
rails. workmanship and transports
,ion of the stone. The material -
an eiyht-ton block OF italian mar
HE chosen by the sculptor at Sera-
yszza, A photograph sent from her
s,udio at Carrara. italy. shows the
statue In process Of completion. The
three heads stand out above the
huge base Of the slab. They are ar
ranged in a triangle, all facing one
way. -.
,be work will be finished and sent
20 Washington in time for the open
ins OF the woman's party convention
February is. As that day Is the
101st anniversary of Susan Antho-
ny's birthday. the women are anx-
ious 10 unveil the statue in its place
In the rotunda Of the Capitol, then
Red Tape.
Much red tape 10 necessary IN
Capitol affairs, even to make a pres
emit. The Library Committee in the
Senate is in charge OF matters OF
art in the building. n senator
IRA Of Connecticut, chairman
Of this committee, has long been
known as a fiery opponent of sun
a for During the crisis
in the Connecticut legislature this
summer, however. he saw hat the
suffrage amendment Yves inevitable,
IL not by Connecticut, then by some
other state. He therefore came out
with a letter urging Connecticut'to
ratify the amendment. and since
then Senator Brandegee has so far
become reconciled to women in a
tional affairs, that he agreed to use
his influence to have his committee
report ~favorably on the matter of
placing the memorial in the rotunda
at the next session of Congress.
With this support. there is small
chance of congress refusing the
gift. 4l iE1nl
The rotunda where the statue is
to be placed is the great hall be-
low the dome of the Capitol. The
hall contains eight large paintings
showing important scenes An the his
tory of America. Above these runs
the celebrated frieze which was be-
gun by Brumids. the Italian artist,
and which for years has lacked only
a few feet of completion. The paint
ing. done in gray. black and white,
to simulate bas-relief. seems to be
q series of Indians, settlers and sol
diers following one another around
the walls, or occasionally facing the
other way to become part of a pic
ture in our early history. Brumidi
had planned the entire frieze. but
ne died, and since his time no art
list has been found who could keep
to the spirit and technique of the
Drumidi work. Scaffolding is still
suspended by the friexe where an
artist recently tried out his skill.
The rotunda is unfurnished ex-
cept for a few chairs for the use of
blue-coated guards. and a half
dozen statues near the walls. This
collection Of statues now consists OF
Lafayette, Lincoln. Grant, Hamilton
and Baker in marble; Jefferson in
bronze and plaster cast of Wash
lngton from the famous statue by
Houdon. There Is also a bust of
Washington In bronze. and a great
head Of Lincoln rising out Of a mar
BILE block. by Gutzon Borglum.
An Unbeknown Great Man.
Next to the massive Lincoln head.
| the statue labeled Baker" attracts
the most attention, because few
people can place him in history.
His clothes are of a cut which sug-
gests the time after the Revolu-
ton, and because he is reproduced
Iife-size instead of heroic. he looks
! short and chunky. Even down in
the office of the superintendent of
the Capitol 1t required some wrack-
ing of brains and consultation of
encyclopedias to drag forth the
facts that Colonel E. D. Baker was
a noted warrior in the Mexican
nally died leading a desperate
charge early in the Civil War a
Balls Bluff.
After all, Baker was a man OF
distinction. but placed by Washing.
ton, Jefferson and Lincoln the visit
or is usually puzzled as to his i'm
portance. Probably some people
will be equally unfamiliar with the
women who are to be added to the
occupants OF the rotunda. To the
women who have been fighting fol-
suffrage they are household names
susan B. Anthony, in particular. haf
always been a name to conjure witt
In feminist circles.
Susan p. was brought up by a
Quaker father to the belief that
fboth men and women should be eco,
nomically independent. She begar
to teach school at fifteen years, ant
from then on. whether teaching OF
l~ecturing and campaigning for suf
frage, she was a working woman
to her death Sc years.
The most interesting incident il
her life is probably her attempt I,
vote in the presidential election o
1872 as a test of the 14th amend