The Washington herald., 1922-01-15
WILLIE QUIzzED
ON CITY STATUES,
FAILS DISMALLY
Imaginary Youth Not
Alone in Ignorance of
Local Works.
BY MARSHALL NICHOLS.

aoOul 70 nave d lesson IN loCdl MoIlu-
m entail History. Willie Averageman,
will You please tell the class just
exactly who Gen. John A. Logan was
and what he did? OF course he was
a veteran of the civil war, and his
monument. which was unveiled in
1901 and which cost SIS. 200, stands
today in the circle at Thirteenth and
stre.ts northwest. We would like a
five minute talk on his activities.
either war or peace. II you can do
this. Willie, you are well abov. the
average.
perhaps you will have better luck
with Mai. Gen. James B. Mcpherson.
He was unveiled in 1876 and cost
the governm INT S47.5oo. which was a
lot, Of money in those days. Give
Us 1900 word outline on his life from
memory.
well. IL that is not quite fair.
here Ia an easy one. How about Gen
Nathaniel Gre IN, who was erected In
1877 at Fifth street and Maryland
avenue northeast? He cost $4,000
when a dollar a day was considered
q good income for a family. Tell us
Of his part in history. What did he
do before and after M became q
soldier? e..
"who was Gen. John A. Rawlins7
He stands on Pennsylvania avenue
between Eight and Ninth streets and,
although he cost only $4,000, he Is
very much in evidence.
While Doesn't Respond.
We'll. then. Willie. take your choice
Of the following: Mai. Gen. George
H. Thomas. Gen. George B. Mcclellan,
Count Pulaski. Gen. Thaddeus Rosci-
uszko or Commodore John Barry.
They cost an average OF little over
$4,000. You have seen them every
day as they stand aloft in their
metallic grandeur. What impression
have they made upon you?
willie, we are surprised and dis
appointed. Do you realize that your
father or your grandfather helped
to pay for these memorials, in the
fond hope that when you gaIed
upon them you would be thrilled by
their patriotic symbolism, that
their beauty would delight your
eye. and that you would dream of
emulating them? Surely he would
not have spent his hard-earned dol
lars thus IL he had thought you
would forget them as you have.
rs it possible that you know
more of Jack Dempsey and Babe
Ruth than YOU do OF these patriots:
We blush to press the question
further"
Have these statues failed the
purpose for which they were erect
ed? According to Charles Moore.
chairman of the Fine Arts Com
mission. they have not. He believes
that while some of them do not rep
resent the best work OF the men
who produced them, they are as a
whole a decided asset 10 tae city's
outdoor s;atpa"y. Mr. Moore points
out that the - Unique CT SOM.
particularly That displayed in tie
statues OF ! -. Til, mis- and Gen.
Green, is OF :. k:Gh or'.sr ana he
a, ributes the TcI-ral lark g.. l-cal
interest to the fact that they are
too easily seen to be appreciated.
Least Known Often Superior.
Some of the least known statues
in Washington are the most inter-
csting and represent the finest work
and inspiration.
The Henry Adams memorial in
Rock Creek Cemetery, which is the
work OF Augustus St. Gaudens, is
undoubtedly one OF the finest ex-
amples of the American school.
Many critics hold the opinion that
II represents the pinnacle of sculp-
tural achievement in the Western
Hemisphere, but like most of our
local statuary, II is better known
agI 80
Washingtonians. 1t always attracts
the visiting student and critic. The
work has been miscalled Grief" in
some OF the guide books. Others
refer to 1t as the Mystery Of Life"
but as il was never named by the
sculptor there is no generally &C.
cepted title. II is well understood,
however, that St. Gaudens did not
carve it as a symbol Of grief, and
any sincere study of the work will
substantiate this.
How many are familiar with the
statue of Thomas Hopkins Gallau-
Diet, which was unveiled on Kendall
Green in 1887 Daniel c. French,
sculptor of the Minute Man" at
Concord. Mass, was commissioned
to do the work. which was paid for
by nearly 1000 individual subscrip-
lions, ranging as low as cents.
through the deaf mutes of the
United States.
Child Figure q Pupil.
The figure of the child who
stands by the side of Gallaudet is
that OF Alice Cogswell, This little
girl was the first pupil of the great
l.. n
responsible for the inspiration that
guided his career as teacher OF the
deaf.
The statue fills one with a sim
cere admiration for the sculptor's
work and the pathos Of the group