The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1922-06-23
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the usual percentage of the ana
chronistIc and fearful. Everyone
knows of the, scuiptured horrors Of
Statuary Hall in the capitol and
ndy Jsckson's rocking horse in La
fayette Square. But a certain nat
ural selection seems to work
throughout the years and the worst
Of these artistic efforts gravitate to
the storehouse. The famous or in
famous whiskers of Admiral Dupont
disappeared from Dupont Circle to
be replaced by fountain that to
some seems the pure expression Of
noble art, but to others bears an
extraordinary resemblance to an
overgrown lavatory. Until several
years ago a heroic statue of George
Washington. clad very sketchiiy In
what looked Ike a wet sheet. deco
rated Capitol Plaza. The right hand
of the Father of His Country was
raised in a noble gesture that the
irreverant said was but Georges
sign that he was in readiness to
catch the ball that Columbus stands
perpetually in act to throw from
his vantage on the Capitol steps.
Under a FIRE Of continued ridicule
the statue of Washington was with
drawn to some unknown spot ana
Is still unreplaced by any other
decoration. A statue of Lincoln
also was removed from in front of
the District Courthouse. But con-
corning this monument there 10 a
great deal Of controversy. some au-
thorities claiming that II Is a worthy
and ably executed work, while
others execrate II as stilted and
! falsely conceived. The battle still
RACES, and II seems probable that
even IL the statue Is not replaced
in front of the Courthouse, II will
be placed in some other public spot.
preferably one OF the national GEM
eteries in the vicinity Of Washing
+, ton. But much remains TO be done
in raising the standard of statuary
and monuments. The dog with
teeth like a man still snarls on the
Capitol steps. and then there is that
kind of triple-headed gorgon do
mated by the woman's party.
washington's local celebrities are
pretty well submerged by the flood
OF national and world notables. But
the average native citizen of WASH
ington will recognize the name OF
Harry Wardman sooner than that
of the average diplomat OF Senator
of no special prominence. Ward
man came to Washington about
thirty years ago carrying his box
of carpenters tools-just an ordi-
nary workingman. But he had the
gift of organization. took up con-
tracing, and is now reputed to be
a millionaire. He has built mum 7
berless houses and apartments.
cheap and expensive. The Ward
man Park Hotel is about his big
gest venture. 1t is huge and not
especially beautiful structure, cres-
cent -shaped. with many wings pro-
jecting from the back. The excel
lence Of its location and the Ward
man idea of service has given IL an
excellent patronage, including
| statesmen and near statesmen. Dip
Iomats. millionaires, foreign titles
and just plain Americans.
Ope often wonders just who the
opulent looking persons are who
occupy the chairs along Peacock
Alley. Recently I sat down across
from a swarthy and romantic look
ing man. His tailoring was ire
proachable, his air that of the citi-
zen of the world. studious. aloof.
Sophisticated. / fancied him dele
gate to the Tacna-Arica confer
ence. a South American envoy. a
distinguished foreign journalist.
Guesses falling before the cool re-
moteness of his air, I journeyed on
to a department store. ''Gloves?" ]
queried. Three aisles to the
right" responded a courtly but
aloof voice. I turned my eyes to
the distinguished visitor of Peacock
J Alley. But then I might have
known that such magnificence could
. have belonged to no one but a
| major.
Hell Maria" Dawes has been
, busily cutting red tape In WASH
ington for several months. In the
| course of his work he heard that
certain government ONCE was
scheduled to move to another
building. Moving day" expense
had been figured as running into
the thousands. why not use gov
eminent trucks?" said Dawes.
they're a lot of them around"
Those trucks belong to the War
Department and We cannot use
them" he was told. rs that so?"
said Dawes. Also a few other
! things. He called up the War De-
| partment, secured the loan of the
trucks and the moving was accom-
| plished for the cost Of gasoline.
A quaint and deeply rooted graft
| Of Congress Is the cedar chest ap-
| preparation which has fiourished for
many years without attracting pub
licity. At each session of Congress
every member of that body receives
a WELL finished cedar chest. stout
oak chest slightly smaller and a
small pine box. The custom Is a.
relic Of Colonial days when sessions
were short and travelling burden
some. Each member was then given
three strong boxes in which he
could transport his papers home at
the conclusion of the session. In
recent years II was conceived that
nice cedar chest might well be
rung in Congressmen's wives ac-
cordingly never lack for cedar
chests. AS for those members who
have been returned for many years
they have distributed chests to
uncles, aunts, cousins and hench-
men,