Evening star., 1925-06-14
HOUSTON STATUE
AROUSES TEXANS
Factions Are Heated, Pro
and Con, in Debate on
Monument.
BY Consolidated Press.

BY Consolidated Press.
HOUSTON, Tex, June 13.-Another
Texas revolution is being fought to
prevent a statue in memory of the
victorious leader of the last one. Gen.
Sam Houston, gracing a public place
in this, his home town.
Factions. clubs, societies, historians,
real estate men, school teachers and
persons of artistic temperament are
fighting the issue pro and con. The
latest to Join the forces against the
statue is A. j. Houston, son of the
departed and revered general.
Price Is Protested.
1t would, forsooth, be a battered
statue If the imprecations, ridicule,
slander and epithets hurled at it were
of material form. AS soon as the
idea of statue had germinated, the
Sam Houston Monument Association
was formed. Then it was announced
that sculptors were to design a suit
able model, to be accepted by judges
appointed by the organization. Enrico
Corrachio, Houston sculptor, was Sc
lected. His model was that of the
general in idealistic. but still historic
costume, aStride a vibrant horse that
famed with action. The statue would
cost $4,000, Corrachio declared.
Instantly the artistically inclined.
their friends, relatives and others
voiced loud resentment. Since then
Corrachio and members of the asso-
citation have known no peace. After
months of work the association raised
$4,000. The State of Texas ap-
propriated $4,000, the city of Hous-
ton $4,000 and popular subscription
the balance. Corrachio went to New
York, and there the great statue, 15
feet high, took form.
Attacked as Crude.
But while Corrachio worked the
battle waged at Houston. 1t has been
decided that a sunken garden at the
intersection of several streets in the
most select section of the city should
be the site for the statue. But such
an idea filled opponents Of the scheme
with horror. 1t would obstruct traffic.
II would be too crude to grace such
public place. There were million
aires mansions ali around the place
and the statue would not fit in with
the artistic environment.
But association members stood firm.
Injunction suits followed With MANY
council meetings, and arguments filled
columns IN the newspapers. Finally
1t was decided to put the statue in
a park near the former site. Yes. the
statue would be under towering pines,
and viewed mostly by playing chill
dren. but it could not be helped.
IraInc must not be obstructed
Things settled down for a little while.
A few persons even forgot about the
thing. Then another charge was
made by the revolutionists.
Scored by Son.
THE statue is a monstrosity. it
embarasses me and relatives of the
Houston family" said A ]. Houston,
son Of the general. Then he insti-
tuted injunction proceedings to re-
strain tho statue being placed any
where with the name Houston on it
or anywhere near it. Mr. Houston
said the statue did not even resemble
his father, that it hardly resembled
a member of the Anglo Saxon race.
He said 1t was crude and lacked
everything to make it acceptable.
Judges OF the association who ac-
cepted the monument declare it a
fine likeness of the general They
point out that the general died when
his son was mere boy. and that the
latter could not remember how his
father looked They exhibit a photo
graph OF what is conceded to be the
best picture of the general, which
was used by the sculptor. The
horse, they say, was modelled after a
stallion owned by a horse fancier of
the city.
But the son of the general remains
adamant. There is talk now of
passing a law prohibiting the erec-
ton of a memorial statue to any one
within three generations after death.
so that there will be no interested
near relatives to interfere.
The main thing / dislike about
that statue is the hat" said A. J.
Houston today. Dad never wore a
hat shaped like that. That's the
kind Napoleon wore"