Evening star., 1925-09-06

man who scrapped wooden warships
for ships of iron; the man, too, who
made 1t possible for Lincoln to main
tain uninterruptedly his blockade Of
the Southern ports, thus cutting off
the outgoing shipments of cotton and
the incoming shipments of the sup
plies of war.
1t Is not claiming too much for him
when we state that his invention de-
termined the issue of the struggle
Had the blockade of the Confederate
ports been lifted and had England,
under the resulting impression of the
overwhelming strength of the South,
thrown her support to their side, the
war would have terminated in dis
union.
The achievement of Ericsson was a
momentolls- eDoch making contribu-
ton to the science OF war, and the
value of his work is evident in the
site granted his memorial-for few,
indeed. will be the monuments count
ed worthy of companioning the shrine
of the immortal Lincoln.
Even as its foundations rise, ready
TO receive the carved group of sym
bonc figures and the seated figure of
the inventor, surveyors are busy
within its immediate vicinity in lay
ing out the lines of the Arlington
Memorial Bridge that, in the splendor
OF white marble, is to span the Poto-
iileiN' dIIlliH6 lIIt Mail, WIN us
parable memorials to Grant, Meade,
Washington, Ericsson and Lincoln, in
an indissoluble union with Arlington,
where sleep the men who have pre-
served the Nations integrity.
One may, therefore, we'll question
the manner of the new memorial and
the manner of the man whom it shall
commemorate. while to those consider
ations glimpse of a real drama on
the sea. shall be added
Out of d block of marble weighing
40 tons. from models made by James
+. Fraser of New York City, the
Ardolino brothers will carve a group
of three magnificent figures in pro-
nounced bas-relief. The female figure
directly above and back of the seated
form Of Ericsson will symbolic the
vision of the inventor who forever
rendered obsolete the wooden walls of
warning nations. The eyes Of the fig
ure see beyond the present and into
the future, stealing Prometheus-w
new knowledge for the race of men.
1t is nobly conceived and delicately
executed, revealing its spiritual mes
sage and meaning with marked clar-
ity. The veil that conceals from NOR
tai vision is thrown back and the
eyes hold revelation as yet unknown
TO men.
But Vision unaided knows no frui.
tion, so the sculptor has placed on
her left the spirit of Adventure, PAN
oplted as some early warrior, with
helmet and shield and sword. A grim
fearlessness animates the figure: the
strong, handsome face, with it's wary
eyes and straight.set mouth, the
rugged muscles. and the drawn sword
in the grip of steel, breathe no care
less playing with uncertainties. but
rather a determination to dare the un-
triad aud "a Ior1 ,1-ftp
that victory may be wrested from the
struggle.
That grim warrior, like the ancient |
Roman soldier, is about to carve out
a new empire with his short sword,
an empire of floating steel and iron,
whose power shall make and unmake
Kingdoms and commemorative at will. |
The grim warrior saves Vision alive, |
and the two are restrained and made |
of service by the third figure, figure |
OF Labor, that stands on the right Of |
Vision. With what perfection of de- |
tail is that earth-graZing figure placed |
on the right hand of her whose eyes |
see into the future. Somehow its
rugged, honest toll will keep their |
feet on the ground. will transmute |
their brave, bold vision into reality |
whose temper is that of practically, |
OF daily use, of service.
X
THE groups trinity is in essential |
meaning a unity, even as the fig |
ureS are separated and disunited |
but each seeming somehow to be con- |
sptcuouSFOf the support Of the other |
1t is the unity OF achievement, an ac |
complishment whose significance is |
not local or national. but universal. |
1t is the spirit of the daring invention |
of Ericsson, the precursor Of a new |
epoch in naval warfare.
With what appropriateness, then, |
does the sculptor place a seated figure !
of the inventor directly below the SYM !
bolical group, his fine, sensitive face |
bent forward in thoughtful contem- |
plation of the vision that dreams |
above him. All his energy lives in
the clear-seeing eyes the |
whole figure, save the head, showing |
a relaxation and a stiffness that let's |
the brain leap from one pinnacle's |
height to another with faultless pre- |
Cision.
The head of Ericsson is a master |
piece. 1t will catch and hold the gaze |
Of the beholder long after the mystic |
charm of the symbolical group has |
faded out. 1t is a face. too. to delight |
those skilled in reading character |
from the feature. What leadership in |
the fine high-bridged nose, what will !
and determination in the chin, what !
power to dream dreams in the wide. |
set eyes, and what brow to house !
the myriad thoughts. Yet always the |
gaze returns to the eyes, for the souls !
vision is there, d true vision for the |
service Of mankind.
The memorial reveals much of the |
spirit Of Ericsson. Let us turn to his |
life story to see how the years con-
tributed to his achievement,
II q nf O0O 1aadi.1er ~ I
scandinavian ancestry was able to |
persuade Congress to appropriate
$35. 900 (Which has been increased by
gifts from individuals of an added !
$25.000l for a. memorial to this man.
what was the manner of John E,rics-
son, and what was the contribution
that he made to the progress of this
country that he adopted for his own?
In this case. as in the case of so
many men Of note, the boy was father
Of the man, for during his earliest
years he showed strong mechanical
bent. He was born at Langbanshyt-
tan, Sweden. July 81. 1903, and at IL
years of age was employed as
draughtsman by the Swedish Canal
Go. His father was an inspec-
Tor Of mines. and the boy benefited
from the scientific knowledge Of the
engineer in the family. He, himself,
note, and one wonders what part
heredity played in his prediction for
the laws of mechanics and what part |
association. Whatever gifts the gods
shook from their laps at his birth, not
The least Of them was his steady devo-
fion to the work in hand a
devotion that resolved his vision into
the realities of new inventions.
For seven years Q820-1S2O he