The independent. [volume] (Elizabeth City, N.C.) 1908-1936, 1927-12-09
VICTORIOUS AMERICA'T0
HONOR WAR VETERANS
"But Don't Let's Set Up Just Another Pretty
Thing To Glorify War;" Says
Legionaire Flora


America inscribed to those
cheated spirits who gave them
selves to the greatest hoax in
history, "The War to End
War;, is proposed for the
grave of Corp. Seth Perry on
the courthouse square in Eliz-
abcth City. .....,
Pasquotank waited fifty years tc
commemorate its Civil War heroes
in the erection Of monument and
then set up cold. crude, inartis'
tic grave yard effect topped off by
conventional granite figure OF a
handsome young soldier probably de-
signed to ylorify war; lI
There Is a sentiment In PasIuO
tank that would not wait so long
TO mark local participation In the
World War and it is the sense Of
some that the monument should
carry no inscription 10 the sl0rifl-
cation of war. but rather that IL.
should hold up to youth aud gene
ratiOnS yet to come the sODer
American ideal of internal peace
and freedom from international en-.
. ianglcmpmtS.
The movement to erect mOnu-
mcnt originated in The kiwanis aud
: Rotary Clubs of Elizabeth City more
Than year a::u and came To life this
week with the organization oil u
| central executive committee that
will formulate and execute plans 10
build the monument by popular sub
scriptionS.
The design for the monument,
which has been practically ac-
ccptcd. Is reproduced in another
column Of this newspaper The
sculptor. Mr.. NOvelli WAS brought
lO Elizabeth City AT the instance Of
]. Kenyon Wilson Of the kiwanis
| Club aud \. B. IIUutz Df the Rotary
Club. In March 1926. The mcn1-
ment. n heroic broIiZc figure ln9nnN
ed on granite base will cost about
$1,000.
The finunring of the monument
! will be In the hands Of "A COMMITTEES
COMPOSED of Chairman 4. a. own
lev of the County Commissioners !:
NJ. T.. Jennings. superintendent Of
the county schools and representing
the KiwaniS Club; Mayor j. b.
! Flora. representing the city aud
the American Legion; Mrs. j. il.
: White, representing the Womans
club and l.. ID. g.. and \. B. Houtz.
reprcsentimg the Rotarians. Mr..
( IIoutZ has been named rs chairman
of the executive committee.
Mayor Has Some Ideas
Major jerome B. Flora. himself
an American Lrsionnaire lends himr
| self to the monument enterprise
with a bit of reluctance. Ny mind
Is n little middllcd on the subject :
saws Mayor Flora: ! do not think
that as member Of the American
Legion or as u War Veteran that !
should have anything to do with H.
"a piece of beautiful statIary
that might be looked upon as s'slorl-
| fvjuy the business of war Isn't my
ideu of n war memorial at all. III
wc were equal to it | should much
urcfpr TO see handsome fund ralsep
70 erect a set of beautiful chimes
that would ring ont over the city
once or twice day and sort o caSl
folks out Of their sorry every dny
Thoughts and stir up the finest SEN
timents they've got in en-.
81 also feel u little mean 10 think
about uniting several thousand d0i'
lars into AN ornamental monument
when we haven't provided decently
for the poor little Children's Home
in our county. and its little Inmates
Bat ii just doesn't seem to be
thp Human way to do The rignl
thing all the time and ! guess tbt
thing 10 do is to encourage folks
do the things they want to DO: ti'
mcst important thing Is that we 6
Somethin. all ilIe time. Public sen
timemt at this time SENS to be SCI
ON "A monument and I'll help in an'
way can: one constructive enOr'
usually leads to another and an
other and / reckon If we are spare'
enough time we'll do all the thlns'
we ought to do, ultimately.