Evening star., 1927-10-30
u. S. HAS PROBLEM
IN STATUARY HALL
New Memorials on Way May
Not Find Room Under
Present Layout.

| Congress may have to turn it's at
tention before long to providing more
space in the Capitol for Statuary Hall.
in which the States of the Union pre-
serve in bronze and marble the
achievements of their distinguished
citizens, to be viewed and remembered
| by the thousands of Americans who
visit the building every year.
| The so statues already assembled
in this American hall OF fame do not
leave much room for others yet to be
placed there, and information reach
| ing the office of the Architect of the
Capitol indicates that 10 or II new
memorials are likely to be presented
in the near future.
| The adding of that many pedestals
to the gallery will present a problem
in spacing If these works of sculpture
are to be adequately displayed. If
that number meant the completion of
the collection, it might be possible to
arrange them satisfactorily. But the
story does not end there. The law of
1864, providing for a statuary hall.
gave each State the privilege of
hCnoring two of it's noted citizens
with places in this national collection.
with 48 States in the Union, the num-
ber Of statues, therefore, may reach
| maximum OF 30.
Form Circle.
The SO installed to date form a COM
plete circle, closely spaced, around the
walls of the hall, with four pedestals
standing out in front of those against
the wall. The main corridor extend
| ing from the Senate to the House
passes through the center of Statuary
! Hall, and, while there is still some
open space near the center, installa-
| tiol of many more statues would
| tend to give the chamber a crowded
appearance When it is considered
| that as many as "A additional me-
MORALS can be presented, it becomes
apparent that at some time in future,
the housing will have to be studied.
| While the question has not reached
the stage of written reports, officials
in charge of the Capitol Building have
been discussing tentative suggestions.
One proposal Is that the statues be
extended along the corridors running
north and south from the hall, but
it is the belief of some who have given
! thought to the subject that this would
not solve the problem adequately.
| Another suggestion Is that the
crypt of the Capitol, a large, vault
like chamber beneath Statuary Hall,
and one of the oldest portions of the
historic structure, be decorated and
equipped with an adequate system of
| lighting to serve as a statuary hall.
These are merely tentative possibil-
tiles and undoubtedly other solutions
will be put forward. How soon the
present Statuary Hall will become
crowded depends on how rapidly new
statues are presented by those States
| that still have one or two inches to
| fill.
Statue of La Toilette.
The next statue to be unveiled is
expected to be that Of the late Sena-
tor Robert NJ. La Toilette of Wiscon-
sin, who died in June, 1925, after
long public career. and whose son,
Robert NJ. La Toilette, jr., now oc-
cupies his seat in the Senate. The
La Toilette statue is being completed
| in Paris by the sculptor, 10 Davidson,
and may be dedicated during the com
ing year. 1t will show the senatorial
orator Of a few years ago in a seated
pose. The only other seated statue
in Statuary Hall is that Of Robert
Fulton, holding the steamboat.
The late Senator La Toilette served
in the House from the 49th to the
5lst Congresses, three terms as gov
ernor of his State and 20 years in
the Senate. He made an unsuccess-
full race for the presidency as an In
dependent candidate in 1924.
Word also has come to the Office
of David Lynn, architect of the Cap
itol, that Kentucky has taken prelim-
| mary steps to award it's two places in
Statuary Hall to Henry Clay, Illus
trious statesman, and to DR.. Ephraim
McDowell, who achieved distinction
as a surgeon. Only year ago, an
other State, Georgia, honored a men,
Der Of the medical profession by pre-.
senting the statue of DIR. Crawford
w. Long.
The work of making the statues Of
Clay and DR.. Mcdowell has been
| intrusted by Kentucky to Charles II.
Niehaus, sculptor, of New Jersey. AS
| Speaker of the House, as Secretary
| Of State and as an orator on the floor
of the Senate for many years, Clay
stood out in the history of the era in
| which he was in public life, from 1903
to 1852, and a statue Of him will be
notable addition to Statuary Hail.
Mississippi, according to informa-
ton reaching Washington, is planning
to give it's space in the hall of
statues to Jefferson Davis, president
| of the Confederacy, and to j. Il.
George. former Senator from
Mississippi.
A statue Of Alexander H. Stephens,
who was vice president of the Con-
federate States during the Civil War,
is contemplated by Georgia to fill the
one space it is still entitled to in the
hall. Following the war, Stephens
was elected to Congress, and subse-
quently was chosen governor of the
State, dying during his term.
California Has Two.
California is another State that has
plans under way for filling its places
| in Statuary Hall. According to the
| architects office at the Capitol, that
| State has selected Rev Thomas Starr
King. minister, lecturer and author,
and Father Junipero Sierra, Fran
ciscan missionary. The former spent
| his early days in New England, but
| in 1860 he became pastor of church
| in San Francisco. Before moving to
| the West Coast Rev. Thomas Starr
King wrote a book on THE White
Hills, Their Legends, Landscapes and
| Poetry" He became widely known in
| California, and there is monument
| to him in Golden Gate Park. Father
| Sierra was in charge of the Lower
| California missions in 1853, and later
| founded the San Diego and Monterey
missions.
| From South Carolina authorities at
| the Capitol are expecting a statue of
Wade Hampton, soldier and states.
man. He was governor of his State
from 1875 to 1878, following which
he came to the Senate.
The legislation of 1864, creating
| National Statuary Hall in what had
| been the old hall Of the House, grew
out Of a suggestion made as early as
| 1854 by Gouverneur Kemble, former
| member Of the House from New York.
| In that year Kemble visited the Capt.