Evening star., 1932-05-14

Perfect Structure Is Aim.
Charles Moore. veteran chairman of
the National Commission of Fine Arts,
who has had a part in the guidance
of the Capital development since 1910,
sees in the plans for the Supreme Court
Building a crowning glory to the new
Capital structures.
So far as human ingenuity permits.
this building is to be a perfect struc-
ture exquisite in character and eff
cient in use for its special purpose, he
told the writer.
1t is no secret that officials having
supervision over creation of new units
of the Capital long ago planned to
make this building a real gem. Archi
tects, engineers, artists, sculptors and
all others concerned have employed all
available modern technique and equip
ment. but they went back more than
1000 years to find the most worthy and
noble architectural forms, suitable to
the purpose.
1t is their hope that this structure
will be as honest in design as the law
should be and as sincere in proper
tion as should be the administration of
justice, to the end that the majesty of
real justice may have physical coun-
terpart in the majesty of the form of
the building.
Corinthian in Style.
The building is Corinthian. This style
was set by that of the Capitol which
it faces. across wide, tree-Studded
lawn. 1t is in keeping with the classic
motif selected for Washington's Gov
ernment buildings by George Washing
ton and Thomas Jefferson.
Discussing the suitability of the style
to the purpose of the building, Mr..
Moore recalls that one unnamed promi-
nent public official once came to him to
protest that the imposing, inspiring and
magnificent lines of the Lincoln Me-
mortal were not suitable as a memorial
to rail splitter"
To that critic Mr.. Moore replied:
"Does the Gettysburg address or the
second inaugural address Of Lincoln be-
lcng in log cabin?"
Search through the history of in
spired human utterance," Mr.. Moore
urges. Can you find there anything,
from the time when Pericles delivered
the Grafton over the dead Of Their
mopylae down to the present day. that
transcends the Gettysburg expression or
that Of the second Lincoln inaugural?"
He views the Lincoln Memorial as
fitting tribute to the sagacity. beauty
and sincerity of Lincoln, an expression
of the great character of the man,
rather than of his early physical sur
roundings, which he overc>me.
In similar spirit, he conceiveS the
design of the new Supreme Court home
as suitable expression Of the high
meaning of the Institution it houses.
Legend Of Acanthus Leaves.
The Corinthian style is more ornate
than the other notable Greek orders,
the Doric and Ionic, which are rather
severely simple. AS developed by the
Greeks, though always sparingly used
by them, the capital, or top Of the col
umn, was bell shaped and commonly
adorned with rows Of acanthus leaves.
Later, when Greece came under the
power and dominion of Rome. in 146
BIC, the Romans retained the char
acteristic features of the column, but
varicusly modified and enriched the
details
An interesting legend attaches to the
use of the acanthus leaves in the
Corinthian design. The acanthus is
genus Of perennial herbs native to the
warmer regions of the Old World,
notably Southern Europe and the warm
er sections of Asia and Africa. 1t has
large and handsome dentate or spinous
leaves
The foliage of this plant, according
TO the legend, is said to have suggested
the design of the Corinthian capital to
Callimachus in $40 BIC. The story is
that on the death of his daughter CAL
limachus placed a basket of flowers on
her grave and covered it with tile to
prevent the wind from blowing it away.
Visiting the spot later, he discovered an