The Washington times., 1935-01-03

SaplCOl KNEW WLleIe W 4llAu
their heroes.
Live ones-on the floor Of
the Senate and House.
Dead ones-in Statuary Hall.
Today as Congress conVenes,
Ghe live heroes (Some more
Acutely so than others again
will occupy desks in the Senate
and House.
Statuary Hall, however, will
/ sOontain only about half its pre-
%ious cubic contents of great
ness. Thirty-two leading citi-
Gems of this our republic occupy
new homes in other parts of
the Capitol.
In the Rotunda, where mostly
former Presidents stand, are
three statues from the Hall. In
the Hall of Columns, the fin
est hall in the Capitol, are
16 statues. In the veStibuleS
outside the Supreme Court
Room, the Rotunda and the
Senate and House connections
are the remaining 13 figures.
Thirty-Six even greater citi-
Sens, one from each State of
the Union that has contributed
O Favorite Son, remain in Stat
uary Hall.
The hall formerly was so
FclutCered up with greatness
that the sightseeing groups were
barely able to wind their way
through. Now it is no longer
O stock-pen of heroism and no.
bility done in bronze and mar
hle. It is a corridor of dignity
and space.
Even at it's worst, I've always
thought Statuary Hall was fas-
cinating. There is, of course,
tncongruity in the appearance
and peCna1ities OF the Sculp-
tureS "a confusion of frock
coats karriors in short pants,
and statesmen in togas (plus
Frances E. Willard. But so
there was and so there is in
congruity in the variety of the
citizenry Of these United States.
I personally hope no Fine
Arts Commission will ever
Standardize heroes. The sight
Of Noah Webster standing in
neat intellectually beside the
great rough riding engineering
fellow from Arizona, John Camp
bell Greenway, husband of the
S>beauteouS Isabella, pleased me.
Mr.. Charles E. Fairman, who
was my guide past the feet Of
the rearranged heroes, has
been art curator in the office
Of the Architect of the Capitol
for a long time. He knows the
stories of the favorite sons,
and gives their statues per-
SonaGty.
The finest bronze of all, Mr..
Fairman thinks, is that of
Livingston, of New York. He
likes figures of moderate size,
and regrets the tendency of
States recently contributing to
the hall to make their favorite
sons so heroic that they double
the size of the first contribu.
tions.
liked his anecdote of Mullen
berg Ca person knew nothing
about until Mr.. Fairman ex-
planned him). Muhlenberg is
shown with a robe half thrown
back from his uniformed figure.
This particular gesture i'm
mortalizes a dramatic moment
in the life of the Pennsylvania
educator, evangelist, and soldier.
It happened when Muhlenberg
was preaching his last sermon
at Woodstock during the first
days of the Revolutionary War.
Muhlenberg said boldly:
"There is a time to pray and
D time to fight"
Throwing off his clerical robe,
he stood revealed as a soldier.
At the same instant, flies and
drums in the congregation
came to life. And 300 soldiers
marched out from nearby woods.
Muhlenberg stepped down from
the pulpit and led them away
to fight the British.
There are dozens of thrilling
tales about the dead heroes.
That big Indian is Sequoya,
from Oklahoma, wrapped in his
blanket. He was a great edu.
Gator, wrote an alphabet for the
Cherokees, and was so fine a
citizen that the giant trees, the
Sequoias of the Pacific Coast,
; were named in his honor.
The statue of Marquette, of
Wisconsin, the missionary and
explorer, now has space to show
Its fine high bronze reliefS at
the base. Not long ago the
sculptor Of Father Marquette
wrote Mr.. Fairman that the
Holy Father in Rome wanted
the original of the statue placed
In the Vatican. There it is now.
Sam Houston is still in Statu-
ary Hall-though some didn't
approve of his character. And
Junipero Sierra, of California,
in a monks robe, stands with
cross held high.
There's been discussion OF
every favorite son. Who he is
and where he should be allowed
to stay. The changes were made