Evening star., 1937-06-20
Fifty Years Ago
In The Star

Washington, the exhibition scene of
many monstrosities executed in the name
r.n.a;..;o: OF art, was keen
VIVA "ui''ions III ly interested If
Memorial Making. ty years ago in
the matter of
creating memorials of enduring charac-
ter to honor the Nations historic per-
sonages. The Star Of June 20, 1887,
makes the following editorial commen,
upon the subject:
There is one difficulty with efigies of
distinguished men in marble and bronze,
II constructed TO represent their appear
ance at some important moment in their
lives: and that is that history does not
settle minor details with accuracy. and
contradictory representations or repre-
sentations afterward found to be mis-
leading result. The painted portrait has
an advantage over the sculptured work
in this respect, that q discovered error
can be covered up more easily with the
brush than eraoicated with the chisel.
John Browns march to the scaffold has
been commemorated by more than one
artist on canvas, and when the historic
polemists have settled some disputed
question as to the length of his beard
and the clothing he wore, and have come
to an agreement whether he did or die;
not kiss colored child that stood in his
path, We can have the necessary correc-
tions made with few applications of
pigment. The same may be sale of the
popular portraits of Farragut lashed to
the rigging of his flagship.
But what can be done to reconcile
those contradictory statues of Nathan
uo1o fho " of ,a
the one now standing in New Haven. and
the one soon to stand in New York? Both
are supposed to represent him as say
ing, with the gallows rope dangling over
his head. that his only regret is that he
has not two lives to give to his country.
The New Haven Hale has his hands out
stretched in gesture, while the New
York Hale is to have his hands lied
behind his back
If we are going to raise enduring
monuments to our heroes, let us reach
some common conclusion as to attitude,
costume and accessories generally. which
shall hold good for them all, instead of
subordinating history wholly to art and
allowing the graceful fancy of each
sculptor to set at rest for his own special
community the controversies which have
disturbed scholars for years.
X X
The Star prints the following editorial
In Its issue Of June 20. 1887, concerning
D., the telephone pole
telephone roles controversy which
Arouse Citizens. was then in prog
"It is suggested to The Star, in view
of the telephone controversy in East
Washington. that little dynamite
sprinkled about the premises when tele-
phone companies insist upon trespassing
upon private property-care to be taken
to distribute it so that nobody but the
trespassers will take part in the subse-
quent proceedings - would doubtless
prove as effective as paris green against
potato bugs; and that if the plan were
approved it would be proper charity to
hang out sign warning pole-raisers and
-stringers, before coming on the
grounds. to leave their insurance policies
where their executors can find them
without trouble. This bloodthirsty sug-
gestion is not, of course. to be unre-
servedly commended. But when tele-
phone companies, in defiance of public
opinion, common sense and the pledge Of
municipal authorities. attempt to string
their wires on poles or masts instead of
running them underground, and break
the law which protects private property
from trespass in order to do so, tend
ency on the part of aggrieved property
owners to "blow up" the pole fiends is
natural. Dynamite will not do So how
ever. 1t is too comprehensive In one
direction and it will not reach the per-
sons primarily responsible in the matter
in the other direction"