Evening star., 1938-06-30

gas came on, the pilot light ignited 1t,
and the mantle was Lit for the night.
It must have been q great evening
In the life Of lamplighter, that first
time he started out with his little wand,
to bring more easily and quickly to
the city the blessing Of light.
The iron dogs had passed from the
local scene at the time Of the great
war.
Many people today have never seen
an iron dog. These fine creatures, very
lifelike, really served no particular pur-
pose. There was an urge for artistic ex-
preston in all the period, which flowered
in iron dogs and the like. Today 1t
is the thing to laugh at these express
SionS, but often it is overdone.
At the same time, in American life,
John Rodgers created his famous small
scultural groups. AS time wore on, and
new ways came in, 1t became fashionable
to smile at the Rodgers groups, as they
were called.
Today people admire them.
We recall the one showing Rip Van
Wrinkle and the gnomes. Maybe Mr..
Disney can put them into the films,
too.
Before Rodgers, there were the Cur
rier and Ives Autographs, before and
after the Civil War. Millions of them
were sold, but some persons affected to
sneer at them as essentially cheap
art of the masses.
Today these same Autographs bring
large prices, not only because they depict
the life OF the people Of those days in
America, but even more because they
embody honesty, both in observation and
expression.
The Washington iron fence, with
picket top, is slowly disappearing. May
be that is progress, too, but in the old
days no home owner in the city thought
his estate complete without q fence.
preferably an iron one.
1t was the iron age, of course, but
there can be no doubt that they were
long-lasting fences. Many Of them are
to be seen still, and seem to be as
coat Of paint, now and then, and they
stand the elements in a timeless way.
In those days no front yard was
thought too small to have its fence.
Often an entire row had fence and
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these yards were only few feet square.
They believed in fences with a pur-
pose, in those days. Not for them the
make-believe fence which merely in
vites people to step over it. Indeed,
one of the many drawbacks to the
present age is the well-nigh universal
belief in the advantages of either no
fence at all, or a fence so low that
it might as well not be there.
Keep out" said the iron fence Of
yesteryear. This means YOU"
Iron grilles have disappeared. too.
There is in some attic around Wash
ington a beautiful specimen of orna-
mental iron work, leaves and tendrils
and grapes fashioned cunningly by the
hands Of artists as we'll as iron workers.
This is a museum piece. and ought to
be in one; now it gathers dust unseen
in loft.
The iron railing which adorned the
old bridge at Klingle Valley on Con-
necticut avenue was put to better use.
II Surmounts a stone wall around q
private residence in Chevy Chase, Md.
They don't make iron work of this
character any more. The demand is
no longer big enough. and new ages
have new tastes. But there was some
thing beautiful as well as strong in the
old work, and when strength is united
with beauty. the result is likely to be
good, as much of the old iron work