Evening star., 1941-06-01
Chevy Chase Students Collect Rocks
Just
Between
Yourselves
= BY PHILIP H. LOVE,
Junior Star Editor.

Junior Star Editor.
A common human failing is to
take too many things for granted.
Boys and girls take their parents for
granted; parents take each other
for granted. The boys and girls,
and their parents, too, take their
homes for granted. And all of us
boys and girls, men and women
take our great democracy and its
many blessings for granted.
This line of thought was prompt
ed by composition written by a
l2-year-old Chinese girl who lives
at 20 H street NE. Her name is
Maryland 500, and she is in the
sixth grade at Blake School.
Hundreds of people pass the
Capitol every day, but how many
of them ever reflect on its signifi-
canoe? To how many does it ever
occur that this stately building rep
resents an ideal for which men and
women have been willing to lay
down their lives? And how many
ever raise their eyes to the inspiring
statue of Freedom" that seems to
stand guard over this citadel Of
democracy?
The best answer to all three ques-
tions probably is, Not many" And
if tnat is the answer, it is only be-
cause most of the people who pass
the Capitol just take it for granted.
It's significance, the ideal that it
represents, the Freedom" atop its
dome-these priceless things are
mere commonplaces in the lives of
Americans.
But not in the life of Maryland
Soo Her composition was sent to
me by Miss Mildred Green, princi-
pal of Blake, with the following
explanation: The inclosed story
was written by a little Chinese girl
in my sixth grade after the class
had visited the Capitol. felt she
had an interesting imaginative quail
ity in her writing. She happens
to be very talented in drawing also.
I volunteered to send this for her,
as she is rather timid and unused
10 Q0lng Sucn InlneS.
And here is what Maryland 500
wrote:
L am the Goddess OF Freedom.
I have stood up here on the Capitol
for 78 years, watching all that has
happened. My X-ray eyes have
seen through this great building
many times. Right below me is
dome. on which I stand. At the
top of it, inside, are painted pic
lures representing trade, commerce,
agriculture and law. Part of this
dome is carved and covered with
gold. Half way down there is a
frieze showing things that have
happened in this great country.
The sculptor died before it was
finished, so it is not finished TO this
very day.
There is big, round room un-
der this dome called the rotunda.
Here you can look straight up to
the dome. There are some special
statues of famous men in the ro-
tunda, such as Lincoln and WASH
ington, especially. There is room
to the right called Statuary Hall.
where statues of other famous men
are from each State.
''As the years have passed the
people have added two new wings
to the Capitol. Only they are made
of finer stone than the center, for
they are made of marble, while the
center is made of sandstone. These
wings house the Senators and Rep
resentatives. They have a session
every year to discuss the welfare
of this country and to pass laws.
Il am proud to stand guard over
this beautiful Capitol, and I shall
stay here for many more years to
come"
I agree with Miss Green that
Maryland 500 has IAN interesting
imaginative quality in her writing"
But I wonder how much of that
quality is born of the fact that she
does not take the Capitol for grant,
ed-that to her the Freedom"
atop its dome is not merely a
statue but living thing?
x
This thought is summed up rather
we'll think. in a letter from Esther
Demas, H. of Powell Junior High
School, who writes: although we
Americans live in free land, with
Government of the people. by the
people and for the people, there are
many countries in the world under
the oppressive rule of a tyrant.
We do not know the value of democ-
racy - something that cannot be
bought" !
No, it cannot be bought. And
we who are fortunate enough to
have it cannot afford to take it for
granted. 1t is not commonplace;
it is a priceless heritage.
We need to learn to look at the
Capitol as Maryland 500 does
with lively appreciation of its sig
niicance, with warm affection for
the ideal that it represents, with
thoughtful understanding of the
true meaning of the statue on its
dome.