Evening star., 1943-04-18
Capital Side|ights
By Will P. Kennedy.

The members of the Thomas Jeffer-
son Memorial Commission are gratifed,
not only at the digniied and impressive
dedication of the memorial, but espe-
cially because their independent choice
OF the statue of Jefferson to be placed
therein has been indorsed by general
approval. if not unanimous acclaim
So, now it can be told" Some half
dozen sculptors competed for the honor.
Their models were sent to Washington
and secretly housed here for inspection
by the members of the commission.
They were unlabeled and unidentified
as to their creators. After viewing them
several times and discussing their rela-
tive merits, one was selected. A little
later the commission was amazed to find
pressure being exerted, from high Off
clal source, for them to change their
decision and substitute a model which
had been rejected as Chrome of
bent old man" The truth came out
one member of the commission had
taken the high official to the secret hide
out of the models. But the commission
stuck to its decision, rebuked the Offend
ing member, and so posterity now may
gaze on the independent choice of the
commission created by Congress, and
the people generally have acclaimed
their decision as the best "counterfeit
presentment" of the author of the Decla-
ration of Independence-and all he
represented.
Members of Congress-Senators and
Representa- tives-who have members of
their families particularly sons and
daughters, in the service of the United
States at war, formed an organization
during the past week, with Mrs. Francis
P. Bolton Of Ohio as president and Sen
ator Styles Bridges Of New Hampshire
as secretary. The latter is having
| checked over and completed a list COM
piled by Representative Wright Patman
OF Texas, which shows that nearly half
the members of the Senate and nearly
one-flfth of the members of the House
have sons and daughters in the armed
forces. The percentage of both Houses
is more than 80 per cent-and few, if
any, groups in the entire country can
equal this record of Congress-a volun-
tary, unprecedented demonstration that
the often-censured Congress has come
through with an outstanding record of
family contribution to the war effort.
This rising generation is but following
IN the footsteps of grandfathers and
fathers who have fought our wars as
we'll as made our laws
The House has lost another valued
employe to the war service-Winburn
E. Hendrick, House librarian, from Tale
quah, Okla now a buck private at
Fort Eustis, Va, although he is married
with a year-old child
X X II
On Jef1ersons anniversary many men,
bers of Congress made eulogistic speeches
on various phases of his character and
leadership. Representative Clarkes L.
Clifford, Republican, of Massachusetts,
who has devoted years and a discrimin-
ating taste to compiling scrap-books Of
terse information on classified subjects,
submitted this quotation, at the request
OF Southern Democrat: when the
Great Master was being taken into GUS
tody, Peter followed afar Off" He i'm
piled that we are following Jefferson
afar off, said Mr.. Clifford, and himself
culled this quotation from Jefferson:
THAT I should lay down my charge at
a proper period, is as much a duty as to
have borne it faithfully. If some ter
mination to the services of the chief
magistrate be not fixed by the Consti-
tuition or supplied by practice, his ofhce,
nominally four years. will, in fact, be-
come for life; and history shows how
easily that degenerates into an inherit
ance. Believing that a representative
government. responsible at short periods
of election, is that which produces the
greatest sum of happiness to mankind, I
feel it a duty to do no act which shall
essentially impair that principle; and
I should unwillingly be the first person
who, disregarding the sound precedent
set by an illustrious predecessor, should
furnish the first example of prolongation
beyond the second term of Office"