Evening star., 1943-04-14
Further Rites
Mark Jefferson
bicentennid|
Commission Seeks
To Further Ideals
OfThird President
picture OF, Page A-3.)

(PlcLnTe on rage A-5.J
Plans went forward today for
further celebration of the bicenten-
NAL of Thomas Jefferson's birth
here and throughout the country
following the dedication yesterday
of the s3,O0c000 memorial to the
author of the Declaration of Inde-
pendence.
Pricipal interest here will center
on the memorial on the shores of
the Tidal Basin, which President
Roosevelt, in his dedicatory address,
called "a shrine of freedom" Hous-
ing the actual Declaration of indie
pendence under constant marine
armed guard, the shrine with its
heroic statue of Jefferson was the
main attraction today among many
exhibits available throughout the
city. Others were on display at
the Library of Congress, the Ma
tional Archives and the National
Gallery of Art.
Jefferson was lauded in many
forums yesterday as public figures,
judges, historians and others paid
tribute to the third President. Fol-
lowing the dedication yesterday, the
principal grafton of the afternoon
was delivered by Supreme Court
Justice Felix Frankfurter, who spoke
at the Library Of Congress on THE
Permanence Of Jefferson"
Declarations Power Stressed.
Declaring that the Declaration of
independence, penned by Jefferson.
was "the formulation of mo-
mentous event in history" Justice
Frankfurter declared 'it was no less
the generator of the process of lib
erty everywhere"
Many members of Congress spoke
in the Capitol and over the radio.
Plans for additional celebrations
were being arranged by the Jeffer-
SON Bicentennial Commission, of
which President Roosevelt is hon.
orary chairman, and Senator Glass,
Democrat, of Virginia is chairman.
From its headquarters on Capitol
Hill, the commission launched plans
to spread the ideals of Thomas JEFF
ferson through schools, colleges, uni
versities, clubs and other institutions
during the remainder of this year.
Several important publica tions will
be issued by the commission soon,
Edward Boykin, executive secretary,
announced. He said the commission
deliberately had delayed its program
till after the dedication of the
memorial under auspices of the JET
ferson Memorial Commission.
The memorial ceremonies yester-
day drew a crowd of about 10000
to the south shores of the Tidal
Basin. President Roosevelt paid
high tribute to Jefferson the "apos-
tie of freedom" to whom, he said,
I'VE are paying debt long overdue" :"
The audience not only filled about
5000 seats arranged for invited
guests, but overhoWed into the
nearby grounds, where police esti-
mated another 5000 persons stood.
Despite the crowd, there was only
one casualty reported A little girl
who had stood for about an hour
and half waiting for the Presi-
dents address, tainted and had to
be removed from her vantage place
in the front row of StandeeS.
Through the apertures of the me-
mortal last night the strong wind
and snow furried into the memorial
interior about the temporary statue
of Jefferson, giving rise to some
speculation as to how long the
plaster figure will last under expo
sure to the elements. Both the
sculptor, Rudulph Evans, and the
plaster-molder, Attilio Contini of
New York, who attended the cere-
monies are somewhat concerned
about the 19-foot figure. Mr.. Con-
TIM said, however, he will inspect
the statue at frequent intervals and
will add otheS coatings of wax to
it's surface for protection. The
bronze figure from piece molds"
now safely stored In New York will
be cast after the war.
Difficulties Multiply.
In his speech yesterday, Justice
Frankfurter declared 1.-The grandeur
of the aims of democracy is matched
by the difficulties of their achieve
ment."
Pointing out that difficulties have
multiplied appallingly" since JET
ferson's day, the jurist warned:
mot only has our industrial civil
ization, which he so feared even in
it's incipiency, thrown up an intri-
cate range of problems, but the mis-
use and manipulation of modern de-
vices. chain newspapers, cheap mag
azines, popular polls, the movies and
the radio, have enormously enlarged
opportunities for arousing passions,
confusing judgment and regiment
ing opinion. And we now know how
slender a reed is reason-how recent
its emergence in men, how deep the
countervXailing instincts and pas
sious, how treacherous the whole ra-
tional process"
Declaring that Jefferson "knew
that freedom and democracy are un-
remitting endeavors. not achieve
ment,"' Justice Frankfurter said "the
ultimate task of craftsmanship to-
day, as it was for his day, is to
translate edifying notions about the
dignity of man into their fulfill
ment."
Jefferson's ideals were discussed
behind closed doors yesterday at the
Library of Congress in a symposium
in which several distinguished his
torians, scholars and men in public
life participated.
Statement Issued.
Afterwards, an official statement
outlined some of the thoughts ex-
pressed. The statement said:
Thomas Jefferson's ideas of free
dom for the individual in a republic
of self-government would be as ex-
plosive today, If they could reach
the minds of people in one-half to
three-quarters of the world, as they
were when they cracked and largely
destroyed an existing order. But
Jefferson's ideals are not enough for
an industrialized democratic society,
which requires in addition some sort
OF common aspiration for men in
groups or in a nation"