Evening star., 1947-12-14
By John cIoeett Proctor

White House he will be able to see
the statute Of Gen. Andrew Jack
son, seventh President of the United
States. Many efforts have been
made to have this bronze work OF
Clark Mills removed and even oc-
casionally now the matter comes
up in a mysterious way, for which
no one is willing to take response
bility, but the idea is always speed
lily checked.
The last occasion when the rum
bling of discomfort was heard was
in the spring of 1923, but, through
the timely action of the Southern
Democrats and particularly Senator
McKellar Of Tennessee, the mat
ter was checked and every one in
official position denied intention to
remove the statue. But maybe some
day, when Congress and the people
are not looking. some one will slip
a joker into a bill and before knowl-
edge leaks out the statue will be
taken down and stored away-just
as they did in the case of the
statue Of Lincoln in front of the
Courthouse, which, however, was
later restored, when a popular de-
mand was made for It's re-erection
on the same spot.
Andrew Jackson's statue should
lend courage and determination to
any President, Just as the monu-
ments to Washington and Jefferson
to the south Of the White House
should inspire the Chief Executive
with those lofty ideals with which
the Father Of His Country and the
author of the Declaration of indie
pendence were so freely endowed
And this. of course, includes the
wonderful tribute in marble to the
Great Emancipator.
But what If Jackson's statue is
not a work Of art today? 1t was
considered to be 80 when 1t was
erected nearly 95 years ago, and
if 1t grows in favor as the ancient
Greek and Roman sculpture has
done, perhaps in q thousand years
it may be looked upon as a distinct
work Of art.
Work Of Clark Mills.
The statue is the work OF Clark
Mills, and replicas stand in the
cities of New Orleans and Nashville.
For the one in Lafayette Square
he received from Congress $40, ,000
The Jackson Democratic Associa-
tion of this, city, which was formed
in 1928, contributed toward its erec-
tion $4,000. 1t was unveiled and
dedicated under that associations
auspices on the 18th anniversary
of the Battle of New Orleans, jan
uary 2. 1858.
Mills was an unusual man, was
self-taught In the art of sculpture.
and never received any professional
training In this line. He had early
learned the trade of ornamental
plasterer, and when still young had
shown so much promise as a sculp-
tor in Charleston, S. c., that his
friends had arranged to pay his ex-
penses Of studying art abroad. 1t
was when he was on his way to
Europe with this intention in view
that he visited Washington, where
his talent and original ideas made
such an impression that he was in
duced to give up his foreign trip
and remain to make the statue of
the hero of New Orleans.
One of the most interesting sites
around Lafayette Square is the one
upon which now stands what was
known as the Lafayette
Square Opera House, later the Bel
asco Theater, first opened to the
public September 30, 1895, by Lillian
Russell and her company in
'Tzigane." The cast included Ed
Hoff, a Washington man whose pre-
vious experience with the Mccall
and Bostonian Opera Companies no
doubt is still pleasantly remem-
bered. Richie Ling, an excellent
tenor, also accompanied Miss Rus
sell. and later played in this city In