Evening star., 1951-07-09
Park Officials Hope Congress
|Approves Arlington Statue

National Capital Parks officials
are hopeful that Congress will au-
thorize erection of symbolic
statue originally designed Is years
ago to fill the great central niche
in the memorial entrance to Ar
Ilington National Cemetery.
THE Last Farewell" ;" an heroic.
sized figure of warrior standing
in silent salute to the dead. is the
creation of Adolph Alexander
IWeinman. noted American sculp-
tor of Forest Hills. Long Island,
IN. Y. The Arlington entrance is
Iat the south end of the memorial
drive across the bridge.
Anticipation that Congress may
soon pave the way for the statue
comedies with the installation of
the four equestrian groups at the
Washington entrance and ap-
Iproach to Memorial Bridge. This
has come about after the lapse of
a quarter century.
The completion of the memorial
Ientrance to the cemetery after so
many years is being planned now
lin cooperation with the Chris
Itopher Columbus Memorial Foun-
Idation of New York. Several bills,
Including those sponsored by Rep
Iresentative Addonizio, Democrat,
Iof New Jersey. and Representative
IMulter, Democrat, of New York,
provide for the erection of the
statue without cost to the United
States.
Every Commission of Fine Arts
since the completion of the en-
trance to the cemetery and Me-
mortal Bridge has approved the
design that Mr.. Weinman Gre
ated for THE Last Farewell" !"
The design calls for figure 16
feet high standing on a base that
would give an overall height of
I27 feet. The Commission, how
ever, has ruled that the base
should be modified.
Harry T. Thompson, associate
superintendent of National Capt.
tai Parks, has been working a year
or more on ways and means OF
getting final approval of the
IWeinman statue. He was respon-
sible for the Italian Government
Idefraying the cost of casting the
great equestrian statues for the
bridge in Italian foundries.
Some time ago the Christopher
Columbus Memorial Foundation
expressed a desire to honor the
memory of the explorer and dis
coverer in way that also would
be a tribute to Italian Americans
sacrificed in former wars. The
Foundation presented the parks
with 1873 white oak trees which
have been planted in a grove bor-
dering the Memorial avenue en-
trance to the cemetery. Under
pending bills, the National Park
Service, for which NCP is the local
agency, would maintain the grove
in honor of Columbus, the dis
coverer of America. The Secre-
tary of the Interior would be au-
thorized to accept a suitably in
| scribed bronze tablet from the Co.
lumbus Foundation for a marker
| Mr.. Thompson negotiated Sue
ceSsfully with the Foundation to
pledge itself to defray the cost of
sculptoring the memorial statue
originally designed for the niche.
AS in the case of the bridge
statuary, park officials lacked the
funds. The Foundation has agreed
to do this and if. Congress so au-
thorizes, the statue would be pre-
sented to the Government "as a
perpetual tribute to those men,
bers of the Armed Forces of the
United States who gave their lives
in Italy and elsewhere during
World War II for the preservation
of freedom in America and the es-
tablishment of peace and justice
throughout the world"
The bills are pending before