Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1956-07-22
By PHILIP H. LOVE

There these sections viii be cut into five more
and cast In bronze. The castings then will be
hauled back to Washington to be fitted TO-
gether and welded. When you see the finished
statue in Bolivar Park, as the triangle win be
known you win not be able to tell 1t was not
cast In one piece
Bolivar was born to aristocracy and wealth
on July "A, 1888, in Caracas Venezuela. While
on a visit to Rome in 1905. he vowed to devote
his life to the freeing Of his native land from
SPAIN He was only ~ then, and he died at
A. but In the IS years between he won indie
pendence for what are now Bolivia, Colombia,
Ecuador Panama and Peru, as well as Ven
ezuela. Acclaimed as the hero Of more than
200 bloody battles and for the Hannibal-hke
feat of marching his troops across the Andes,
he also proved to be statesman Of remark
able understanding and vision The Encyclo-
paedia Britannica calls him the wisest Of the
observers Of his time, and prophet who fore
saw with rare precision the trend Of the
struggle for democracy" And John Crane and
A. Curtis Wilgus, In their American Historical
Series pamphlet, Simon B0EiDGr, say:
Few of US realize thst he was the spiritual
father Of Pan Americr nism. He saw clearly
that the interests Of the American republics
awere essentially similar and that their future
progress depended upon their unity Of action,
and for this reason he called the famous con-
greSS that met at Panama In 1925. During
the following century, the great purposes he
had in mind moved slowly but surely to full
fillment, and they have now become realities"
Bolivar took inspiration from the struggle
Of North Americans to win independence from
England and was a great admirer Of George
Washington After visiting Boston, Philadel-
phia, Washington and Mount Vernon in 1906,
he wrote: The United States is a singular ex-
ample Of political virtues and moral rectitude.
That nation has been the cradle Of liberty and
has been maintained by liberty. will add
that the people Of the United States have been
unique in the history Of the human race"
For their part many Of the people Of the
United States Of that day held Bolivar In an
esteem like that accorded to the father Of
their own country. From the family Of George
Washington, he received a token that he
cherished above all other honors bestowed
upon him." write Mr. Crane and DR.. WIlgus.
1T was presented to him through Lafayette,
and sent by George Washington Gusts, the
adopted son Of George Washington The token
was in the form Of a gold medal that had once
been presented to Washington by the United
States. Accompanying 1t was a small gold
locket, which contained miniature Of WASH
ington and a lock of his hair On the locket
was the following inscription in Latin: This
portrait of the Lberator of North America
Is presented, by his son, to him who achieved
a similar glory in South America"
When Simon Bolivar rides again in Bolivar
Park next spring. he will be wearing the Wash
ington medal. Not the original one Of course
that's in the Bolivar Museum in Caracas
but a bronze reproduction modelled in metic-
ulOus detail by Sculptor de Weldon. The only