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About The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 12, 1922)
Women, Churches, Books, Schools and Features SECTION FIVE VOL. XLI PORTLAND, OREGON, SUNDAY MORNING. NOVEMBER 13, 1922 NO. 46 ROOSEVELT STATUE AMONG MOST MARVELOUS PIECES OF ART Bronze Unveiled in Park Blocks Is Famous Tribute to Rough Rider Figure of ex-President and Horse Towers Nearly 18 Feet Above Base of Granite Spirit of West Depicted Cost of Gift Is $40,000. THE RIDER BY BEX HUR LAMPMAN. (To the Memory of Theodore Roosevelt) When over the land on another day Shadow and cloud shall lie, .We shall have heart for another fray And faith in another sky. For clear as a bugle down from the heights, And brave as a bugle's play, A voice shall call to the least of all "A rider has passed this way!" Refrain : A rider has parsed this way! A rider has parsed this way! Give tein, give rein. For we ride again A rider has passed this way! A thunder of hooves on the good green sod. Dawn on the distant hill; A whispered prayer to a freeman's God, And trust in freedom's wilL For high as the valiance that bore him on, Solhlgh shall our own hearts thrill, And one shall ride unseen by our side Leader and comrade still! Whoso has heart for the goodliest fray Ever a sword did draw; Whoso would serve as a true knight may. Shall hold by the freeman's law For bright as a blade upthrust in the sun, As a blade that none may stay. The trail runs plain to our faith again -"A rider has passed this way!" UNQUESTIONABLY the most wonderful art work of its kind ever carved by an Ameri can sculptor and in a class with the' world's most famous bronzes is the equestrian statue of Roosevelt . un veiled on the park blocks here yes terday, according to City Commis sioner Pier, who says this is the uni versal pronouncement of sculpture critics who have seen the handiwork of A. Phimister Proctor. The statue, which Dr. Henry Waldo Coe, friend and admirer of the immortal rough rider, gave to Portland citizens in memory of the great American, is of heroic propor tions. The figure of Roosevelt and - the horse towers nearly 18 feet above the base of California. granite. .The base, eight feet long, IS feet high and four and one-half feet wide, weighs 52 tons. The bronze equestrian figure weighs 6000 pounds. The entire cost of the gift, in cluding every expense incident to its being finally placed here, was ap proximately $40,000. - r Photographs sent the sculptor by the Roosevelt family were studied for months before the actual work on the original model was started. . Spirit " West Uepicted. Dr. Coe. wished to retain the spirit and life of the west" in the statue and stiil incorporate the character istics of the man, and the sculptor has faithfully carried out the idea of the rough rider at, given to him. The clothes and equipment worn by Roosevelt in the battle of San Juan hi'-l were used in the I'roctor studio. General Leonard Wood offered valuable suggestions as to the horse. The animal portrayed is a typical American stra.in with an ele ment of th. crossed thoroughbred. The figure of the rider is clothed in the regular army uniform of the days of the Spanish war, with the hat worn in characteristic Roosevelt style. Other parts of the uniform consist of leggings, gauntlet gloves and the six-shooter strapped to the right side. The rider carries a saber and his feet are thrust into the hooded stirrups of a McClellan saddle. Even the "U. S. v." appears plain ly on the collar. The face of Roose velt is purposely made to appear as It did a little later in his life, in order that it would appear more familiar to the people who knew and loved him. Stntue In Park I! lock Center. . The statue is located in the center of the park bounded by Madison, Jefferson, Park and West Park streets. Dr. Coe first conceived the idea of having a bronze memorial statue of Roosevelt made several years go. He consulted artists and friends in an effort to arrive at a type that would best portray the life and work of the man. Many cities sought to have the memorial located on various sites offered for the pur pose, but Dr Coe held to his deci sion to present the citizens of Port land with the beautiful work of art, which he hopes will be the fore runner of still others that will make this city a place known for its out door sculptory a After commissioning A. Phimister Procter to make the statue Dr. Coe went east and consulted the family "V of Roosevelt as to many details of the work. The final design for the working model was completed In September, 1921, and accepted by Dr. Coe and the Roosevelts. A citizens' committee to select a site about that time agreed on the location in the park blocks, which is just east of the Ladd school. Work Begun Six Months Ago. The sculptor in his New York studio began work on the actual statue a little more than six months ago. It was at first expected the figure would be finished by August and that -President Harding would be in Portland then to unveil It. Before this, though, Mr. Proctor . had spent months in a study of Roosevelt portraits in order to pro duce as lifelike a figure as possible. Mr. Proctor was aided greatly in his work by the factthat he had been Intimately acquainted with Roose velt from 1892. Some difference of opinion arose last summer over the type and ma terial to be -used for the base of the statue. The rculptor journeyed west In June to confer with the commit tee charged with selecting the me morial site and other activities and - . -.. I i 'til' " 1 ' r JJi ' iiiiiiiiiiips 'mmmmmm I '.- I f V- :.; $ifMtf i ' 'wis- t---iJ 1 mmm msmm 4 ' Jv , i i ? ; iiwiiiiilgKi mgmmmmM liiii no the length of time the material is expected to withstand the on slaughts of erosion and other at tacks of time. Coolidge Turns Sod. When Vice-President Coolidge was in Portland last August he broke the sod for the memorial in the presence of thousands who gathered on the park blocks for the ceremonies. A gold spade was used in turning up the earth. "It is entirely fitting that we should prepare a site- for this great outdoor work of art," said the vice president. ''Roosevelt loved the out doors, and of all our great statesmen he most truly lived the life best de scribed by the phrase he coined, 'the strenuous life.' Human sympathy was the keynote of his career." Dr. William Wallace Youngson, district superintendent of the Meth odist Episcopal church, delivered the invocation at the ground-breaking exercises, which took pluf e August 15. City Commissioner Pier read telegrams from President Harding, ex-President Taft and other notables eulogizing Roosevelt and congratu lating Portland on being the recipi ent of such a remarkable memorial gift. Dr. Coe met Roosevelt first in North Dakota back in 1884. "Big Stick" at that time was a youth who was just beginning to gain that ' strength and robustness which his early years did not promise. He was a Cowboy in those days. "Years after I met Roosevelt," says Dr. Coe, "I was traveling west ward on a train. "Roosevelt got on the train and one of the first things he asked me was whether or not I still had hunting dogs. At the t'ma I made Roosevelt's acquaintance I had three such dogs and once on a hunting trip on which I was accom panied by the ex-president the dogs caught a timber wolf. Roosevelt re minded me of the incident. "Roosevelt always looked back on his rough rider days with the great est pleasure and I believe our choice of this type of statue would meet with his entire approval if he could be consulted." ; ' , - . - - Portland's new statue, which ranks high as example of sculptor's art. after a conference it was decided to trusted with the task of snpervis- it" was made, accompanied- by Mr. slab that upholds the horse and The base was completed and shipped is estimated that the memorial will choose a base' of California 'granite, irig -the modeling of the 'base. He Proctor.1 " ' - ' ' . - rider appears the simple inscription, to Portland and this week was in- stand as a monument to Roosevelt H. J. Blaesing of, Portland was en- wfeni to the California quarry wnere ' On the long side of the granite "Theodore Roosevelt, Rough Rider." stalled in its final abiding place. It for 2,000 years to come, that being Incidents Recalled in Life of Theodore Roosevelt. Man Who Became President Edu cated at Harvard. THE DEDICATION of the me morial statue yesterday brought to mind many of the incidents in the life of Theodore Roosevelt, that rough rider, president and national hero, whose career waa one of the most picturesque in American history. e Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th president of the United States, was born in New York city, October 27, 1858. The world mourned when his death occurred January 6, 1919. The young man, who was later to be president of the United States, was educated at Harvard university, where he graduated in 18Sfl and afterwards attended the law school of Columbia university. He turned early to politics and was elected to the New York assembly in 18S1 as an opponent of the Tammany hall machine. There, for more effective service, he allied himself with the republican minority, although not a member of that party, and for three terms was its leader. National Convention Delegate, -1SS4. He was a delegate to the repub lican national convention of 1884 and in the same year removed to Medora, N. D., where he conducted a ranch for two years. As the re publican candidate for mayor of New York in 1886 he opposed Henry George, slngle-taxer, and Abram S, Hewitt, democrat, the successful candidate. Roosevelt" was a member of the United States .civil service commis sion from 1889 to 1895, being ap pointed by President Harrison and retained by President Cleveland! In 1895 Mr. Roosevelt becamd pres ident of the police board in New York city and served two years, at taining wide prominence by the en ergetic methods employed by 'him to eradicate evils existing In th system. He was called to the national service in 1897 by President Mo Kinley when he was appointed as sistant secretary of the navy. In this office his work was of signal value in hurrying the navy to a state of readiness for war with Spain. As a result of Roosevelt's desire for field service during the war he resigned from the department In April, 1898, and was active in, or ganizing the First United States vol unteer cavalry, popularly known as "Roosevelt's Rough Riders." He was lieutenant-colonel and afterwards colonel, having been promoted for gallantry in the action at Las Guas ismas, Cuba. Koosevelt Chosen as N. Y. Governor. After his command was mustered out of the military service in the summer of 1898, Colonel Roosevelt returned to private life just in time to begin an active campaign as the republican nominee for governor of New York. This resulted in his elec tion over Augustus Van Wyck, the democratic candidate, by a plurality of 18,097. Roosevelt's first act as governor was to investigate the state canal system, concerning which there was much talk of fraud in the preceding administration. Other conspicuous acts of the governor were in connec tion with the enactment of the Ford franchise law providing for the tax ation of corporation franchises whereby he incurred the enmity of some of the largest corporate in terests. He also was conspicuous for 'r.is work in the extension of the Concluded on Page 3, Column 6.) " i V