STATUE OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

COMMITTEE ON THE LIBRARY,

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,

Washington, D. C., Friday, April 2, 1920.

The committee met at 10 o'clock a. m., Hon. Norman J. Gould (chairman) presiding.

The CHAIRMAN. The committee will come to order. This meeting of the committee is held to discuss, and hear from those who introduced bills relative to the disposition of the statue of Abraham Lincoln.

Mr. Luhring, we will hear you, on H. R. 11443.

STATEMENT OF HON. OSCAR R. LUHRING, A REPRESENTATIVE FROM THE STATE OF INDIANA.

Mr. LUHRING. Mr. Chairman, and gentlemen of the committee, I introduced H. R. 11443 on the 5th day of January, 1920. The bill reads, omitting all formal parts

That the Secretary of War, in conjunction with the Commissioners of the District of Columbia be, and he is hereby, authorized and directed to transfer and deliver forthwith to the Nancy Hanks Lincoln Burial Ground Commission, of the State of Indiana, or its duly accredited agents, the pedestrian statue of Abraham Lincoln which formerly stood on the site in front of the courthouse in the City of Washington, in the District of Columbia, to be by said commission reerected in or about the Nancy Hanks Lincoln Burial Grounds in Spencer County, Ind., no disposition of said statue having been provided for other than is authorized in this act: Provided, That the United States shall be at no expense in connection with the transportation, erection, and maintenance of said statute.

I do not know whether or not the members of this committee are familiar with the history of the statue which I seek to have removed to Indiana, and perhaps a recital of that history will be of interest. I am going to read from an article which appeared in The Daily Intelligencer, a newspaper published in Washington, on April 16, 1868. This article appeared the next day after the statue had been unveiled. [Reading:]

The history of the Lincoln Monument is as follows: On the 24th day of April, 1865, Mr. N. D. Larner introduced in the city council a joint resolution for the appointment of a committee to consist of the mayor, three members of the board of aldermen, and three from the board of common council, to devise measures for the erection of a monument in the City of Washington to the memory of the late President Lincoln.

This resolution was duly adopted and approved by the mayor, thus becoming a law.

To carry out the provisions of the resolution, Messrs. Crosby S. Noyes, George H. Plant, and John B. Turton, on the part of the aldermen; and Messrs. Noble D. Larner, William Ferguson, and James Kelly, on the part of the board of common council, were appointed the joint committee. Subsequently

the presidents of the two boards of the city government, Messrs. Joseph F. Brown and Asbury Lloyd, were added to the committee. This committee met at the mayor's office on the 28th of April, 1865, and formed itself into an association to be called the Lincoln National Monument Association, to carry out the objects proposed by the formation of the committee. Subsequently, the following officers were elected for the association:

President, Richard Wallach, mayor; secretary, Crosby S. Noyes; treasurer, George W. Riggs. Directors: Joseph F. Brown, Asbury Lloyd, John B. Turton, Dr. W. G. H. Newman, George H. Plant, Z. Richards, N. D. Larner, E. C. Carrington, John P. Pepper, S. J. Bowen, George F. Gulick, B. B. French, George R. Ruff, Charles V. Morris, John G. Dudley, John H. Semmes, James Kelly, William P. Ferguson, S. P. Brown, Dr. C. H. Nichols, Henry Addison, William H. Tenney.

To these were added a number of honorary directors, mostly Members of Congress, one from each State, as it was hoped at that time to secure a national subscription, to the end of raising a monument at the National Capital, the most suitable place, properly commemorative of the life and character of the lamented deceased. Owing, however, to the springing up of kindred associations in almost every State and city in the country, this hope was not realized, and with the exception of some contributions from Baltimore, among which was a handsome sum from John T. Ford, Esq., the proceeds of a benefit for the monument fund, given at his Baltimore theater, little, if anything, was contributed outside of Washington. The money raised was, however, carefully husbanded and was invested by the treasurer, Mr. Riggs, in Government registered bonds. The sum raised was, of course, inadequate to erect a monument on anything like the scale originally proposed, but was yet sufficient to raise a monument in the shape of a shaft statue creditable to the city; and it was determined by the association that this was the best course to pursue. Mr. Lot Flannery, of this city, who has achieved a number of successes in his art, one of which is the admired monument over the victims of the arsenal explosion at the Congressional Cemetery, was the successful competitor for the work and the result is before the public.

The site selected for the monument and whereon it is erected is exactly in the center of Four-and-a-half Street and directly in front of the central portico of the city hall. The monument is 38 feet in height to the top of the statue. It rests on a solid foundation of blue rock 6 feet in depth. The base is an octagon 6 feet in height and about 7 feet from side to side, on which the base of the column rests, the lower part corresponding with the base and upper part with the shaft, being circuiar and molded. This shaft is 18 feet in height, with an average diameter of 3 feet (tapering), and is surmounted by a molded cap 4 feet square, 2 feet thick, on which rests the base of the statue and the statue itself. The figure at this height looks to be about life size and stands facing south. It represents Lincoln standing with his left hand resting on the emblem of unio: -Roman Facii-his head erect, with a slight inclination forward, and right herd partially opened, as in the attitude he was wont to take in addressing an audience.

Mr. FESS. Mr. Luhring, is that a description after the monument was erected, so that it is an accurate description?

Mr. LUHRING. Yes; I should say a most accurate description, because this article appeared the next morning after the unveiling exercises, and it was written at the time.

Mr. FESS. That is what I wanted to know.

Mr. LUHRING. Yes. This statue was the first statue of Lincoln erected in the District of Columbia, and perhaps the first of its kind erected in the United States.

Mr. FESS. That is only three years after his death?

Mr. LUHRING. Only three years after his death. Mr. Lot Flannery, the sculptor, was a young man, perhaps 27 years of age, at the time he made this design. [Continuing reading:]

The design was first made in clay by Mr. Flannery last summer and was subsequently cast in plaster. The model attracted much attention as a spirited design and excellent likeness. The encomiums bestowed upon this design in