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Show Memorials Hp Monroe v: 1 ' : A V 1 l&&ri? U -JU IPFfellf ;i By ELMO SCOTT WATSON 1 -M" 1 11JI 4-UIL 28 is the anniversary of the r -T" T-" rf fcW f7? birth of James Monroe, soldier, f s!7 - 4 ?Jr if -&WCVH t statesman, fifth President of the I y f " flki 5 ,4hV Vl United States and that date lfCT J j fiES5toV f . ' 1 "' Vk, finds Preparations under way I - ' v ..A f J fcl'X f s X I in Virginia, "the Mother of , I ? 1 1 f 51 B 1 Pfl J I A h j V Presidents," for honoring the 1 1 ' E-f iStk . JB memory of one of her most 1 K 1 Sr I ifil , ML- tt versatile sons. On July 4 of this . I ' f TwASX'A I ' ' J Ml f f 3L year there will be held a cele- 12 IlLMlWpil ' I 1 f I 411 Iff! I VTCJ) bration of the centennial of his I f" I " '!XjlW4! 1 ! fs wi M 1 iS death in which the whole na- I "'I ft f tnlflPfl 1 .: Ms IS'! 'Slj'l 1 fH " tion will be asked to partici- 1 I Jr W"? f f 1 Iji KlfiliiSSl i I' 1 pate, and at the University of Virginia at Char- I S AHXffiCM'A ; )SM ' I J lottesvllle, Va., where the principal observance I . "J iTis"i I , ' 4 f ', IW will be held, President Hoover will speak for I j Kw'w',si'i--tl - I lijt 11 1 a- the nation in paying tribute to his memory. U - fjv .1 ' 1 $ 3 j M At that time Ash Lawn, Monroe's home near 1 v n A H " 11' & f I I U If i J Charlottesville, where he lived for 26 years, will ? "11 CVf iRl fH ' be dedicated as a national shrine. Several l J t ' , ? months ago Jay W. Johns, a Virginian, whose IT t t x fis J l 'rfg" JW? f home is in Pittsburgh, Pa., and who is a mem- V r A 1 ( UllO f 'v&tt! & ber of Gov. John Garland Pollard's Virginia v A It I Vo' iT 1 ' II Ws iM, II Monroe Centennial commission, purchased Ash f gSfel 1 - 1 W In'ST?1 Lawn with the idea of presenting it to the na- ? jf Av. j 51 'W f-lf tlon as a patriotic shrine and his gift will be 77 T "1 M If formally accepted and dedicated on Independ- fnrrnsJ I I JjJ, 5 Another feature of the celebration will be the 1- James Monroe, fifth President of the United , - Vl unveiling of a statue of Monroe which has had States. mf,TS'KT''m"''r'V nn tntprPKHntr hitnpu Tt i tha "lner effltno" o r; -m ki r-t. ...:au 4 By ELMO SCOTT WATSON 4"KIL 28 is the anniversary of the birth of James Monroe, soldier, l statesman, fifth President of the p-United States and that date finds preparations under way in Virginia, "the Mother of y V Presidents," for honoring the S tSSi memory of one of her most i&f'' versatile sons. On July 4 of this v& , rtfS year there will be held a cele-"vlyCSSLj) cele-"vlyCSSLj) bration of the centennial of his aSI3 death in which the whole na- tion will be asked to participate, partici-pate, and at the University of Virginia at Charlottesville, Char-lottesville, Va., where the principal observance will be held, President Hoover will speak for the nation in paying tribute to his memory. At that time Ash Lawn, Monroe's home near Charlottesville, where he lived for 26 years, will be dedicated as a national shrine. Several months ago Jay W. Johns, a Virginian, whose home is In Pittsburgh, Pa., and who is a member mem-ber of Gov. John Garland Pollard's Virginia Monroe Centennial commission, purchased Ash Lawn with the idea of presenting it to the nation na-tion as a patriotic shrine and his gift will be formally accepted and dedicated on Independence Independ-ence day. Another feature of the celebration will be the unveiling of a statue of Monroe which has had an Interesting history. It is the "lost statue" of Monroe, made 33 years ago by Attilio Piccl-rilli, Piccl-rilli, New York sculptor, by order of President Crespo of Venezuela, following a dispute between be-tween England and Venezuela in which President Presi-dent Grover Cleveland intervened under the Monroe Doctrine. President Crespo had planned to place the statue before the capitol in Caracas, Cara-cas, but before it could be sent to South America Amer-ica a revolution overthrew Crespo's government and he died in jail. Since that time the statue has remained in the sculptor's studio and it was by accident that Mr. Johns discovered it and purchased it. When it is unveiled at Ash Lawn It will be the first statue of Monroe to be erected in his native state. Monroe was the last of the "Virginia dynasty" of Presidents Washington, Jefferson, Madison and Monroe In the early years of the' Republic. But the fame of two of them, Washington and Jefferson, hnve so overshadowed his that few Americans realize what a versatile man he was and how Important a part he played in some of the history-making events of those years. Born in the Rappahannock Valiey in Westmoreland West-moreland county, not far from the birthplace of Washington and in the neighborhood of the famous Lee family, Monroe was the descendant of a line of Scotch cavaliers who had emigrated to Virginia at early colonial times. Like many other famous Virginians, Monroe entered William Wil-liam and Mary college at Williamsburg and he was a student there at the outbreak of the Revolution. Rev-olution. His father, Spence Monroe, a farmer, had been one of the leaders in Westmoreland county In taking a determined stand against the Stamp Act and when at the outbreak of hostilities hostili-ties three of the professors and about 30 of the students at William and Mary left school to join Washington's army, Monroe was eager to join them. So in 1770 he marched away as a lieutenant of the Third Virginia regiment, commanded by Col. Hugh Mercer, a personal friend of Washington Wash-ington and proprietor of an apothecary shop in Fredericksburg, where lived Washington's mother moth-er and sister. In the same regiment was another young Virginian, a classmate of Monroe's, destined des-tined for future fame as Chief Justice of the United States John Marshall. Monroe served under Washington at White Plains and at Harlem, Har-lem, he crossed the Delaware with him and was wounded in the battle of Trenton. He also took part in the battles of Brandywine, Germantown and Monmouth and eventually rose to the rank of lieutenant-colonel. Washington appreciated the value of his services serv-ices and tried to have him promoted, but Virginia Vir-ginia did nothing further for him. Hurt deeply by this neglect, Monroe was considering taking up diplomatic work in Hurope when the war ended, but he was finally persuaded to attach his fortunes to those of Thomas Jefferson who had become governor of Virginia and thus began be-gan the lifelong friendship between the two men which was to have such au important effect on Monroe's career. lie soon entered public life as a member of the Virginia assembly and then as a member of the Fourth, Fifth and Sixth congresses of the Confederation, lie was elected to the convention to ratify the new Constitution and aligned himself him-self with Patrick Henry in opposition to it. Ho believed that it gave the executive too much power. Later, however, he assented to its rati-lii-alion by Virginia, with the understanding that the proposed amendments should be accepted. 1. James Monroe, fifth President of the United States. 2j 2. Attilio Piccrilli, New York sculptor, with his statue of President Monroe which is to be given a permanent location at Ash Lawn, near Charlottesville, Va., Monroe's home for 26 years, after being in the sculptor's studio for many years. It is 11 feet high, double the life size of Its subject, made from a solid block of Carrara Car-rara marble and weighs three tons. It was made after the Vanderlyn portrait of Monroe and represents rep-resents him at the age of fifty. 3. The dilapidated mansion at 95 Crosby street, New York city, in which President Monroe Mon-roe died on July 4, 1831, was sold at public auction auc-tion a few years ago when the American Scenic and Historic Preservation society, which had bought it, was unable to provide for its upkeep. 4. Laurence Gouverneur Hoes and his mother, Mrs. Rose Gouverneur Hoes of Washington, D. C, at the entrance of the law office of President Monroe in Fredericksburg, Va. Mr. Hoes, a great-great-grandson of Monroe, purchased the building and on April 28, 1928, the one hundred seventieth anniversary of Monroe's birth, it was dedicated as a Monroe shrine. 5. Mrs. Rose Gouverneur Hoes of Washington, D. C, great-granddaughter of President Monroe, placing a wreath on the grave of Monroe in Richmond, Va., on the anniversary of his birth. $ He was one of the first Virginians to take . office under the Constitution. The first senators chosen were Richard Henry Lee and William Grayson. Very soon afterwards Grayson died and Monroe was selected to succeed him, aligning align-ing himself with the Anti-Federalists. He resigned re-signed in May, 1794, to become the diplomatic representative of the United States at Paris. The position was a difficult one, as both England and France were treating our new nation na-tion with contempt, although at war with each other and the danger was that we might become involved in war either with one or the other. To make the matter worse this country was divided into two factions, one wanting to go to war with England to help France and the other favorably disposed toward England. Although the outspoken friend of France, Monroe did what he believed best to avoid war, although his acts were subject to bitter criticism at the time. Returning to America he was made governor of Virginia and served for three years. At about this time Spain ceded the Louisiana territory back to France, and as the right to the navigation naviga-tion of the lower Mississippi river was a burning burn-ing question, our government decided to try to purchase the mouth of the river from France. Here was an opportunity for Jefferson to give Monroe a chance to go back to France and retrieve re-trieve his diplomatic fortunes. He was selected as a special envoy to visit Taris and help Robert Livingston, the resident minister, treat for the Louisiana purchase. Napoleon, in view of the expected renewal of hostilities with England, figured that he would probably lose this territory by conquest and was ready to deal ; he refused, however, to treat for the sale of the mouth of the river and said in his blunt way: "Buy the whole or none." He asked one hundred million francs. Following his successful deal in Paris, Monroe went to Londun to assist in drawing a treaty touching our maritime grievances with Great Britain. This treaty contained no provision against the future impressment of our seamen and President Jefferson pigeonholed it without sending It to the senate. Monroe returned to America in 1807 and was again elected governor of Virginia, although his success in France had been somewhat dampened by his failure in England. Monroe served only a short time as governor of Virginia and then resigned to become secretary secre-tary of state in the cabinet of President James Madison, a position which he held until 1817. In 1814-15 he acted as secretary of war in addition addi-tion to performing his duties as head of the State department. This was during the time when our unprepared government was trying to "blunder through" with the second war with England when the British had captured Washington Wash-ington and burned the Capitol and Madison and his cabinet had been forced to seek refuge in Virginia. Monroe's service in the Revolution stood him in good stead then. He took charge of the military mili-tary situation around the Capital and soon brought some semblance of order out of those panicky times which saved the government from dissolution and from conquest by the British. It was Monroe who ordered Gen. Andrew Jackson to march at once for New Orleans with his militia, without waiting for government arms, and this promptness undoubtedly had something to do with Jackson's great victory there. By now Monroe had held virtually every Important Im-portant elective office and it seemed only natural nat-ural that he should become the candidate for President in 1816. His victory over his opponent, oppo-nent, Rufus King, was an easy one, Monroe re- ceiving 1S3 electoral votes to King's 34. So popular pop-ular was Monroe's administration that in 1820 he was almost unanimously re-elected, there being be-ing one electoral vote cast -against him. He received 231 out of 232. The second administration of Monroe became famous as the "Era of Good Feeling," when sectional and political jealousies and hatreds were little in evidence and the whole country was apparently united In the cause of progress a decided contrast to the administration which followed. More than that a number of important impor-tant events took place under his two administrations, administra-tions, outstanding among them being the promulgation pro-mulgation of what has since been known as the Monroe Doctrine, the Seminole war, defenses of the Atlantic seaboard, the Missouri compromise, the acquisition of Florida, the problem of resisting re-sisting European interference In American affairs, af-fairs, and the reception of General Lafayette, a national visitor. Monroe left the White House a poor man. For a time he served as a justice of the peace in Virginia and as a regent of the University of Virginia at Charlottesville where he, with Jefferson Jef-ferson and Madison, gave much personal attention atten-tion to the duties of that position. Fate ruled that this great Virginian should not, when his time came to die, lay himself down to his final rest on his native soil. He died in New York city on July 4. IS'H on Independence day, a fitting dale for the end to come to this man who had fought for that independence and had seen the new nation grow up from the work of him and of other patriots. But James Monroe came back at last to the land of his birth. In isr.S on the hundredth anniversary of his birth his body was removed from its Icirinl place in New York and placed in Hollywood cemetery in Richmond, Rich-mond, Va., where his tomb is a shrine f.ir ul-patriotic ul-patriotic pilgrims to the Virginia capit.iL & ty Western Newspaper Unijn.) |