Show JI Statues Are Like Laws ire fie re other day a Utah office remarked tf If to my eie correctly that Wash is of on n certainly a city j A MATTER of fact some Interior Secretary as a'S ago i wirt rt d L. L Udall raised the then theD theof n D of oC whether there are I not too many statues in the thed d or at Je least st too many that r t very important There here are of course fine in the city dedi- dedi ried dal to the memories of the thea cut a 21 figures of our nations nation's iy j The Washington Mon Mon- cat it the Jefferson and L Linsk Lin- Lin nIi n- n I sk Memorials come readily I I mind in this particular BUT ElT THERE are other monand monand mon- mon and statues that com- com orate events or honor tans ns long since forgotten by bj a few and in the piew of history these pere per- per e 1 and events may be lively unimportant unimportant- berr or z rr o J t t at all aJI But a a statue I I suppose is 1 much uch like a law it is rather easy to create but awfully J difficult to destroy So as I 1 recall Secretary Udall didn't get et eT very far Car with his proposal to review re and upgrade Wash- Wash dons don's collection of statuary EVERY ERY TI TIME IE a member of B s staff rc suggested that maybe may- may be such and such and such a monument lid ld little significance up lipped somebody perhaps I descendant of oC the person to snored to take issue The Secretary's project was finalI final- final I f abandoned I like the statues ad ud u monuments even the themes mes that some people say sayi i important Because e KM ren if they commemorate obre ob- ob obI I ire re events e or honor people i 1 r nobody bod remembers any- any J Vie f they still add to the i s unique character Mayi May May- i m i j just t a soft-hearted soft t mentalist but even though j I j- j 1 I have passed through the Capitols Capitol's Statuary Hall countless countless countless count count- less numbers of times I still stop or at least slow down long enough to look at the statues there THE TilE LARGE room that isnow is isnow isnow now Statuary Hall was once the chamber of the House of Representatives But as new states were added to the Union the number of new congressmen became so great that larger quarters for the House had to be built Thus in 1857 the new House wing of the Capitol was finished and occupied And the old chamber was turned into a repository for statues of the I great and near-great near from the several states Each state is permitted to j place one statue in Statuary Hall Utah's of course is Brigham Young a seated stern semi-stern figure sculptured in white marble by Mahonri Young the Mormon leaders leader's grandson Most Utah visitors especially the kids like to tot toI pinch the statues statue's toes and grasp his knee if they can reach that high As Asa a matter of fact the white marble shows a touch of discoloration discoloration discoloration dis dis- coloration from just such a p practice BUT BRIGHAM Youngs Young's is the only statue that Utah hasto has hasin hasin in to the Capitol Most 1 states have two While Statuary Hall Hallis is limited to one from each state another state statue can be located elsewhere in the building Thus Idaho for example example example ex ex- ample has a statue of Gov George L. L Shoup in Statuary Hall and another of Senator William E. E Borah located in a hallway near the Senate chamber hamber The point is that Utah LItah could have another statue too oo provided that we could get et together and decide who it t should be I It sounds like a good idea I but Jut I can see all kinds of problems problems lems ems arising out of the se- se heated and controversial as j t the the liquor-by-the-drink issue I if i f anything else could ever gel get that heated and contro contro- I can see sec it all now Democrats would insist that it be the statue of a Democrat Democrat Democrat Dem Dem- and Republicans Republic ns would demand a Republican the John Birch Society would want wanta a statue of John Birch and Americans for Democratic action would probably want a statue of who else a famous famous famous fam fam- ous Democrat in action 1 |