Show M em emo o ries of mb A us jn affie natio 00 it elk lilt ra NA fiat picture of the in EL bool landing of raint inq LV john n in ta a fitol by ELMO SCOTT WATSON N OCTOBER 12 we cele brate the lie four hundred arid thirty englith mini anal or of the landing lindl ng of christopher columbus ou on the shores of ilie new world vi 01 id awl insofar as the daring voyage or of tills this genoese led eventually to the hie foundation of the united states santes it Is appropriate nt at tills this time to inquire how in udal tion to the annual celebration efland of liand ing day we honor lils memory what memorials to columbus for fir tire are there in the capital Capi tail of the nation which bears its ills name in its perso nill cation of columbus the visitor to washington who ft ho goes goe by train sees one of the greatest gren test monuments ever erected to tho the memory of columbus the moment lie steps out of 0 the union station there on a the ienzi in front of the he station Is the nations formal tribute to the italian navigator the magnificent columbus fount flIn by lorado taft the outstanding feature of the fountain Is a stone shaft about 45 43 feet high surmounted by a globe which forms the background for t the lie statue of columbus who nho stands ita upon the prow of a vessel with arms folded in un tin attitude of meditation dUndon nie the ligure figurehead liend of the ship Is a heau kittil alful female figure ti typifying plying the of discovery ou on each side of the shaft are runs sive figures representing the new and old worlds tho the new mew world Is tin an american indian reaching over his shoulder Bh for nn an arrow from its quiver uhe the old world Is typified by a patri archal Clu casin of heroic mold and an thoughtful nilen mien the globe nt at the top of the suggests the lie influence of columbus on the growth of mains knowledge of the shape of the earth it is s supported by four american eagles standing at the lie corners of the top of the sh aft with wings partly extended on the rear of the shaft la Is 1 medallion representing ferdinand and isabella of spain the patrons of columbus voyage of discovery and the group of figures Is completed complete by two enormous lions lion which crouch on pedestals tit nt the ends of the balustrade the pi plin an for erecting this memorial wits was started by a fraternal order tho knights of columbus who solicited contributions from tho the various vailous councils of the order older throughout the he country to the large amount of gonei money which this organization raised was added an tit of hy by congress and the work of erecting the memorial was given to a commission composed of the elial minn of the sea ato alo and nd house committees on the library the secretary of state the secretary of war and the supreme knight of the order of the knights of columbus olum the commission selected the plaza in front of the file union station as the site tor for the memorial and adopted the design submitted by daniel 11 II Durn burnham bam architect if f the union station and member of the national commission of fine arts aind nd lorado tuft taft sculptor both of chicago the capital contains two striking reminders of columbus in the rotunda Is 13 the magnificent painting by john jolin vanderlyn an Amer american ienn artist and pupil of gilbert ert stuart which depicts the landing of Colt columbus this picture tift Is so welt well known that it needs need no further description were here in the lobby bf 0 ulm senate gallery Is the 1 4 co columbus Memoria lin front ol of umon n Station painting of at another scene in the life of columbus by another amerlean american artist it la Is the recall of columbus by A 0 heaton a descendant of the camou painter pal riter rembrandt Rem brundt cleale tills this painting completed complete in 1883 from studies made tit in spain was sold to the lie united 11 states tates government arid and copied by eti engraving gravIng on the no cent of the columbian series issued to commemorate the wor worlds ids columbian exposition at chicago in 1893 this painting represents the historic scene on the bridge of iines two leagues from granada I when columbus Itin ibus tuning having been refused the lie elal aid of king ferdinand for his expedition tion lon was riding sadly away froni from alie capital only to be overtaken by a ines messenger from queen lb isabella ella who had decided decide to give her aid even though her husband would not in the picture columbus sitting on a little white mule has just ju st been given the queens letter by the richly dressed messenger who vi ho has dismounted from his tine steed arid and Is bowing impressively as he hands the all important document to the future discoverer of the new world it was the turning point in the career of christopher columbus and as such the lie preservation of this historic scene in a painting deserves it a place among the other pictured great moments in american history lil story which adorn the walls of the capitol in addition to these memorials to columbus in washington there Is in ili the library of Con congress gres a collection of original documents and rare books relating to the discovery of the new world which ure of almost incalculable value and which form the most direct link of the united states with the valiant sailor who made it possible for foi this nation to he be they constitute a unique literary memorial to columbus and an the headliner of them all Is the Cohin columbus ibus codex which has been bed as a document of the highest historical importance and which will be better appreciated as time goes on to understand the historical historic a I 1 importance of the codex is ne necessary to review brealy certain vert facts about the stormy life of columbus especially those brought tills this document in ili to existence in 1491 1401 while he was on lit ahto third voyage to america his enemies ut at home la in spain were doing doans till all could to twing bring about ills his downfall down rull they succeeded in turning kins ferdinand who from the first had not been nearly as enthusiastic concerning the venture denture as was his queen isabella against columbus and even the queen seemed either inclined disinclined dis to defend him or was helpless to do so so columbus who lint had returned in 1493 from his first voyage as a national hero now came home in irons and in dIr disgrace grace but almost as soon as lie had arrived ferdinand and isabella experienced a change of heart columbus was immediately set tree free and received nn an invitation to visit the file king and queen which lie he did and was warmly received ue told the royal pair of his adventures abroad and re elved commendation however he be was not so successful lit in gaining restitution and property to which lie was entitled the best he was able to do was to secure a declaration la from the throne using the extent und and manner of restitution the result was disappointing more complications continued to pile up on january fi 5 1502 1 lie he called into consultation two al ni caldes or city judges arid and several notaries not aries they drew up and had t transcribed a statement of the lie explorers rights several copies were made these to he be deposited where they could be safely preserved tims thus columbus hoped to protect himself against Hs his enemies thirty live five documents were included lit in this codex they were hie file discoverers charter as an admiral and governor generi general il his warrant granted by isabella authorizing him to equip ships to share in the expense and profits of the voyage to india to ate and distribute lands and letters from various dignitaries of the four copies of the codex codes made in 1502 three are known to exist today including the one lit in the possession of tills this country one went to 10 the republic of genoa today it ts Is highly treasured by the municipality being contained in a bronze bust of columbus in ih the municipal palace the other copy was misplaced after 1070 1670 but in 1880 1890 it turned up in paris it Is believed fo to have found its way there when napoleon ordered all archives deposited in the french capital in arid and documents were sent front from all pars of europe iles was later inter made but the codex apparently wits was overlooked it Is in paris today the fourth copy which Is unaccounted for was un on paper rather than parchment it went to don alonzo sanchez de carvajal who soon after left for the documents disappeared and may have been destroyed st for they have never yet been brought brou glit to light the story of how america came info hilo possession of its copy of the codex Is a romantic one in 1818 edward I 1 everett the gifted new england orator was rummaging through an old book shop in florence italy when he came across the manuscript of about SO 80 pages in diameters characters which appeared to be those of columbus time in 1823 the codex codes at geneva was published arid and 14 discovered that the manuscript in lits his possession coincided precisely with those in the genoese volume after everett everatt ninde made this statement in 1824 the manuscript dropped front from public notice and apparently was forgotten by all concerned about 1890 1800 justin winsor engaged in his monumental life of columbus wrote to dr william everett whose father edward dward E everett had find died asking whether cheth r lie he might inspect the relle relic doctor everett was unable to locate it at that time but in 1897 it came to light in the locked lower part of a bookcase the codex was finally sold to the library of congress by doctor everett for a surn sum which was bowina I 1 with what it would have comma tided in the open market iq M by western newspaper union |