PAYING THE PRICE (2 OF 5)
by Jeff Strite
Scripture: II Samuel 24:1-25
This content is part of a series.
Paying The Price (2 of 5)
Series: Giving To God
Jeff Strite
II Samuel 24:1-25
OPEN: Back in 1995 ("Bits and Pieces" pamphlet) I read the following story:
Every February on George Washington's birthday, the late newspaper columnist, Frederick C. Othman, used to visit the West Wing of the Smithsonian Institution, look at a certain statue there among the antique printing presses, then reprint this piece in his column as a tribute to governmental bungling....
"I regret to report that Father of his country looks as goose-pimply as ever - all 11 feet, 4 inches of him - with a sheet around his middle, a laurel wreath on his brow, and his bare toes in the breeze. I guess you might call this the result of one of Congress's sorriest experiences with the arts.
"It began in 1833, when Horatio Greenough was paid $5000 to sculpt a heroic statue of George Washington for the Capitol's rotunda. Horatio went to Florence, Italy, and emerged several years later with a 20 ton marble statue. When the longshoremen started to hoist the statue onto a boat, the rope broke and George sank in the mud. The U.S. Navy sent a battleship to Italy, fished George out and took him to New York. Because some railroad tunnels between there and New York weren't big enough, they took him to New Orleans and forwarded him by devious routes, without tunnels, to Washington. This artistic enterprise by now had cost some $26,000.
"When the statue proved too heavy for the Rotunda, it was quickly moved to the Capitol lawn, where the unveiling came on George Washington's birthday, 1843. The Navy band tootled, the lawmakers made speeches, the Speaker of the House pulled the string, and sure enough - there was George Washington, twice as big as life, scantily clad as a Roman Senator!
"Over Capitol Hill rose a horrified gasp. After weeks of bitter debate, Congress decided to build a wooden shed for $1600 to hide the statue. By 1908, the shed was so weather beaten - and the lawmakers so mortified ...
Series: Giving To God
Jeff Strite
II Samuel 24:1-25
OPEN: Back in 1995 ("Bits and Pieces" pamphlet) I read the following story:
Every February on George Washington's birthday, the late newspaper columnist, Frederick C. Othman, used to visit the West Wing of the Smithsonian Institution, look at a certain statue there among the antique printing presses, then reprint this piece in his column as a tribute to governmental bungling....
"I regret to report that Father of his country looks as goose-pimply as ever - all 11 feet, 4 inches of him - with a sheet around his middle, a laurel wreath on his brow, and his bare toes in the breeze. I guess you might call this the result of one of Congress's sorriest experiences with the arts.
"It began in 1833, when Horatio Greenough was paid $5000 to sculpt a heroic statue of George Washington for the Capitol's rotunda. Horatio went to Florence, Italy, and emerged several years later with a 20 ton marble statue. When the longshoremen started to hoist the statue onto a boat, the rope broke and George sank in the mud. The U.S. Navy sent a battleship to Italy, fished George out and took him to New York. Because some railroad tunnels between there and New York weren't big enough, they took him to New Orleans and forwarded him by devious routes, without tunnels, to Washington. This artistic enterprise by now had cost some $26,000.
"When the statue proved too heavy for the Rotunda, it was quickly moved to the Capitol lawn, where the unveiling came on George Washington's birthday, 1843. The Navy band tootled, the lawmakers made speeches, the Speaker of the House pulled the string, and sure enough - there was George Washington, twice as big as life, scantily clad as a Roman Senator!
"Over Capitol Hill rose a horrified gasp. After weeks of bitter debate, Congress decided to build a wooden shed for $1600 to hide the statue. By 1908, the shed was so weather beaten - and the lawmakers so mortified ...
There are 12224 characters in the full content. This excerpt only shows a 2000 character sample of the full content.
Price: $5.99 or 1 credit
