USA > Ohio > Cuyahoga County > History of the Cuyahoga County soldiers' and sailors' monument > Part 20
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To illustrate the lightning-like rapidity of the changes of that fickle jade, "public opinion," in this case clearly manufactured for a purpose :- when we were down our necks were vigorously jumped upon ; when we were neither up nor down, "public opinion " was roosting on the fence ; but now, when we are on top, why, you see, " public opinion " is different, you know ; the southeast section of the Public Square is the proper place for the
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Monument. Apropos, we copy the following graceful editorial from the Leader of October 12th, 1892 :
"No good can follow any further litigation on the Monument site question. The Commission has won at every point, and the opposition might as well accept the inevitable. It will be no disrespect to the memory of the Commodore to remove his marble form a few feet to the right or left, or to another section of the Square. It presented a most imposing spectacle some years ago when it stood in the center of the Square, where the streets now cross. No noisy hullabaloo was heard when it was removed to its present location to make way for travel and street railroads. One objection urged to the location of the new Monument on the southeast corner of the Square is that sometime it will be surrounded and dwarfed by high buildings. On the other hand, the Commission contends that the view from the other three sections of the Square and down the avenue afford a perspective that will set off the Momment to full advantage. Their judgment on this matter is certainly entitled to very respectful consider- ation, as they have given a great deal of careful and thoughtful attention to the subject. The Monument will certainly be an honor to this city. A critical study of the design will convince any competent judge that it will be one of the most beautiful and appropriate me- morials ever erected in any country. It is going up on the Square. The people might as well make up their minds to that and gracefully acquiesce in the decisions of the Courts and the wishes of the Monument Commis- sion."
In the memorable and exciting game of foot-ball, now drawing to a close in our Courts, the Monument Commission team was invincible. We had met all kinds and classes of opponents, and easily vanquished them. In the preliminary practice, the enemy made a
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respectable showing, but failed to make a touch-down .. In the regular games we had a clean score : 4 touch- downs and 4 goals kicked. Judge Ricks' decision was an additional goal, kicked from the field. At the end of each contest the members of the opposing team were carried off the gridiron on stretchers. A full knowledge of the enemy's " signals," and earnest team work brought victory to the Commission. In all dis- putes we captured the umpire. Our center, guards, tackles, ends and backs-especially our backs-were strong, and knew their business. Our team played for the patriotic glory of the final result. The players on the opposing teams were a weak lot of professional stiffs, out of training, lacking head and good team work, and apparently objectless save the high salaries they received ; therefore, they were scarcely ever in it at any stage of the game.
XIX.
A ND now, at the close of this legal struggle to se- cure the Monument site, it becomes the charita- ble duty of the historian to dispose of our friends, the enemy, the dramatis persona of the five act Monumental drama, decently and in order. Here the last shall be first, with a kindly advice to Judge Boynton, the ac- complished advocate of the street railroad company ; an able lawyer unfortunately retained in an already lost cause, and destined to meet the fate of his legal pred- ecessors, the amiable Corporation Counsel, Major Burns, and the later Director of Law, General Edward S. Meyer. The Supreme Court of Ohio and the United States Circuit Court strewed alike the flowers of his rhetoric, the logic of his legal lore and the mythical claim of his New Hampshire clients, on the sea of ob- livion, and thus finally and forever established and confirmed to the Monument Commissioners the site se- lected by them and granted by the Legislature, and now adorned and beautified by the long delayed but noble Monument.
The gentlemen of the Board of Trade retired from the contest and gracefully submitted to the decisions of the State Supreme and Federal Courts in the matter of title of the selected site. Even noisy mass meetings ceased to assemble in the Public Square to denounce the protecting fence around the site of the contemplated Monumental structure.
We resume our line of narrative in this strange, eventful legal history, now narrowed down to a few side issues and diminutive technicalities involved in the last
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of the City's legal proceedings still pending in the local Circuit Court.
In the last interview the Commission had with Mayor Rose, he was officially non-committal, only deigning to say, "The case of the City is entirely in General Meyer's hands." The Director of Law said: "When the Cir- cuit Court opens in October, we will be there, and if the decision is against us, it will be carried to the Supreme Court of the State."
Notwithstanding the Damoclean sword of the Director of Law was suspended over the heads of the Commis- sioners with his prophetic admonition that it would de- scend upon them in October, they nevertheless had progressed so far with the foundation that the removal of the Perry statue had become an absolute necessity. The failure of the City authorities to comply with the law in that respect, as expressly provided, rendered it necessary for the Commission to perform the work. The task was completed December 3d, 1892. The Leader of the following date described the event, which we reproduce :
" The removal of the Perry monument from its place in the southeastern section of the Public Square was undertaken yesterday morning, and the statue of the brave Commodore was successfully lowered from the pedestal shortly after 3 o'clock in the afternoon. The removal is rendered absolutely necessary by the fact that the heavy stones for the Soldiers' Monument could not be taken to the spot from which they will be hoisted to their places, without great danger to the base of the Perry monument. Besides that there would be danger of stones or heavy tools falling on the statue. Elijah Smith, who moved the Commodore from the in- tersection of Superior and Ontario Streets twenty years ago, is again entrusted with the delicate task, but he left the active work to his son, with Captain Levi T.
$
MAJOR J. B. HAMPSON.
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Scofield, the designer of the new Monument, to over- see the operation. It is an interesting fact that Cap- tain Scofield helped in the building of the Perry Monu- inent.
" All of yesterday morning was spent in erecting a derrick and placing a scaffold around the statue of the Commodore. At about 2 o'clock, the head and breast of the figure were swathed in coffee bagging and excel- sior, so that the ropes would not damage the marble. Shortly after 3 o'clock the statute was hoisted in mid air, where it dangled for some time before it could be low- ered to a skid which had been built to receive it. This cottch was softened with a great quantity of excelsior and braces were placed under the massive shoulders of the figure so that after it is boxed up the moving of the receptacle will do no damage.
"In lowering the statue it was not injured in the least. A rough rope touched the Commodore's whisk- ers on the left side and the marble was so mich crumbled that the friction rubbed the surface off and made it look white.
" While the preparations for all this were going on, a photographer with a big camera came into the enclos- tre. He adjusted the instrument to photograph the figure of the midshipman on the west side of the montinent. The middy was photographed, and for a purpose. The fact is that the figure was already muti- lated and the Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument Com- mission desire to have a photograph to show that it was there before the removal. The thumb and little finger of the midshipman are broken off, probably by snowballs thrown by boys. His left trouser leg is frayed out, two or three inches of the flowing panta- loon being broken off. The flap of the boy's right trousers pocket is also gone and the same is trute of the right lapel of his jacket. These mutilations are not
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noticed by the ordinary passer-by, but a close inspec- tion reveals them. The Commission wish to be able to demonstrate that when they deliver the Perry monu- ment to the City officials its condition is the same as it was before the removal. The midshipmen and the pedestal will probably be taken apart to-day. In pre- paring to lower the statue of Perry it was discovered that the sword hilt was made detachable, and it was taken off.
" The condition of the Perry monument is such that something must be done to arrest the decaying of the marble and repair the mutilation if it is to be preserved. The entire surface of the statue, which was once smooth, is serrated and as rough as sandstone. The profile of the Commodore's nose is jagged and looks as though it had been nicked and chipped. Where the surface has been at all protected it is smooth and gives forth that glow which characterizes polished Carrara marble. The Commodore's brow is creased with ver- tical furrows, worn by the elements, while the natural markings have been entirely obliterated by time. The north side of the statue is in a worse condition than the south side, presumably because the vapor-charged winds come chiefly from the north. The destructive- ness of Nature's forces is especially marked on the brave old mariner's coat. The buttons were designed by Captain Scofield, and he remembers how distinct were the anchors and stars upon them, thirty odd years ago. At present, on many of the buttons the anchor is nearly worn off and the stars have in some instances entirely disappeared. The buttons on the right leg of the west midshipman's pantaloons are nearly obliter- ated, while those on the other leg, which has a southern exposure, are in a much better state of preservation.
" The Commission are not authorized to again erect the Perry monument after the work on the new Memor-
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ial is completed, but in times past in discussing the matter the Commissioners have all expressed them- selves willing to put it up again in as suitable a place as can be found in the southeastern section of the Square, they having authority only there. It is ex- pected, however, that the City will place the monument in Lake View Park.
"The original design of the Perry monument did not provide for the core base upon which it now rests. As the monument stood at the intersection of Superior and Ontario Streets, upon a grassy mound, the base was formed by two immense blocks of pink Westerly gran- ite, which had been given by the State of Rhode Island. When the streets were cut through the Square, the grassy mound was taken away, exposing the un- hewn stones of the foundation. In order to hide their ugly surfaces some one conceived the idea of veneering them with a cored base of inferior granite and that veneer now forins the base, the pink granite being the second tier of stone in the pedestal. Artists and monu- ment builders have severely criticised the base because its cored surface, terminating almost in a feather edge, gives it the appearance of weakness. This veneer, which hides the foundation stones, is now slightly out of place. The weight of the blocks of granite above it has forced open the joints, and if nothing had been done, in a few years the monument might have fallen of its own weight. At one place the core veneering does not come within an inch of making a perfect joint.
"The statuary had been carefully removed and boxed. The statuary is in a safe place, safer than it has been for thirty years or more, for the rigorous winter weather will not aid in the further disintegration of the delicate Italian marble. Not until the City again erects the monument will the destruction be resumed.
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The immense blocks of granite forming the pedestal were easily moved and drawn out of the way. They were not boxed, for the weather will do them no harmn. After the core veneer had been removed the rough foundation was revealed. It consisted of small sand- stones cemented with ordinary mortar. Wonder was no longer expressed that the insubstantial base had been forced apart at the joints when the character of the foundation above ground was revealed. The foundation was removed with pickaxes and shovels, as it was not worth preserving.
"Major W. J. Gleason, President of the Soldiers' Monument Commission, expects, now that the Perry statue has been taken down, that it will be taken in charge by the City. He said that the greatest draw- back to the removal of the statue was the disinclination of the City authorities to take it from the pedestal in the Public Square. 'Now that the statue has been taken down, we await the pleasure of the City,' said Major Gleason. 'I expect that the Council will pass a resolution requesting Director Herrick to remove the statute to Lake View Park. There is a circular plot on a line with Ontario Street that would make a splendid site. In the meantime we shall take the best of care of the statne. It will be boxed up and fully protected from the weather. If the City desire to have the statue erected in the Square again we can provide a good site for it between the Monument and Superior Street.'
"' What would be the cost of removal to Lake View Park ?' was asked.
"' It would not exceed $500 and might not be more than $300. The statue could be loaded on a wagon and taken to the park in twenty minutes. The cost of taking up the foundation in the Square and removing it to the park would also be small. At the latter place
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the foundation would not need to be placed deep enough to encounter the quicksand.'
"Now that the Perry monument has been removed, the erection of the shaft of the Soldiers' Memorial can be begun this week. The scaffold is finished and the sandstone base for the shaft is about completed. The Perry monument was removed so that the wagons, upon which the blocks of granite for the shaft are to be hauled to the Square, can be run upon a platform under the scaffold. The blocks will then be lifted by a steam derrick and placed in position with only one handling, which means a saving of time, labor, and ex- pense. Across the top of the scaffold the fifteen-inch steel beams will be placed, and upon these a small tramway will be constructed. Upon the trainway the carriage of the steam derrick will move backward and forward in carrying the blocks to their places."
As the City authorities claimed they had no money with which to take down the Perry statue, the Com- mission paid the expense for the same, amounting to only the paltry sum of eighty-nine dollars. We are pleased to be able to quote the heroic expression of General Meyer, at the meeting held on the Public Square, September 2d, 1892, to-wit: "I would rather lose my right arm than see Perry's statue taken down." He was not present at the time it was necessary to take down the statute, hence he did not " see" it done. So the General's good right arm still clings to him. At which we all rejoice, for privately and personally, we sincerely wish our last legal opponent good healthi, hap- piness and prosperity, with a perfect body.
On the evening of December 5th, 1892, the City Council took the following action :
"By Mr. Caswell-That the President of this Council be requested to appoint a committee of three members of the Council to act with the Director of Public Works in the selection of a site for the Monument of Commodore Perry, and that the Director of Public
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Works be and he is hereby authorized and directed to cause the re- mnoval of said monument to the site thus selected, the expense of said removal, together with the erection and construction of an appropriate base and foundations, to be paid from the general fund, after the money is appropriated for this purpose.
" Adopted.
"The chair appointed as above Committee Messrs. Caswell, Spil- ker and Malloy."
The Committee reported on December 12th, 1892, as follows, quoted from the original document :
" CLEVELAND, O., December 12th, 1892. " To the Council.
" GENTLEMEN :- Your Committee appointed to select a suitable site for the monument of Commodore Perry submit the following report : Feeling sure that the majority of the people of our city would favor some point on the Lake front, your Committee visited Lake View and Gordon Parks only. In the latter we found many beautiful sites which had some advantages over those in Lake View Park, being further removed from the railroad tracks and freer from the smoke and dust of the city, and having larger park sur- roundings. After visiting Lake View Park, however, the Commit- tee were unanimous that the site at the foot of Ontario Street would be more satisfactory to the majority of our citizens. The monument, if erected there, can be seen from the Public Square, and by thousands who reach the city by rail or by boats on the lake. It is the sense of the Committee that the people who have become accustomed to seeing the monument in the center of the city would not favor its removal to a suburban park; therefore, it is the unanimous opinion of this Committee that the Monument be placed in Lake View Park, at the foot of Ontario Street, facing up the lake toward the scene of the victory it commemorates.
"[Signed.] " D. O. CASWELL, "WV. A. SPILKER, " M. C. MALLOY, " R. R. HERRICK.
" Report received and its provisions adopted by the Council. " HOWARD H. BURGESS, City Clerk."
It will be noticed that the foregoing report of the City Council Committee, unanimously approved by the Council, is also signed by Director Herrick. From this it might be inferred that prompt action would be taken by the City authorities. Nothing, however, was done.
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When Director Herrick was asked why he did not com- ply with the action of the legislative branch of the City Government, his reply was that the City had no funds- for the purpose. A financial statement, published at the time, showed $1,500,000 to the credit of the City! Still the gallant Commodore was allowed to rest in quiet repose "till other times and other mnen would rise and do justice to his memory." .
Owing to the condition of the Perry statue, caused by "Time's effacing finger" and the destructive force of natural elements, recently largely added to by having the delicate marble scrubbed with acids, under the ignorant orders of the Director of Public Works, the Commission recommended to the City authorities that the figures be duplicated in enduring bronze. If this would be done, the Commission would gladly re-erect the Perry statue with the Soldiers' Monument, on the southeast section of the Public Square. Failing in this, the Commission suggested that the statue be put in bronze and placed on the plat laid out for it in 1879, in Lake View Park, at the foot of Ontario Street, over- looking the scene on which Perry achieved his ever- memorable victory over the British. The Commission would gladly do this work, but they had no legal authority, nor were they granted permission so to do.
T HE cold, wintry days of December were upon us, therefore the Commission could not proceed very rapidly with work. The failure of the Director of Pub- lic Works to remove the water inain caused consider- able trouble and expense. This difficulty could have been readily overcome, had the Commission been al- lowed to remove the pipes, but the City officials would not give them permission to do so. Captain Scofield temporarily solved the problem by building strong arches of cement over the pipes. This was a waste of time, material and money, but it was the only thing to do under the circumstances. The increased cost of material, the higher prices demanded by contractors, the loss of one-tenth of a mill revenue through Judge Sherwood's decision, the several lawsuits against the work of the Commission, the setting aside of contracts owing to delay and consequent uncertainty, and the in- creased expense generally, caused by the evasive and procrastinating conduct of the City officials and selfish schemes of interested parties, rendered it necessary to again go to the Legislature for relief. Comrade and Representative W. D. Pudney introduced the required bill, at the request of the Commission. With the gen- erons aid of his colleagues and of all of the members of the House and Senate, the bill was unanimously made law. When the session laws were subsequently pub- lished, it was found that the bill was not passed as pre- pared. The objectionable interpolations were, however, amended out of the statutes by the succeeding General Assembly. The law as enacted is as follows :
MAJOR - GENERAL JAMES B. MCPHERSON.
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"AN ACT
" To amend section one of an act entitled 'An act supplementary and amendatory to an act to amend section one of an act entitled an act to authorize the County Commissioners of Cuyahoga County to build a Monument or Memorial Tablet commemorative of the deceased Soldiers and Sailors of said county, and to pur- chase a site therefor, passed April 2, 1880, (vol. 77, p. 368), as amended February 4, 18SI (vol. 78, p. 316), as amended April 22, 1885 (vol. 82, p. 368), as amended April 16, 1888 (vol. 85, p. 564), as amended January 30, 1890 (vol. 87, p. 391),' and as amended April 2, 1891 (vol. 88, p. 786), and also to amend section seven of said amendatory act of April 16, 1888 (vol. 85, p. 564).
"SECTION I. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Ohio, That section one of an act entitled ' An act to authorize the Commissioners of Cuyahoga County to build a Monument or Me- morial Tablet commemorative of the deceased Soldiers and Sailors of Cuyahoga County, and to purchase a site therefor,' passed April 2, 1880 (vol. 77, p. 368), as amended February 4, 1881 (vol. 78, p. 316), as amended April 22, 1885 (vol. 82, p. 368), as amended April 16, 1888 (vol. 85, p. 564), as amended January 30, 1890 (vol. 87, p. 391), as amended April 2, 1891 (vol. 88, p. 786), and section seven of said act of April 16, 1888 (vol. 85, p. 564), be amended so as to read as follows :
"Sec. 1. That the County Commissioners of Cuyahoga County be and are hereby authorized and directed to levy a tax upon all the taxable property of said county, of seven-tenths of a mill on the dollar of the valuation of said property, in addition to any tax here- tofore levied under said acts, which said seven-tenths shall be levied and collected as follows : For the year 1893, two-tenths of a mill ; for the year 1894, two-tenths of a mill; for the year 1895, three- tenths of a mill ; which shall be levied and collected annually as aforesaid, for the purpose of erecting a suitable structure commem- orative of the services, patriotism and valor of the Soldiers and Sailors of the Union Army and Navy in the war of the Rebellion, who enlisted from Cuyahoga county, and putting in proper condi- tion, and improving the grounds in said southeast section of said Square around said Monument, and the funds arising from levies heretofore made shall be applied, together with that to be raised in pursuance of this amendatory act, to the purpose aforesaid, together with the necessary expenses connected therewith ; and said County Commissioners are hereby authorized and directed to issue bonds or notes, at such times as they may be requested so to do by said Mon- umental Commissioners, for the amount of the said three-tenths ad- ditional levy to be made in the year 1895, and such bonds or notes to
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be made payable in such amounts and at such times as will make them come due, as near as practicable, at the times when the money will be collected and received from such levy.
" Sec. 7. The Board of Monument Commissioners shall have- power, and are hereby authorized, as the work on the Monument or structure by them determined upon progresses, to make drafts upon the Auditor of said county to pay for such work done and materials- furnished under their direction, such drafts to be signed by a ma- jority of the Executive Committee of said Board, countersigned by its Secretary, and upon receiving such drafts said Auditor shall draw his warrant upon the Treasurer of Cuyahoga County for the amount of such drafts; and the said County Commissioners are hereby authorized and required to withdraw any portion of the money invested by them as herein provided, as the work on such structure progresses, and place the same in the county treasury to the credit of the Monument fund, and the Secretary of said Board of Monument Commissioners is hereby required to give said County Commissioners reasonable notice, in writing, of the intention of said Monument Commissioners to make drafts on the County Audi- tor for money for such work or material. Upon the completion and dedication of the Monument or structure, the said Board of Monument Commissioners shall turn the Monument over to a Board of three Commissioners selected by theni, none of whom shall be one of their number, which said Commissioners shall be ex-Soldiers or Sailors, and said Board shall be perpetual, with power of succession, and such Commissioners so selected shall have power and be re- quired, within ten days after occurrence of a vacancy, to fill the same by selecting an ex-Soldier or Sailor, or a member or descend- ant of members of either of the Army organizations known as the Grand Army of the Republic, Union Veterans' Union, or a member of the first class in good standing of the military order of the Loyal Legion of the United States, which said Board shall serve without compensation. Said Commissioners and their successors shall take an oath to faithfully perform their duties in caring for the Monu- ment and grounds surrounding the same, and shall be empowered to employ an ex-Soldier of the War of the Rebellion or the Regular Army, as attendant and guardian of such Monument and grounds, at a reasonable compensation, to be paid out of the general fund of" the county, upon a voucher of the President and Secretary of the Monument Commission, and such attendant shall be vested with the ordinary powers of a policeman. Said Board shall also be authorized to employ such assistance as may be required by the attendant, to take care of the Monument and grounds, and to make such necessary expenditure as in their judgment will be required to make repairs to the Monument or improvements to the-
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