File No. 835.413W27/8.
Clippings from the newspapers giving good accounts of the proceedings and
photographs of the monument are enclosed herewith.
[Inclosure—Extract from the “Standard
“(Buenos Aires) of July 5, 1913.]
[Untitled]
No further evidence of the very friendly relations existing between
the two greatest American Republics is necessary than the ceremony
of the official presentation to the Argentine Nation of the George
Washington statue at Palermo yesterday. The statue is the work of
Mr. Charles Keck, a prominent New York sculptor, who was
commissioned by the following committee of local United States
residents:
Edmund P. Graves, chairman; George E. Fuller, secretary; James A.
Wheatley, treasurer; John C. Zimmermann, Arthur J. Simmons and
Alfred Zucker.
The statue is of bronze and is a reproduction of the one which stands
in front of the New York Treasury building in Wall Street. It is
2.30 metres high, and represents the Father of his Country in the
Colonial dress of the period in the act of speaking, having risen
from his chair.
The pedestal, which is of Deer Island, Maine, granite, was designed
and erected by Mr. Alfred Zucker, the well-known architect of this
city, and forms an artistic finish which is in perfect harmony with
the surroundings.
Engraved in the upper panel of the base of the monument is the
following inscription in golden letters:
- George Washington.
- A la Nación Argentina
- en conmemoración de
- su centenario
- M.C.M.X.
- Los Ciudadanos de los
- Estados Unidos de America
- Residenies en la Republica
The site of the monument is a most happy one in the Parque 3 de
Febrero, fronting the magnificent lake of the “Pabellón de los
Lagos.” The large trees and rare plants on either side and in the
rear form an ideal background for such an imposing work. The base
and pedestal of the monument yesterday were gaily bedecked with the
colours and coats of arms of both nations.
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The Honorable John Work Garrett initiated the proceedings by calling
upon Mr. Arthur J. Simons to address the gathering in the name of
the United States residents.
address by mr. arthur j. simmons representing
the monument committee.
Mr. Presided, Your Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen: By permission
of the municipal government, and honoured by the presence of His
Excellency the President of The Nation and other high officials of
State, we are assembled for an unusual event.
It is a significant occasion, in commemoration of the rounding out of
the first century of a national growth and development. No great
nation has ever yet come into existence and maintained its
government without struggle, turmoil, strife. Hunanity’s destiny is
upward and forward. The masses rise and advance through struggle,
but the struggle is most courageously carried forward when led by
patriotic action, and the rise is most rapid when leavened by
patriotic wisdom. Intrepid patriotism is sublime. All peoples of the
earth meet crises. In the supreme moment of coping with those
crises, when humanity’s fate hangs in the balance, to waver is
fatal, firm resolutions must be adopted, and fearless, decisive
action follow to enforce them. Perilous indeed, with consequences
immeasurable, far-reaching and long-lasting, affecting the lives and
well-being of future generations, is the crisis that pertains to the
momentous question of the fundamental principles of government.
Argentina, has met, struggled with, pissed through, conquered and
risen above the peril of this crisis in her history. And a pause has
been made, at the first hundred-year mark, for the world to take
note of the growth and development of this independent and
progressive people. It is, indeed, significant.
The celebration of the Centennial of that glorious and memorable 25
de Mayo de 1810 by the Government and people of Argentina afforded
an opportunity for the various foreign communities here resident,
whose members still own allegiance to their respective native
governments, to show their goodwill; to offer some token that might
long stand as an expression of their appreciation for the Government
and people of the land of their sojourn; for her Government which
welcomes them and guarantees to all the enjoyment of the rights and
privileges of labour, trade, commerce, and the untrammelled effort
for the gratification of that universal desire—the pursuit of
happiness; for her people toward whom we are drawn with such
fascination, with whom we labour and dwell in such concord, among
whom we count such warm-hearted friends and genial companions.
No more appropriate date could be chosen for the ceremony of
presenting the memorial which we of the northernmost republic have
been privileged to proffer, than this, July 4th, the anniversary of
the day when the first formal declaration of inalienable individual
rights and the principle of free and independent government in the
western hemisphere was solemnly adopted and boldly proclaimed to the
world.
We citizens of the United States of America who reside in Argentina,
in choosing the emblem that might permanently stand as our
expression of good will, have deemed it highly fitting for the
occasion as being the most suitable manner by which our community
here resident might convey its sentiment, as being the most
representative of the friendly spirit from our home land, as being
the means of most delicately touching and vibrating the mystic
chords of sympathy between liberty-loving peoples, that the token
should be a figure of that man whose character stands out,
pre-eminent, as symbolic of Liberty, Independence and Republicanism
in the New World.
Here, in the presence of this assembly, on this magnificent site, in
this beautiful Palermo Park, to stand under the blue canopy of
Argentina’s skies, is now to be unveiled a statue of the immortal
Washington. The stalwart form, the stately figure, the expressive
features, the serene countenance of the patriot, statesman and
gentleman seem to breathe forth the spirit of his sublime faith in
the justice and ultimate triumph of the cause to which he so
zealously devoted his life, and of which he himself said: “Our cause
is noble, it is the cause of mankind.”
No nation, no continent, produces many men whose fame becomes
world-wide, and whose characters live in history. We of North
America have one, you of South America have another, standing out
with transcendental distinction. Though they laboured not
contemporaneously, yet the life-long activities of the
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one corresponded to those of
the other in the same formative period of their respective country’s
history. The same high ideals of patriotism fired the strong
passions of both to consecrate their lives to the same noble cause
of mankind. It is, therefore, with appropriate fitness, on this
notable occasion, that we link to the name and fame of our immortal
Washington, the name and fame of that other patriot, Argentina’s
immortal San Martín.
And now we, the posterity of the one, dedicate this memorial to you,
the posterity of the other, and fervently exclaim: “Viva la
República!”
presentation of the statue by the american
minister.
The orator of the day has well and eloquently expressed the feelings
of our fellow-countrymen and countrywomen resident in the Argentine
Republic towards the great Republic in which they live.
It is my privilege, on their behalf, to present the noble testimony
of their sentiments.
Before doing so I am happy to be able to read the following telegram:
“The White House
“Washington, July 4th.
“On the occasion of Your Excellency’s acceptance of the
monument to George Washington, presented to the Argentine
Nation on this anniversary day of the independence of the
United States by American citizens resident at Buenos Aires,
in celebration of the centenary of Argentine independence, I
offer to Your Excellency my congratulations on the progress
made by the Argentine Nation and its high standing among the
nations of the world. I trust that Your Excellency will see
in this noble monument a lasting evidence of the enduring
friendship and goodwill which the American people entertain
for the people of Argentina.
“Woodrow Wilson.”
I ask you, Mr. Minister, acting in the name of His Excellency the
President, to accept this monument as our tribute to the glorious
achievement of the first centenary of independence and of the esteem
and friendship we entertain towards our great sister nation.
acceptance of the statue by the minister for
foreign affairs.
The honour falls to me to interpret the sentiments of His Excellency
the President of the Nation and to give testimony of the gratitude
of Argentina for the gift of this beautiful monument, which is
destined to perpetuate in the eternal beauty of art the friendly
participation of the North American residents in our Centenary
celebrations.
It is a happy and memorable circumstance that this ceremony should
take place on the anniversary of that day on which, proclaiming the
Independence of the United States, your forefathers gave life to a
new nation which was destined to astonish the whole world by her
marvellous progress. Nor is that circumstance less worthy of record
that you should have had the praiseworthy idea to offer us as your
gift a statue of the noble American who stood and stands first in
the affections of your fellow-citizens and whose memory is held in
veneration by all free men.
Washington holds high place in this, the fatherland of San Martín.
His intellect and his work have received deep echo in the thoughts
of our statesmen and in the spirit of our people from the earliest
hours of Argentine nationality. He was a stimulant and an example to
our ancestors. His effigy is the highest symbol of all that
constitutes the greatness of your nation, which has inspired ours by
the wisdom of her laws and the reality of her democracy.
Your Excellency; Gentlemen!
I express the wish that the statue of George Washington, rising
amongst these trees, may help the children of the great northern
Republic to feel more at home in this land from today onwards and
that every day the bonds of honest friendship which unite our
countries may be strengthened more and more and that the policy of
the two Governments may be urged towards the same ideal of liberty
and justice.
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The reply of Us Excellency Doctor Roque Saenz Perña to the telegram
of the President of the United States is as fallows:
the president of argentine to the
president.
In the per 911 of Your Excellency I greet the great sister nation on
the occasion of tie glorious anniversary of your Independence, and
sincerely return thanks or your felicitous greetings to the
Argentine Nation on this day, when we receive with satisfaction and
gratitude the statue of the great American, George Washington. It
has given me great pleasure to assist at the unveiling of the
monument consecrated to the immortal memory of the great Republic.
Washington in North America and San Martin in the South are examples
of character and citizenship that have modelled the soul of new
nationalities and guided their destinies. May the monument which I
have just unveiled be an eternal symbol of friendship between these
two nations, which are developing their dominions amid ideals of
democracy and republicanism. I beg Your Excellency on this day of
happy memory for America to accept the sentiments of friendship and
sympathy of the Argentine Government and people for the people of
the United States and for Your Excellency’s personal wellbeing.
