The Carrollton Chronicle (Carrollton, Tex.), Vol. 26, No. 45, Ed. 1 Friday, September 26, 1930 Page: 2 of 8
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CARROLLTON CHRONICLE
Memories of Glumbus
in the Nations (la *" 1
Picture of
the Discovery in
a 1493 Book
/
By ELMO SCOTT WATSON
N OCTOBER 12 we cele-
Mf v m brate the four hundred
»wl and thirty-eighth annl-
versary of the landing of
Mr ^hrist0Plier Columbus on
totrtrt M the s,lores °* the New
Iflflflflf aif world, and insofar as the
I IS, daring voyage of this
€^lllr vD Qenoese sanor ied even-
tually to the foundation
of the United States, it is appropriate
at this time to Inquire how, in addi-
tion to tlie annual celebration of Land-
ing day, we honor his memory. What
memorials to Columbus, for instance,
are there in the Capital of the nation
which bears his name in Its personifi-
cation of “Columbus?"
The visitor to Washington, who goes
by train, sees one of the greatest mon-
uments ever erected to the memory of
Columbus the moment he steps out of
the Union station there. On the plaza
in front of the station is the nation's
formal tribute to the Italian navigator
—the magnificent Columbus fountain
by Lorado Taft. The outstanding fea-
ture of the fountain la a atone shaft
about 45 feet high, surmounted by a
globe which forms the background for
the statue of Columbus, who stands
upon the prow of a vessel, with arms
folded in an attitude of meditation.
The figurehead of the ship is a beau-
tiful female figure typifying the spirit
of discovery.
• Ou each side of the shaft are mas-
sive figures representing the New and
Old worlds. The New world is an
American Indian, reaching over his
shoulder for an arrow from his quiver.
The Old world is typified by a patri-
archal Caucasin of heroic qjoid and
thoughtful inlen. The globe at the top
of the shaft suggests the influence of
Columbus on the growth of man’s
knowledge of the shape of the earth.
It Is supported by four American
eagles. standing at the corners of the
top of the shaft, with wings partly ex-
tended. On the rear of the shaft is a
medallion representing Ferdinand and
Isabella of Spain, the patrons of Co-
lumbus' voyage of discovery, and the
group of figures is completed by two
enormous lions which crouch on ped-
estals at the ends of the balustrade.
The plan for erecting this memorial
was started by a fraternal order, the
Knights of Columbus, who solicited
contributions from the various coun-
cils of the order throughout the coun-
try. To the large amount of money
which this organization raised was
added an appropriation of $100,000 by
congress and the work of erecting the
memorial was given to a commission
composed of the chairman of the sen-
ate and house committees on the li-
brary, the secretary of state, the sec-
retary of war and the supreme knight
of the Order of the Knights of Colum-
bus. The commission selected the
plaza In front of the Union station as
the site for the memorial and adopted
the design submitted by Daniel II.
Burnham, architect of the Union sta-
tion and member of the National Com-
mission of Fine Arts, and Lorado Taft,
sculptor, both of Chicago.
The Capitol contains two striking
reminders of Columbus. In the ro-
tunda is the magnificent painting by
John Vnnderlyn, an American Artist
and pupil of (lilbert Stuart, which de-
picts “The Landing of Columbus.”
This picture is so well known that it
needs no further description here. In
the lobby of the senate gallery is the
painting of another scene In the life
of Columbus by another American art-
ist. It Is “The Recall of Columbus”
by A. G. Heaton, a descendant of the
famous painter, Rembrnndt I’eale.
This painting, completed in 1883 from
studies made In Spain, was sold to
the United States government and
copied by engraving on the 50-cent
stamp of the Columbian series, issued
to commemorate the World’s Colum-
bian exposition at Chicago In 1893.
This painting represents the his-
toric scene on the Bridge rif Pines,
two leagues from Granada, when Co-
lumbus, having been refused the finan-
cial aid of King Ferdinand for his ex-
Landing of
Colurrvbi
lolurrvbuS
Paintinq by John Vanderlyn in Uia
pedition, was riding sadly away from
the capital, only to he overtaken by a
messenger from Queen Isabella, who
had decided to give her aid even though
her husband would not. In the pic-
ture Columbus, sitting on a little white
mule, has just been given the queen’s
letter by the richly-dressed messenger
who lias dismounted from his fine
steed and is bowing impressively as
he hands the all-important document
to tiie future discoverer of the New
world. It was the turning point in the
career of Christopher Columbus and
as such, the preservation of this his-
toric scene in a painting deserves a
place among the other pictured “great
moments in American history” which
adorn the walls of the Capitol.
Ir addition to these memorials to
Columbus in Washington, there is in
the Library of Congress a collection
of original documents and rare books
relating to the discovery of the New
world which are of almost incalculable
value and which form the most direct
link of the United States with the
valiant sailor who made it possible
for this nation to be. They constitute
a unique “literary memorial” to Co-
lumbus and the headliner of them all
is the Columbus Codex which has been
characterized as a “document of the
highest historical importance and
which will be better appreciated as
time goes on.”
To understand the historical impor-
tance of the Codex is necessary to re-
view brefly certain facts about the
stormy life of Columbus, especially
those which brought this document in-
to existence.
In 1499, while he was on his third
voyage to America, his enemies at
home in Spain were doing all they
could to bring about his downfall.
They succeeded in turning King Fer-
dinand, who from the first had not
been nearly as enthusiastic concern-
ing the venture as was his queen. Is-
abella, against Columbus. And even
the queen seemed either disinclined to
defend him, or was helpless to do so.
So Columbus, who had returned in
1493 from his first voyage as a na-
tional hero, now came home lr Irons
and in disgrace. But almost us soon
as he had arrived, Ferdinand and Is-
abella experienced a change of heart.
Columbus was immediately set free
and received an invitation to visit the
king and queen, which he did and was
warmly received. He told the royal
pair of his adventures abroad and re-
ceived commendation.
However, he was not so successful
In gaining restitution and property to
which he was entitled. The best lie
was able to do was to secure a dec-
laration from the throne fixing the ex-
tent and manner of restitution. The
result was disappointing. More com-
plications continued to pile up.
Columbus expected to leave soon on
a fourth voyage. With his privileges,
rights, grants, and even his Spanish
citizenship Imperiled, he took steps to
prevent, if possible, their loss. The
result was the Columbus Codex.
On January 5, 1502, he called Into
consultation two alcaldes, or city
Judges, and several notaries. They
drew up and had transcribed a state-
ment of the explorer’s rights. Several
copies were made, these to he deposit-
ed where they could he safely pre-
served. Thus Columbus hoped to pro-
tect himself against bis enemies.
Thirty-five documents were Included
in this Codex. They were the discov-
erer’s charter as an admiral, viceroy
and governor general, his warrant,
grunted by Isabella, authorizing him
to equip ships, to share in the expense
and profits of the voyage to India, to
adjudicate and distribute lands, and
letters from various dignitaries ex-
pressing appreciation of his services.
Of the four copies of the Codex
made in 1502. three are known to ex-
ist today, including the one in the pos-
session of this country. One went to
the republic of Genoa. Today it is
highly treasured by the municipality,
being contained in a bronze bust of
Columbus in the municipal palace.
The other copy was misplaced after
1G70. But in 1880 it turned up in
Paris. It is believed to have found
its way there when Napoleon ordered
all archives deposited in the French
capital in 1809, and documents were
sent from all parts of Europe. Res-
titution was later made, hut the Codex
apparently was overlooked. It is in
Paris today.
The fourth copy, which is unac-
counted for, was on paper rather than
parchment. It went to Don Alonzo
Sanchez de Carvajal, who soon after
left for Hispaniola. The documents
disappeared and may have been de-
stroyed, for they have never yet been
brought to light.
The story of how America came into
possession of its copy of the Codex is
a romantic one. In 1818 Edward
Everett, the gifted New England or-
ator, was rummaging through an old
book shop in Florence, Italy, when he
came across the manuscript o* about
80 pages In characters which ap-
peared to be those of Columbus’ time.
Ln 1823, the Codex at Geneva was pub-
lished and Everett discovered that the
manuscript in his possession coincided
precisely with those in the Genoese
volume.
After Everett made this statement
in 1824 the manuscript again dropped
from public notice and apparently was
forgotten by all concerned. About
1890, Justin Winsor, engaged in Ids
monumental “Life of Columbus,”
wrote to Dr. William Everett, whose
father, Edward Everett, had died, ask-
ing whether he might inspect the 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 which had remained undis-
turbed after ids father's death.
Still its adventures before reaching
the safe custody of the American gov-
ernment were not at an end. Once
after being sent to London for the in-
spection of experts it lay in its wrap-
pings on a table in the Everett home
when the room in which it was was
swept by flames from which, however,
the precious document was seemingly
miraculously spared. It was finally sold
to the Library of Congress by Doctor
Everett for a sura which was nominal
compared with what It would have
commanded in the open market.
But the Codex is not the only treas-
ure of Columbiana owned by the
American people and preserved in
their great library In Washington.
Ancient books of only a few crudely
printed pages which first told of his
great achievement are also included
in the collection. Columbus landed at
Lisbon upon Ids return from the first
voyoge on March 4, 1493, and under
date of March 14 he dispatched to
Gabriel, sometimes called Raphael,
Sanchez, or Sunxls, treasurer to Fer-
dinand and Isabella, ids famous letter,
written aboard Ids caravel, reporting
Ids discovery of the New world. The
Spanish ambassador to Rome at that
time was Cardinal Ilernadin Carvajal,
and on July 19 Ids eminence deliv-
ered before I’ope Alexander VI an ora-
tion concerning this event which was
printed in Rome, presumably by Plan-
nok, in that same year. This was the
first wide herulding of the momentous
discovery and a copy of this rare book
is among the treasures of the library.
The library also owns the first print-
ed biography of Columbus. This is
found in its copy of the first polyglot
edition of the Scriptures, printed nt
Genoa in 1516. The story of the life
of the discoverer appears in it as n
marginal note to the 19th psalm,
<£> by Western Newspaper Union.)
Yangtze Boatmen Near Hankow, China.
(Prepared by the National Geographic
Society. Washington, D. C.j
pX ECENT revolutionary activities
1^ in China have been largely in
i\ the province of Hunan, Just
south of the Yangtze, and in
Changsha, its capital; and have threat-
ened besides the busy life of Hankow,
metropolis of Hupeh province, on the
north bank of the great river. Chang-
! sha was captured by the Communist
forces and was systematically looted.
! The resident of Changsha is noted
for his self-esteem. He considers
himself China’s “top-side-man.” Cap-
ital of a hilly province, one part of
which Is occupied by a large lake
| which acts as a reservoir for the
! Yangtze floods, Changsha maintained
Its exclusion of the “foreign devil”
until the beginning of this century.
Recently it has been closely linked
with New Haven, Conn., for there is,
Just outside the rapidly disappearing
wall, in which the inhabitants once
took great pride, one of the best
Christian mission schools in China,
which is Yale’s contribution to the
education of the Ofcinese who cannot
come to.America.
In Hunan the necromancer has ex-
erted much power and Changsha was
so well protected by the lucky con-
stellation under which it was founded
and by the Iloly Hill which guards
It, that it was thought a profanation
for the “foreign devil” to enter. In
1910 there were serious riots, mainly
directed against the growing commer-
cial power of foreign firms, but it had,
too, its astronomical accompaniments,
for It was the approach of Halley’s
comet which touched off the explo-
sion.
Long before Yale established the
“Yale in China” college and hospital
in Changsha, the city was closely re-
lated to America for it was in the
capital of Hunan that many of the
firecrackers which formerly announced
the Independence day celebration ’./ere
made. While maintaining its own in-
dependence, Changsha furnished the
explosives which enabled the Ameri-
can boy to proclaim his “Glorious
Fourth.”
Much Coal In Hunan.
A large part of Hunan is an un-
corked field of anthracite and bitu-
minous coal and at Pinghsiang, which
is connected with Changsha by rail-
road, there is one of the mines which
furnishes fuel for the great iron works
at Hanyang.
Among the great men who have
been among Changsha's chief prod-
ucts the most famous was General
Tseng Kuo Fan, whose co-operation
with “Chinese” Gordon was largely
instrumental in putting down the
Taiping rebellion. General Tseng was
not only a soldier and a statesman,
but a literary man as well, and his
collected works of 156 hooks were ed-
ited by Li Hung Chang.
Changsha lies on the north-south
| China railway. Trains compete with
the light draft steamers which make
I the 220-mile trip from Hankow. With
' about 500,000 inhabitants, it rules in
I peace time a province of 22,000,000,
and is one of the cleanest cities in
China.
| Many of the streets are long and
straight and at one time the city it-
self was divided between two magis-
tracies. The bazaars are full of life
and interest, some of the candies be-
ing famous for miles around.
| One of the interesting sights of the
city is the wheelbarrows that climb
stairs. Some distance ahead of the
regulation wheel there is another
smaller one. In climbing over flagstone
steps or bridges, the handles of the
wheelbarrow ore lowered until the
; auxiliary wheel rises above the next
higher step. Then the wheelbarrow,
which often carries three or four hun-
dred pounds, see-saws from wheel to
wheel until the next level stretch of
flagstones is reached.
The Episcopal mission has a live
' Boy Scout troop and the visitor who
watched tent-pegging, fire rescue,
stretcher making and other Boy Scout
activities would marvel at China’s
quick changes. For until after the
Boxer trouble, Hunan’s capital ex-
claded the dreaded foreigner from its
walls whose brick battlements, rising
above the site of a foimer wall con-
structed in 202 B. C., were themselves
built while Shakespeare was alive.
Hankow a Great River Port.
Hankow, about 190 miles north of
Gaamrslm. is one of the world’s great-
est inland ports. Lying 600 miles up
the Yangtze, the city is as important
geographically to either of the war-
ring factions as Chicago would be if
a civil war were raging in the United
States. Hankow has only one railroad,
hut the rivers and streams of China
form commercial arteries from which
produce from nine provinces flows
into the Hankow markets, while the
port is equally important as a distrib-
uting point for foreign commerce des-
tined to the Chinese interior.
Hankow occupies the north bank of
the Yangtze where the Han pours ln
Its muddy torrent. On the opposite
side of the Han lies Hanyang, and
across the nearly two-mile-wide Yang-
tze is Wuchang, a venerable town
which was flourishing when Hankow
was a fishing hamlet. Both Hanyang
and Wuchang now are a part of
“Greater Hankow” with more than a
million and a half inhabitants.
The Hankow river front is an amaz-
ing conglomeration of shipping. There
are ungainly junks, hut they move
about the water in the hands of expert
river men as easily as modern ves-
sels in our busy eastern harbors. Some
of them, displaying rotten hulks with
gaping holes above the water line,
cause the traveler to wonder how they
stay afloat, while now and then a
huge high-pooped craft, adorned with
brightly painted carvings and plates
that make it look like a floating cir-
cus wagon, edges its way slowly shore-
ward.
Small sampans dart here and there
by the muscle-power of two perspir-
ing coolies whose families, under mat-
ting-covered awnings, fill the air along
the shore with the singsong chatter of
the Orient. It Is estimated that 25,-
000 native boats ply in and out of
Hankow and its sister cities. Mean-
while modern steamboats from lower
Yangtze points come and go on sched-
ule.
The walled city In the background
also seethes with commercial activity
to the tune of noises that strain the
visitor’s eardrums. Some of the nar-
row lanes are paved with flagstones
while others are mere ruts. Never-
theless, they are the playgrounds oi
thousands of children and the busy
streets of a city which has been called
the “Hub of the Universe.”
Business and Noise.
The children yell at play; the vend-
ors cry out their wares; coolies, bear-
ing heavy burdens, warn passersby to
dodge their bulky loads; beggars
groan and moan; and rickshaw boys,
without regard to pedestrians, shout
as they hurry their fares through a
jumbled mass of humanity. The yells
of carriers of wealthy Chinese, as they
hear their dignified masters, can be
heard above the din, and the traveler
wonders If these men are not em-
ployed for the strength of their vocal
chords.
But this is not all. Along the side-
lines, the merchants bicker in loud
voices with prospective purchasers In
front of their shops. The frenzied
spirit of bargaining somewhat resem-
bles miniature civil wars.
To the foreigner, the pedestrians
in their loose-fitting clothing resem-
ble pajama-clad citizens on parade,
hut the wearers are by no means
ready to retire. Business ln Hankow
is almost, a religion, and nearly every
inan seen on the street has to do with
the enormous amount of commerce
that flows through and past the busy
port.
If a traveler knows the advertising
code in Hankow, he can locate any
type of business by reading the shapes
and colors of the shop signs which
project over the narrow thoroughfares.
For instance, gold platers use salmon-
colored boards with green characters.
Druggists’ boards are gilded. Black,
gold, red and greeD are the predomi-
nating colors.
Approach the river front, along the
Bund, and the scene changes. Here
are buildings in Russian, English, Ger-
man, and French architecture. But
Hankow’s most amazing spectacle is
the panorama of junks of many types,
ungainly, but performing like trained
seals in the hands of their expert riv-
ermen and thousands of these craft
line up for miles on both sides of
both rivers. It is estimated that 25,-
000 of them ply in and fut of the
three cities.
MILLION HOMES
AGREE-
that faultless
Starch is not
merely the eas-
iest starch to
use but makes
washed things
look twice as
nice. One trial
will convince
you.
;) FAULTLESS STARCH CO;
KANSAS CITY. MO.
5Cand|OC
Highway Farming
Farmer Cornshuck—How’s yer wa-
termelon crop tills year, Hiram?
Hiram—Oh, we’re going to pick a
95 per cent crop this year. You see
we ain’t on the main highway.
After 40
Bowel trouble is
Most Dangerous
Constipation may easily become
chronic after forty. Continued con-
stipation at that time of life may
bring attacks of piles—and a host
of other disorders.
Watch your bowrels at any age.
Guard them with particular care
after forty. When they need help,
remember a doctor should know
What Is best for them. «
“Dr. Caldwell’s Syrup Pepsin”
is a doctor's prescription for the
bowels. Tested by 47 years' prac-
tice, it has been found thoroughly
effective in relieving constipation
and its ills for men, women and
children of all ages. It has proven
perfectly safe even for babies. Made
from fresh, laxative herbs, pure pep-
sin and other harmless ingredients,
it cannot gripe; will not sicken you
or weaken you; can be used with-
out harm as often as your breath U
bad, your tongue is coated; when-
ever a headachy, bilious, gassy con-
dition warns of constipation.
Next time just take a spoonful
of this family doctor’s laxative.
See how good it tastes; how gently
and thoroughly it acts. Then you
will know why it has become the
world’s most popular laxative. Big
bottles—all drugstores.
Or. W. B. Caldwell’s
SYRUP PEPSIINI
A Doctor's Family Laxative
Daughter Is
Healthy Now
f‘Mythirteen-year-olddaugh-
ter Maxine was troubled with
backache and pain when she
came into womanhood; l knew
Lydia E; Pinkham’s Vegetable
Compound would help her be-
cause l used to take it myself
at her age. Now she does not
have to stay home from school
and her color is good, she eats
well and does not complain of
being tired; We are recom-
mending the Vegetable Com-
pound to other school girls
who need it. You may publish
this letter.”—Mrs. Floyd But-
cher, R. #2, Grid ley, Kansas.
Lydia E, Pinkliam’s
Vegetable Compound
ly.lia K Pinkham Metl. Cl>v, Lviin, Mass
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Martin, W. L. The Carrollton Chronicle (Carrollton, Tex.), Vol. 26, No. 45, Ed. 1 Friday, September 26, 1930, newspaper, September 26, 1930; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth728960/m1/2/: accessed July 10, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Carrollton Public Library.