Evening Star Newspaper, April 28, 1940, Page 16

THE SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C., APRIL 28, 1940—PART ONE, The Nucleus of an American Acropolis Representative Collins Envisions the Development Here of the World’s Greatest Libraries The jollowing abstract of a 8peech recently delivered in the House by Representative Collins of Mississippi is reproduced in The Star because, even in ab- breviated form, it is an interest- ing plea for the continued ex- pansion of a cultural institution of which Americans are proud. By ROSS A. COLLINS, Representitive in Congress from MIississippi. I the general-welfare clause of the constitution of a people means anything, it undoubtedly envisages a provision for educational and culx tural facilities for all the people. For my part, I could even go further and hold that the power to provide for the common defense would warrant Federal grant-in-aid to schools and libraries. Can any one deny in these times of totalitarian struggle for domination that, other things being equal, the nation best educated is not that one which is best prepared to defend itself? Our slogan should, therefore, be: Millions for educational and cul- tural opportunities mean billions for defense; the only tribute we shall pay to the rest of the world which we shall render gladly, will be our contributions of a literary and scientific nature, our inter- national trade, our service to the suffering in all lands, and our en- deavors toward the peaceful sol- ution of international embroilments. While we are appropriating vast sums for military and naval arma- ment let us not forget the boys and girls of our land who have not the advantages of good schools; let us remember the 40 per cent of our population situated in the rural sec- tions of America who are without adequate library facilities. Advantage Over Athenians. And while the nations of the world are engaged in self-destruc- tion let us construct here on this very Capitol Hill a vast educational center such as has never before been contemplated in the history of man- kind. We possess already the nuc- leus of an American acropolis, whose architecture measures up to those incomparable Grecian examples we imitate. Moreover, we enjoy the ad- vantage over the Athenians of hav- ing great repositories of knowledge which these noble edifices contain. Since another great collection of books is about to be added to this aggregation of libraries it seems to me important that the American people be informed of the auspicious event, and have portrayed to them in some detail the efforts that are being made by Congress in behalf of learning and culture. The event to which I refer is the removal of the world-famous Army Medical Library to Capitol Hill, for which the War Department appro- priation carries an item of $130,000 for plans of a building to house this library. The inadequacy of the pre- sent structure on the Mall next to the Smithsonian Institution is well known. For some years the safety and preservation of the Medical Library has demanded its removal to a more appropriate building, but the question has been whether it should be located with the Army Medical Center at the present site of the Walter Reed Hospital, or whether it should remain within the city where it would be more easily accessible to medical scholar- ship, both in and outside of Wash- Committee Readily Accepted. Hearings on this point have been very illuminating, and I hope every member will read what the most eminent men in the fleld of medi- cine and surgery have said with references to the Army Medical Li- brary and its value to the medical profession. The committee has had no hesitation in accepting the rec- ommendation of these leaders in medicine that the library be located on this hill near the Library of Congress. In coming to this conclusion the committee has considered not only the nccessibility and safety of the Army Medical Library but also me‘ benefit of its proximity to the Li- brary of Congress. The addition of the Army Medical Library to this growing library center will make Capitol Hill the most important educational center in this hemis- phere, if not in the world. Progress has been made toward that desideratum. In 1896 the Li- brary of Congress, comprising then about 1,000,000 books and pam- phlets, besides large .collections of manuscripts, maps, and prints, was moved to the new building across the esplanade. Within the past decade three beautiful marble buildings have been erected on streets adjoining the Library of Con- gress square, namely, the Supreme Court Building, the Folger Shake- speare Library, and the Library of Congress Annex, all of which are dedicated wholly or in part to li- brary purposes. 6,000,000 Books and Pamphlets. The Library of Congress, with its two fine examples of library archi- tecture, and with collections now comprising more than 6,000,000 books and pamphlets, is unques- tionably one of our people’s greatest glories. As members of this body which has encouraged its develop- ment and used it constantly, we have a right to be proud of the li- brary we have created for the Na- tion. We are all familiar with some of its treasures, and in the annual reports of the librarian we have read descriptions of its great col- lections. We are aware of the fact that in point of numbers—more than 6,000,- 000 volumes—it is the largest li- brary in the world; that it possesses the greatest collection of manu- scripts on American history in the United States, too numerous to be counted; the largest collection of maps, 1421,285; the largest collec- tion of music in the United States, 1,221,333 volumes and pieces; the largest collection of prints, 548,622; at least 100,000 rare and costly vol- umes; the largest Chinese library outside of China and Japan; and the largest Russian library outside of Russia. In truth, it may be said that the Library of Congress is not merely a library but rather an ag- gregation of libraries. A very con- servative value of $75,000,000 was re- cently assigned to it in the report of the legislative branch appropria- tions bill of 1941, but I regard this estimate as absurd. Scholars know that it would take over $3,000,000 to replace it.. . Impressive as these figures may sound, one cannot help but wonder why certain collections and subjects have been singled out while others have not been developed. It is doubtless true that the Library of ) REPRESENTATIVE COLLINS. Congress is the largest single library in the world, and certainly the most modern, but we must remember that we have only one national library, whereas Great Britain, Ger- many, Italy, and Russia have sev- eral, and each one of them possesses many more rare books and old manuscripts than does the Library of Congress. A land as extensive and as rich as the United States should not be satisfied with one national library. Three years ago I introduced a bill to establish at a cost of not over $50,000,000 five regional libraries, branches of the Library of Congress, to be located at appropriate points of the country. At approximately one-half of the cost of a modern battleship we could possess & national library system far more commensurate with the needs and the wealth of the United States than a single library of only 6,000,000 volumes. A Fair Standard. Would it not be fairer to judge our | Nation's cultural treasures by what we have not rather than by what we possess? How does it happen that our Library of Congress excels in Russian and Chinese literature, | but does not excel in French, Ger- | man, Italian, Dutch, Polish, Finnish, | Turkish, Arabic, Indic, and all of | | the other great occidental and would doubtless now be housed in these marvelous storehouses on Capitol Hill, where they would be used instead of reposing in some private or cloistered university li- brary. I refer particularly to the Benedict collection of American Colonial law, the Hartley papers, | the Garcia and Icazbalceta collec- tions purchased by the University of Texas, the George Dunn collection of early English yearbooks, statutes, and treatises, the Stolberg-Werni- gerode Castle library, the Robino collection of Slavonic material, a collection of the offcial newspapers of the State of Venice from 1800 to 1860, the Herschell Jones collection, and many other notable collections. In several instances, however, the Congress has laid politics aside and has made handsome provision for its library. The appropriation of $100,- 000 for the purchase of the Peter Force collection in 1887, when the Treasury had been depleted by the Civil War, was nothing short of real statesmanship. Purchase of 3,000 Incunabula. I trust I may be pardoned for re- ferring to an appropriation with which I had a humble part, namely, the bill authorizing the purchase of the collection of 3,000 incunabula, including the perfect copy of the Gutenberg Bible on vellum, which now rests in its handsome mahogany case in the exhibition hall of the old Library Building. According to scholars, this is unquestionably the greatest single acquisition in the history of the Library, at one step raised the institution from a rather utilitarian library to one of great distinction, A description of the Library of | Congress would be incomplete with- out a word as to the generous dona- tions of money, books, and musical instruments that have been bestowed upon that institution due to the initiative of the former librarian, Herbert Putnam. The Congress, fortunately, has retained his services in that important work as librarian emeritus, and it is hoped he may continue at his post for many years. His successor, the present librarian of Congress, Archibald MacLeish, with his poetic imagination, alrea shares the dream of us all to make Capitol Hill the greatest educational and cultural center in the world, and with his proven ability as an administrator will aid it with all of the power of his voice and facile | oriental literatures? | It is a satisfaction to know that | |our Library possesses the most vol- | uminous collection of music, but | what I should like to know is where | | do we stand in the other esthetics? | | If we do not have surpassing col- | lections in these and other fields of the humanities, in the social sciences | and in pure science, we deserve not | the tribute of the Master Builder, | | “Well done, good and faithful ser- | vant,” for we have hidden our tal- | ents in a napkin. . . . When I recall the many oppor- tunities which this rich Nation has | had to acquire distinguished and| rare collections, both abroad as well as in this country, I often marvel at the myopic vision of some of our statesmen and librarians. We may well be proud of the pos- | session of the original Declaration of Independence and the Constitu- tion, but our pride is somewhat dampened when we recall that the original autographed manuscript of the Farewell Address of Washington was offered to the Congress before it was purchased by James Lenox | for $2,200. Missed Washington Library. The surviving volumes of the library of Jefferson are viewed with pride by every member who visits the rare-book,room of the Library of Congress, but what can one say of a Library Committee which failed to purchase the private library of Washington, comprising 3,000 vol- umes, which in order to prevent its being sold in Europe was purchased | by private subscription at a price of | $3,250 from Henry Stevens and pre- sented to the Boston Atheneum? In 1836, when the Library of Con- | gress comprised approximately 25,- | 000 volumes, it had the opportunity to purchase the library of the lately deceased Count de Boutourlin, of Florence, Italy. This grand collec- tion, which would have doubled the size and quintupled the value of the Library of Congress, could have been purchased at a cost of from $50,000 to $60,000. Sad to relate, a resolu- tion offered by the chairman of the Library Committee, Mr. Preston, to purchase this valuable library was tabled upon the motion of -Henry Clay, the same statesman who had urged the purchase of the manu- script of Washington’s Farewell Ad- dress. A similar fate befell the offer of the Durazzo library in 1842, which comprised 10,500 volumes of folio and quarto, having been in process of collection for several hundred years by the illustrious old Durazzo family of Genoa. This collection, which was extensive in history, law, Jjurisprudence, diplomacy, and the classics, was offered for $30,000, less than the cost of the binding. It was objected by the Joint Committee on the Library that the collection did not contain the investigations of scholars of the modern school of historical and literary criticism. One of Greatest Losses. One of the greatest losses resulted through the failure of Congress to purchase the library of Gegrge Ban- croft, which consisted of 14,606 volumes of printed books, 480 volumes of manuscripts, and 4,648 pamplets. The foregoing notable examples are not uncommon in the history of the Library of Congress. Many similar collections of American and European ownership could have been purchased within the past quarter of a century at relatively moderate cost, and some of them Cash for Your Highest Cash Prices for all your old gold or silver rings, pins, watches, even dental gold. pen. No program of enlarging the Li- brary of Congress would be complete that did not include the transfer to this intellectual center of many of the rare and valuable books and documents now desposited in de- partmental and bureau libraries. This is imperative for their preserva- tion. ‘Work of Folger. It was the vision of a Maecenas who foresaw the development of an intellectual center on Capitol Hill and accelerated its realization. For 30 years Henry Clay Folger combed the book marts of Europe and America in quest of books relating to Shakespeare and his ‘times. Dur- | ing this period, with the help of his faithful wife, Emily, he searched book catalogues patiently and un- ceasingly' in their mutual endeavor to assemble the finest collection of Elizabethan literature in the world. The Bard of Avon has had his friends and his detractors, but I venture to assert that he never had & greater admirer in all history than Mr. Folger. When he had finally gathered a library of about 80,000 volumes, which was too large for his private home, he decided to dedicate it to the public. It had cost him the sum of $200,000 a year for 30 years, a total of $6,000,000. Classmates of Amherst College urged him to de- vote the library to his alma mater, but he had other plans. Mr. Folger wanted it placed where it would be accessible to American scholars generally and not to have it se- questered within the confines of a college town. Accordingly he quietly purchased a row of houses known as Grant Row, facing upon East Capitol street, and there decided to erect an appropriate building to enclose his wonderful treasures. It was at that time that the Con- gress had authorized the purchase of the entire block to the back of the Library for the location of the annex. When Mr. Folger's great project became known, the Congress willingly yielded the one-quarter of the square and had already pur- chased and changed its plans for the annex accordingly. . . . Medical Library Centenary. On November 16, 1936, the Army Medical Library held its centenary. In this one century has been de- veloped the largest and most signi cant medical library in the world. It was in 1836, during the second term of Andrew Jackson, that Sur- geon General Lovell began to form a small collection of books, The Library of the Surgeon General’s Office, which by 1840 included only 128 volumes. From these humble beginnings, with this as a nucleus, has grown the greatest specialized library in the world, an institution of which every American can feel proud, known, honored throughout the world, but only for wealth of its holdings but for the wonderful ap- paratus with which it has imple- mented them and made them the most accessible and available sources of any department of human knowl- edge in the world today. We refer specifically to the Index Catalogue and Index Medicus. The British Museum regards this catalogue as the greatest ever achieved, and it is the first subject catalogue worthy of the name. Its appearance marked an epoch in the development and improvement of medical literature, and there is nothing that approxi- mates it in any field of knowledge. To find what has been written on a specific subject it is only necessary to look in the alphabetically ar- ranged catalog which by the issue of new series is kept up to date. . . . Recelves 2,000 Medical Journals. The Army Medical Library now receives about 2,000 medical journals, and indexes every worth-while ar- ticle in every issue of every journal of almost every country and in al- most every civilized language, and indexes not just by title but by every subject discussed therein. The cata- log also enjoys the distinctidn of being the most accurate biblio- graphic work ever produced. . . . ‘Where there is no vision tie peo- ple perish, and we know that where there is no library vision there will only be a commonplace collection of books. We feel that in the per- son of Archibald MacLeish we have & man of vision, who will aim at nothing short of cosmic complete- ness for our great national library. America has contributed to the world its greatest medical library, with a coverage approximating completeness as near as possible with human instrumentality. So now let this country garner in the vast records of human achievement in the field of general literature that are now in the old country exposed to the vicissitudes and hazards of war, the caprices of totalitarian government, threatening the Old World with Armageddon. 1If civiliza- tion in Europe is to be destroyed through the onslaught of the dic- tators, let America become the cus- todian of the great heritage of the ages—the literatures of the world— before the Four Horsemen of the| Apocalypse began their macabre ride through the land. Literature is the expression of life in words, and with the Library of Congress as its palladium it will be safe for all time, where scholars under the aegis of a gifted librarian can limn | the figures of the past and paint with facile hands the pictures “that | may point a moral or adorn a tale.” ‘Whatever may be the outcome of the European conflict, we know that | everything points to a concentra tion in America of the world's ma- | terials for research. Of the esti- mated 30,000,000 different books that ,have been printed and distributed. | the United States has less than half; in addition to this is the great body of unprinted material, early manuscript, documents accumulated throughout the ages, and modern records of fact, the raw material from which literature is made. ‘This material, both books and man- | uscripts, should be in our great | | national library. In the originals, | ‘where circumstances justify; micro- | photograph copies, which cost about | $1.50 per volume, where price would | | be much in excess of this, or where purchase is impossible; but here they should be, in a form accessible | to students; and, may I repeat, un- | der the palladium of our great na- | tional library. = This is no dream, | but something that only requires a | vision and the co-operation of an | intelligent and aroused public. We Iwould not have to duplicate our | present buildings to house this ma- terial, for experts tell us that the entire contents of the British Mu- seum Library, if microcopied, could | be stored in a small room. Mecca of Scholars. I have discoursed at some length on these three great institutions, be- cause I wish to show them as a nucleus of what should be the great- | | | | | « « « . remember when this little scene took place in your home? . . . or do you have a photograph of it to help you remember. Color makes it even more vividly alive. Your_old photographic equipment is worth more in trade at CAP/TAL CAMERA SXCNANGE Washington's Original Camera Exchange Store 1003 Pennsylvania Ave. N.W. NAtional 8933 r 818 F ST. N.W. LOOK FOR THE B For the past 28 years the name “Shah” has been associated with the optical profession in Washington. This signifies that our aim to satisfy is well founded. 118 Kryptok Yes, genuine Kryptok in- visible bifocal lenses. One pair to see far and near. Complete with high-grade frame. Eyes examined by INVISIBLE BIFOCAL R Glasses 95| 12.00 Value est assemblage of means for re- search that the world has ever known. Here on Capitol Hill, our great Acropolis, we would havz an atmosphere of scholarly research, and the proximity to the Capitol would afford ample opportunities for our lawmakers to avail them- selves of the results of the various researches carried on and provide easy access to the knowledge re- quired by the complex life of to- day. In mingling, the scholars and lawmakers would be mutually help- ful with their interchange of views and interpretations. In other words, I want you to envisage on Capitol Hill all the means for research available jn the world as far as human agency can devise, propery housed, processed, and implemented for ready and quick reference with ample facilities for institutes of any department of knowledge, so that it will be the mecca of scholars from the,world at large and no man on a serious quest shall go empty away. Great build- ings are only assemblages of stones and mortar. Only men can make and keep a nation great. Only knowl- edge can make man potential for good. “Why build these buildings glorious if man unbuilded goes?” Let us give our people the best facilities for study and research that have ever been amassed; that will enable them to express themselves in works of literature, science, and art; that will help us understand one another, for literature has ever spoken a common language for the children of men. In the language of our poet, Librarian Archibald Mac- Leish: How shall we have speech? The water cries all night upon the beach— How understand? The wind calls all day across the sand— How hear With listening of the earth so near? Must we be deaf, be dumb Tili the silence come? Dr. Steinmeyer to Speak Dr. Reuben G. Steinmeyer of the political science department of the University of Maryland will speak Tuesday night at a meeting of the Cottage City (Md.) School Parent- Teacher Association. Commerce fo Report On Loan Operations Of Credit Agencies Industrial Banking Trends Will Be First Of Studies Released\ Secretary Hopkins announced yes- terday a new business reporting service, under which the Commerce Department will gather statistics on the loan operations of consumer installment credit agencies. The first of the loan operations studies, recently completed, traces the trend of industrial banking con- sumer loans during the period from 1929 to 1939. The value of con- sumer loans by industrial banking firms reached a new peak in 1939, with an estimated total for that year of $488900,000. This compares with the depression low of $201.- 600,000 in 1933 and the pre-depres- sion peak of $413200,000 in 1929. The report on industrial banking company loans to consumers was prepared by the Credit Analysis Unit of the Bureau ol Foreign and Domestic Commerce. Similar re- ports will be issued each month for other consumer lending agencies These reports will cover operations of personal loan departments of commercial banks, personal finance for LATEST NEWS The Night Final Star, containing the latest news of the day during these dramatic times, is de- livered every evening throughout the city and suburbs between 6 P.M. and 7 P.M. Telephone National 5000 for immediate delivery. companies and credit unions. After the work for cash lending agencies has been established, the bureau will undertake the prepara- tion of current material on the in- staliment volume of retail estab- lishments. These retail reports will supplement the data which the bureau now assembles annually in its retail credit survey. “The Department of Commerce recognizes the growing importance of consumer credit in our economic system and the program to be con- ducted by the Credit Analysis Unit will fill in a wide gap in current services to business,” Secretary Hop- kins said. “In addition’ to the nat- ural advantage afforded to a Gov- ernment agency other factors have contributed to the department’s suc- cess in securing voluntary co-opera- tion from private enterprises for the use of the confidential figures need- ed to. prepare reliable estimates. Operating figures reported by firms for such can be used only in tabulations which will not dis- close identity. Individval reports can be examined only by a few sworn empioyes in the Credit Analysis Unit of the Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce and use of re- turns for purposes of taxation, reg- ulation or investigation is prohibited by law.” The new business reporting serv- ice, Mr. Hopkins said, will be par- ticularly valuable to industrial banking companies in giving them a yardstick with which to measure trends within their own business. FULLER BRISTLECOMB HAIR BRUSH Doesn’t Disturb the WAVE Call DL e : Nat'l Press OFFICIAL PIANO METROPOLITAN OPERA KNABE If you want a good small piano you can find none better than the new Knabe Spinet . . . despite their size, they are true Knabes throughout . . . built of the finest materials and with the same skill that has characterized this famous make now for over 100 vyears. Write or phone for booklet. Moderately Priced, Knabe Spinets can be purchased on easy terms with allowence for old piancs. KITT'S 1330 G Street 3-PC. MAHOGANY BEDROOM We are proud to offer this Colonial bedroom group of selected ma- hogany veneers on hardwood. Beautifully shaped mirrors, together with appropriate hardware suggest a quaint atmosphere. Three pieces in- clude dresser, chest of drawers ard single or full size poster bed.___. SIMMONS SLUMBEREST INNERSPRING MATTRESS Now you can buy the famous Simmons Slumberest Innerspring mattress at this remarkable low price. Hundreds of coils interlaced into a grandly buoyant innerspring unit._ Covered in a durable woven ticking and tailored with cus- tom care and finish. Simmons ribbon top-coil spring, $11.95. Convenient Budget Terms Open Evenings by Appeintment. PW DI. 3180 Before 6 P.M. National 4730 HOUSE AND WERRMANN § . Wi SALE it HOUSE AND HERRMANN