The Legislature of 1913 appropriated $20,000 for procuring or erecting in appropriate places on the site of the Battle of Gettysburg bronze statues in memory of Generals Humphreys, Hays, Geary, Crawford and Gibbon, all of whom were Pennsylvanians in command of divisions at the Battle of Gettysburg; also for minor repairs to the monument and the printing and publication of the work of the Commission. The appropriation of 1913 permitted the erection of only three statues, those of Generals Humphreys, Hays and Geary, which were turned over to the United States War Department in July, 1915, and the Legislature of 1917 appropriated $5,000 for the expenses incident to the dedication of these statues, including the transportation of honorably discharged soldiers who served in the Civil War. The Legislature of 1915 appropriated $4,000 for making necessary repairs to, and the correction of names on the tablets and memorials, and for the incidental expenses of the Commission, including the printing and publication of the 1914 report. The Legislature of 1921 appropriated $20,000, deficiency appropriation to enable the Commission to erect the two bronze statues of Generals Crawford and Gibbon, and for repairs to the Pennsylvania Memorial. The Memorial has been finished and all repairs made to enable it to be transferred to the United States Government, which will be done at an early date. BUSHY RUN BATTLEFIELD MEMORIAL ASSOCIATION. (Authorized by Act of July 2, 1919, Appropriation Acts, p. 249.) The sum of $7,500 is appropriated to the Bushy Run Battlefield Memorial Association, for the purpose of erecting a monument on the Bushy Run Battlefield, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, to perpetuate the memory of Colonel Henry Bouquet, who fought and won the battle with the Indians at that place on August 5th and 6th, 1763. The money appropriated is for the purpose of constructing the necessary foundation and the monument, on the lands now owned by the Bushy Run Battlefield Memorial Association. The Bushy Run Memorial Association has by agreement with the Historical Commission, purchased the ground for the erection of the monument, and will go on with the work of erection of the monument as soon as plans are accepted by the Art Commission. According to an agreement, the Bushy Run Memorial Association shall raise locally as much as the State and the Historical Commission grant to them. COMMISSION FOR THE ERECTION OF A STATUE OR MEMORIAL IN MEMORY OF GENERAL GEORGE GORDON MEADE AT WASHINGTON, D. C. (Authorized by Act of June 14, 1911, P. L. 935; Act of May 2, 1913, P. L. 155; Act of June 18, 1915, Appropriation Acts, p. 249; Act of July 25, 1917, P. L. 1211; and Act of May 27, 1921, P. L. 275.) Chairman-Governor William C. Sproul, Ex officio. Vice-Chairman-Isaac R. Pennypacker, Ardmore, Montgomery County. Attorney-General George E. Alter, Springdale, Allegheny County, Ex officio. Past Commander-in-Chief of G. A. R.-William J. Patterson, Pittsburgh, Allegheny County. Henry I. Yohn, 3936 Market Street, Philadelphia. Hugh R. Fulton, Lancaster, Lancaster County. Edward W. Patton, 402 Lincoln Building, Philadelphia. John E. Baker, York, York County. Architects-Simon and Simon, 249 South Juniper Street, Philadelphia. This Commission has selected a site in the City of Washington, District of Columbia, within the lines of the old Botanic Garden at the foot of Capitol Hill, (in close proximity to the $300,000 statue recently erected and dedicated to General Grant) for the erection of a statue of General George Gordon Meade, for which purpose the Legislature of 1911 appropriated the sum of $20,000. When the original appropriation was made it was expected that federal aid could be secured sufficient to make up the additional amount necessary to secure a site for the said statue, and to construct the necessary foundation and pedestal, and provide for the expenses of the dedication, but the United States government failed to make said appropriation. In 1913, the Legislature appropriated $15,000; in 1915, $50,000; in 1917, $70,000; and in 1921, $50,000, to carry on the work of the Commission. Ground was broken on March 28, 1922, by President Harding and Governor William C. Sproul, and the contractors are now at work preparing a foundation for the statue, which, it is expected, will be placed and dedicated some time during the year 1923. ROBERT MORRIS MONUMENT COMMISSION. (Authorized by Act of June 14, 1911, P. L. 937.) Chairman-H. M. Edwards, Scranton, Lackawanna County. Secretary-John W. Ford, 618 East Girard Avenue, Philadelphia. Treasurer-W. J. Jones, 76 Parkview Boulevard, Pittsburgh, Allegheny County. Benjamin S. Phillips, Scranton, Lackawanna County. George Morris, McKeesport, Allegheny County. Committee representing Pennsylvania Bankers' Association: Chairman-H. M. Edwards, Scranton, Lackawanna County. Louis T. McFadden, First National Bank, Canton, Bradford County. Roland L. Taylor, Morris Building, Philadelphia. Committee representing Fairmount Park Art Association: Roland L. Taylor, Morris Building, Philadelphia. Leslie W. Miller, 324 South Broad Street, Philadelphia. The Commission, with the representatives of the Bankers' Association, has selected the site for the erection of the monument to commemorate the services of Robert Morris to the United States during the Revolutionary War, on the steps of the Custom House, Philadelphia. The design has been selected and the monument is now in course of construction. It is expected that the monument will be dedicated in the summer of 1923. The State appropriated the sum of $20,000 for the construction and erection of the monument, and $1,000 for the expenses of the Commission and dedication of said monument. The Bankers Association of Pennsylvania has also appropriated $10,000 for this purpose. GENERAL GALUSHA PENNYPACKER MONUMENT COMMISSION. (Authorized by Act of July 18, 1919, Appropriation Acts, p. 226; and by Act of May 27, 1921, Appropriation Acts, p. 272.) President-Governor William C. Sproul, Harrisburg, Dauphin County. Vice-President-Isaac R. Pennypacker, 114 Linwood Avenue, Ardmore, Montgomery County. Secretary-Walter George Smith, Witherspoon Building, Philadelphia. President Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts-John Frederick Lewis, Broad and Cherry Streets, Philadelphia. H. H. Gilkyson, Phoenixville, Chester County. This Commission is composed of the Governor, the President of the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Philadelphia, and three other citizens appointed by the Governor, and is authorized to contract for the erection of a suitable monument or memorial to commemorate the distinguished military services of General Galusha Pennypacker in behalf of the Union. The Commission has selected. Charles Grafly, of Philadelphia, as the sculptor, and the location for the monument, as proposed by the Commission and approved by the Philadelphia Art Jury, is Logan Square, in front of the proposed Municipal Building, Parkway and Twentieth Streets, Philadelphia. The Legislature of 1919 made an appropriation of $15,000 for this memorial; and the Legislature of 1921 made an additional appropriation of $30,000. CAMP CURTIN PARK COMMISSION. (Authorized by Act of July 25, 1917, Appropriation Acts, p. 259: Act of July 19, 1919, Appropriation Acts, p. 225; and Act of May 27, 1921, Appropriation Acts, p. 274.) Chairman-Robert A. Enders, Harrisburg, Dauphin County. Secretary-John A. Herman, Harrisburg, Dauphin County. Noah A. Walmer, Harrisburg, Dauphin County. Alvin S. Williams, Lewistown, Mifflin County. William E. Bailey, Harrisburg, Dauphin County. Francis H. Hoy, Sr., 253 Boas Street, Harrisburg, Dauphin County. L. Calder Clemson, 2152 North Sixth Street, Harrisburg, Dauphin County. This Commission purchased in the name of the Commonwealth a plot of ground, ninety-eight feet seven inches by one hundred and four feet, at the corner of Sixth and Woodbine Streets, Harrisburg, at a cost of $7,500, as a site to be known as Camp Curtin Park. The Park is being laid out in accordance with the plans of the Bureau of Municipalities of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and a monument will be erected in the Park to honor the memory of the soldiers who were trained and mustered into the national service at Camp Curtin during the Civil War. The monument will consist of a bronze statue of Governor Andrew G. Curtin, with four bronze tablets; two of the tablets descriptive of Camp Curtin, showing the original boundaries and the number of soldiers mobilized there during the Civil War. The other two bronze tablets, showing on the one tablet "The Camp Curtin Hospital" and on the other tablet showing "The Camp Curtin Pump," with a group of soldiers, as reproduced from old prints. The members of the Commission serve without compensation, but are allowed all actual and necessary expenses. The Legislature of 1917 appropriated $8,000 for the purchase of the ground, and $5,000 for placing the grounds in suitable condition for park purposes, the erection of fences, building of roads, and the incidental expenses of the Commission; the Legislature of 1919 appropriated $10,000 additional for the purchase and improvement of land, and the Legislature of 1921 made a further appropriation of $2,500 for the purpose of paying the expenses of the Commission, the completion of the park, the planting of shrubbery, and for the dedication of said park. The Commission has planned to unveil the monument October 19, 1922. STATE MILITARY CEMETERY COMMISSION. (Authorized by Act of April 26, 1921, P. L. 322.) This Commission shall be composed of five citizens of the Commonwealth, to be appointed by the Governor, whose duty it shall be to select some historic spot in the Commonwealth, as an appropriate space for use as a cemetery for the burial of the bodies of soldiers, sailors, marines, and war nurses, who served in the Army or Navy of the United States during times of war, who died while in active service or after an honorable discharge, and who entered such service while residents of Pennsylvania, as well as the bodies of members of the National Guard who died while members thereof, The Commission shall have power, on behalf of the Commonwealth, to accept the dedication of any lands in an historic spot for use as a military cemetery. In case no such dedication is made, the Commission shall select an appropriate place, and secure an option for the purchase of the necessary lands for the Commonwealth; and shall make a report of its work to the General Assembly of 1923, including in such report a statement of the appropriation necessary to secure lands for such cemetery. The members of the Commission receive no compensation but shall be allowed all actual and necessary expenses incurred in the discharge of their duties, for which purpose the Legislature of 1921 appropriated $1,000. The Commission had not been appointed at time of going to press. COMMISSION TO MAKE AN INVESTIGATION OF THE BATTLEFIELDS OF FRANCE AND BELGIUM. (Authorized by Act of May 27, 1921, P. L. 1173.) President-Major General William G. Price, Jr., Chester, Delaware County. The Commission, consisting of five citizens, appointed by the Governor of Pennsylvania, to investigate the battlefields of France and Belgium, with a view to selecting sites for monuments on those battlefields where Pennsylvania Troops fought, returned from Europe on July 29, 1922. The Commission, which arrived in France early in June, consulted various agencies of the French and Belgian Governments relative to its work, and every assistance possible was rendered. After consultation with interested authorities, it was decided to make a thorough study of the entire Western Front, both on account of the extensive service of Pennsylvania Troops in France and Belgium, and also to determine what other countries and organizations had done, and were doing in the way of selecting sites for monuments, as well as to learn what types of memorials had been erected or were contemplated. The Governments of both France and Belgium are taking the deepest interest in projects of this character, and have certain departments and bureaus for handling questions of this kind. For example, in France, final approval of all such memorials rests with the Beaux-Arts Commission and the Department of Public Instruction, permission first having to be obtained from Commune and Municipal authorities. This to a large extent is also true in Belgium. Although these necessary steps require considerable time, they are justified in order to obtain the desired results. In this connection, the services of Captain Eugene Le Roch, detailed to the Commission by the French War Department, were of great value. Nearly every city or town in France and Belg'um has already erected, or planned to erect, some sort of a memorial to her native sons. These vary in style from simple markers to beautiful and elaborate memorials. As far as the United States is concerned, considerable work has already been done.. The Federal Government is studying the question of marking the American Lines. from an historical point of view, while several States, are making plans similar to. those of Pennsylvania. After making this general survey of the situation, the Commission made detailed studies of the battlefields where Pennsylvania Troops took a prominent part, especially the Offensives between the Marne and the Vesle Rivers, in the MeuseArgonne, and on the Belgian Front. The American Cemeteries were visited, and it was gratifying to see what splendid care is being taken of these sacred places by our own War Department. Evidences of the feeling of appreciation of the French people were shown by the many and beautiful floral tributes placed by them in these Cemeteries on Memorial Day. The report of this Commission is in course of preparation, and will be presented to the Legislature at its next Session. The sum of $25,000 was appropriated for the payment of the expenses of the Commission and for the payment of such other expenses as the Commission shall deem necessary or proper to incur to carry into complete effect the full intent of the Act. WASHINGTON CROSSING PARK COMMISSION. President Governor William C. Sproul, Harrisburg, Dauphin County. Vice-President and Acting Chairman-Harman Yerkes, Doylestown, Bucks County. Samuel C. Eastburn, Langhorne, Bucks County. W. Clayton Hackett, Easton, Northampton County. Henry W. Watson, Langhorne, Bucks County. Carroll R. Williams, 1112 Stephen Girard Building, Philadelphia. FORT WASHINGTON PARK COMMISSION. (Office-Rooms 127 and 129, City Hall, Philadelphia.) (Authorized by Act of July 25, 1917, Appropriation Acts, p. 181.) President-E. T. Stotesbury, 1925 Walnut Street, Philadelphia. James Elverson, Jr., 2028 Walnut Street, Philadelphia. Theodore Justice, West Clapier Street, Germantown, Philadelphia. Charles B. Penrose, 1720 Spruce Street, Philadelphia. Emory McMichael, 2041 Walnut Street, Philadelphia. Joseph Widener, Elkins Park, Montgomery County. William Findlay Brown, 21 Summit Avenue, Philadelphia. *J. Hampton Moore, Mayor, City Hall, Philadelphia. *Richard Weglein, President of City Council, 3018 Girard Avenue, Philadelphia. *Carleton E. Davis, Chief of the Bureau of Water, Philadelphia. *John A. Vogelson, Chief of the Bureau of Surveys, 8009 Crefeld Street, Philadelphia. Secretary-Thomas S. Martin, Hermit Lane, Philadelphia. This Commission is composed of the Commissioners of Fairmount Park, Philadelphia, as constituted under the Act of March 26, 1867 (P. L. 547). Under the Act of June 18, 1915 (P. L. 1053), the Commission was authorized to have a survey made of the historic sites of Militia Hill and Fort Hill, upon which was erected Fort Washington, in Whitemarsh Township, Montgomery County, with a view to their being laid out as a public park, to be maintained with their fortifications as nearly as possible in their original condition as military sites, and for the securing of an adequate parkway approach thereto from the City of Philadelphia, extending from said park, along the Wissahickon Creek, to a point near its entrance into Fairmount Park. By virtue of their office. |