Fraternity-Testvériség, 1944 (22. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1944-12-01 / 12. szám
TESTVÉRISÉG 7 SHINING SHADOWS MISS LIBERTY. Recently I receieved V-Mail from somewhere in England. The writer told me that the most vivid picture in his mind was the recently viewed Statue of Liberty. This impressed me because the V- Mailer had seen the Statue twice before. I, too, recalled being awed by the Lady of Liberty. Even though realizing that you must be. present to sense the real power of this symbol, I will attempt to give you some information about his imposing lady, and thus you may feel in some small way what all must feel when they read the following excerpt from the inscription on the eleven-pointed-star base: “Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tosst to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door.” (Emma Lazarus) The Statue of Liberty was first proposed by a group of Frenchmen, shortly after the Franco-German War, who commissioned one of its members, scupltor Frederic Auguste Bartholdi (1834-1904), to excute the plan. Congress gave President Hayes the “green light” in 1877, on Washington’s birthday.. The site (Bedloe’s Island, New York Harbor) was suggested by Bartholdi and approved by President Hayes. In France thousands gave together $700,000, while $390,000 was collected in the U. S. for the pedestal. On Independence Day of 1884 the president of the French Committee presented the Statue to Ambassador Morton. Eleven months later the Statue was in New York and on October 26, 1886 it was unveiled. The Statue weighs 225 tons; the bronze alone weighs 200,000 pounds; 40 persons can stand in the head (17 feet high and ten feet across) and 12 in the torch, which is 305 feet above the ground.. In her left arm, pressed against her side, Liberty carries a book dated July 4, 1776 symbolizing Law. A new floodlight system was installed in 1931: 96 one-thousand-watt lamps on the pedestal and fourteen 1,000-watts in the torch. A little theater was installed in 1935. In peacetime the Lady had 250,000 visitors annually. Is it any wonder that my soldier-friend somewhere in England vividly recalls the Lovely Lady of Liberty . . . probably saying to him: If you and your friends so desire I will be standing here a-welcoming you on your return.. . . and I sincerely hope that you return! * WHO OWNS THE FEDERATION? You do! as a member and as a policyholder. The Federation is your institution—mutual in plan, cooperative in spirit, and fraternal in behavior. The officers represent the interest of YOU. The officers of the Federation are not subject to the whims of stockholders, nor do they owe their positions to the payment of bigger dividends. They serve you in all sincerity and as such are always ready to lean an ear your way to hear your voice. The Federation is YOURS! * FABLE. With the approach of Armistice Day, I recall a fable which I wish to pass on to you. . . . without comment. Once upon a time there lived on this globe certain beings called humans, but they always found fault with each other for diverse reasons ... like differences of race, color and belief; so they began to exterminate one another. When many were killed they called it WAR; when only a few perished they called it persecution. Finally only two beings were left: A fat one and a thin one. Now the fat man hated the thin one because he was skinny and the thin one hated the fat man because he believed him to be too well fed. So the fat man took an instrument of death and killed the thin man. Then the survivor took a chalice of wine to drink to victory, but the thin one had poisoned the drink. But the fat man didn’t know this and thus drained the cup. . . .and then peace reigned! * A PRAYER. Near the oak-door of an old stone church in England hangs the following anonymous prayer: Give me a good digestion, Lord, And also, something to digest; Give me a healthy body, Lord, With sense to keep it at its best. Give me a healthy mind, Good Lord Too keep the good and pure in sight, Which, seeing sin, is not appalled But finds a way to set it right. Give me a mind that is not bored, That does not whimper, whine or sigh; Don’t let me worry overmuch About the fussy thing called “I” Give me a sense of humor, Lord, Give me the grace to see a joke, To get some pleasure out of life and pass it on to other folk. * “Y” CENTENNIAL. The following is gathered from a booklet by James L. Ellen wood and published by the YMCA. This booklet came into my possession while serving on the local Birthday Committee. The D-Day news of last June dimmed our nation-wide celebration and I fell that even at this late date the YMCA anniversary is not to be passed over lightly. The YMCA is an organization of which we should be extremely proud. The Young Men’s Christion Association is one-hundred years old. It was in June, 1844, that George Williams, a clerk in a London dry-goods store, had an idea that young fellows like himself needed fellowship and a place for mutual pleasure and growth.
