Then he applied the stilletto. President Eisenhower, he said, had further called for the establishment of a Federal Advisory Council on the Arts, but the Democratic-controlled Congress has been sitting on the bill since 1955.

Kearns, who used to be a music director at schools and colleges, and has conducted the Air Force Band on world tours, saved his Sunday punch for Secretary of State Dean Rusk. He did it by subtle stages.

First he quoted from a bill introduced recently by Democratic Congressman Adam Clayton Powell, which condemned "the undemocratic hiring and employment policies of the National Symphony Orchestra," for employing no Negro musicians.

He pointed out that the Kennedy administration has granted the symphony permission to use the new State Department auditorium where JFK holds his news conferences, and purred:

"Only last week President Kennedy took specific action to bar the facilities of any Federal agency to any group which practices racial discrimination." Then he blandly asked: "Will the Secretary of State actually bar the National Symphony Orchestra from use of the fine new auditorium in his Department?" Symphony Manager Raymond Kohn cried out that Adam Clayton Powell doesn't know what he's talking about-the only reason the symphony lacks a Negro musician is because one with sufficient background and symphony repertoire has yet to be auditioned.

Hon. CARROLL KEARNS,

NEW YORK HERALD TRIBUNE,

Member of Congress, House of Representatives,
Washington, D.C.

New York, May 9, 1961.

DEAR REPRESENTATIVE KEARNS: Many thanks for sending me the extracts from the Congressional Record. What you say is, of course, entirely true; you know the score and you know the facts. Yet I cannot altogether subscribe to the conclusions.

While a Democrat (more correctly an independent who often votes Republican) I never took those promises on their face value. So long as Congress counts among its Members a mere handful of your enlightened persuasion nothing can be done. The notion that culture is a private affair (President Eisenhower in the People to People pamphlet), that public money cannot be spent on the cultural welfare of the citizenry, is too deeply imbedded in our social and political makeup. Yet even the anti-intellectuals would like to reap the kudos-if it could be done without spending any money on it. That some advance was made during the last few years is solely due to the Russian competition.

I think that President Kennedy is sympathetic to the cause, but he is a practical politician, as is Mr. Nixon, which means that both of them duck, instinctively, when the "money for culture" issue comes up.

And I don't blame them. Just look at the publicity emanating from Lincoln Center and the Washington Cultural Center: palaces, air-conditioned restaurants, underground garages, 100 million here, 70 million there, etc. The humble and untutored millions, raised on television and perfectly satisfied with the fatuous fare they receive, cannot see why these "rich people" should be subsidized. Kindly read my next Sunday column about Lincoln Center where I spell out some of these things.

The accent is on prestige and patriotism, neither of which is involved in the Nation's cultural life. If you can wean the Nation-and your colleagues-from this concept, if you can establish the fact that the Government is responsible not only for the economic well-being of the Nation but also for its cultural health, perhaps the elected officials from the President down will be a little less cautious and more positive.

With best wishes.

Sincerely yours,

PAUL HENRY LANG.

[From the New York World-Telegram and Sun, Saturday, May 6, 1961] BETTY BEALE'S WASHINGTON-CAPITAL ON CULTURE KICK WASHINGTON, May 6.-The Capital's off on a cultural kick that at least diverts caustic comments from the Cuban catastrophe.

For Carroll Kearns, Republican, of Pennsylvania, the only Member of Congress to hold a doctor of music degree, the Women's National Democratic Club Salute to the Arts luncheon was the last straw.

In a seven-page, single-spaced letter to Mrs. Richard Bolling, wife of the Missouri Representative and one of the luncheon committee, he fired a broadside at the Democrats for all this cultural talk.

"Many people are beginning to think that the art interest of the Federal Government * * * began with the invitation to Robert Frost, the great poet, and 150 other cultural leaders to attend the inaugural ceremonies of 1961."

But it was under President Eisenhower, he recalled, that the National Cultural Center Act came into being and "the International Cultural Exchange and Trade Fair Act under which our great orchestras, artists, drama and dance groups are sent overseas to demonstrate U.S. accomplishments in the fine arts."

Then he let go his second volley: President Eisenhower, he said, called for the establishment of a Federal Advisory Council on the Arts and although the Democrats have been in control of the Congress since 1955, nothing has happened.

"Six years is an awfully long time to wait for the establishment of such a new Federal advisory agency. The contemplated budget is only $50,000. When our gross national product is over $500 billion, it can be seen that such a step would scarcely unbalance the national budget. So one may well ask, What is the reason for the present timidity on the Democratic side in holding up the early creation of such an Arts Council?"

A BARB AT KENNEDY ADMINISTRATION

His third shot was aimed at the Kennedy administration. John F. Kennedy himself, when he was Senator, introduced legislation to save the Dolly Madison House and two other buildings on historic Lafayette Square adjacent to the White House. But, blasts Mr. Kearns:

"Two men, William Walton, a painter, and John Moore, Administrator of General Services, like pharaohs or reigning monarchs of an earlier and unenlightened period, have decided to proceed with the destruction of the Lafayette Square buildings. At this very moment, however, the President has called for spending some $10 million in saving the ancient treasures of the Nile. Recently the President rescued Harvard Yard at Harvard University from an office building."

“If the Nile treasures and Harvard Yard can be saved, why can't the Lafayette Square buildings be saved?"

Pharaoh Walton was ready with a reply. Mr. Kearns must be aware that Congress itself passed a law to demolish those buildings and appropriated the money to build two courts of justice there. Besides, the Dolly Madison House was completely gutted by the Cosmos Club in 1895 so that it no longer has any historical meaning. Under its stucco covering are some original brick walls, that's all." The other buildings have far less reason for preservation, he pointed

out.

"He's right about the first point," continued Mr. Walton. "Federal interest in art did not begin January 20, 1961. The difference now is that the President and his wife are using the prestige of his high office to create a cultural climate favorable to the arts. There hasn't been time for anything else."

While all this was going on, Jacqueline Kennedy was attending a performance of the Washington Ballet Co. * * * And the Kennedy Cabinet was giving "An Evening With Robert Frost," the plushest poetry reading ever presented in this political Capital and drawing a VIP roster that was enchanted by his telling humor.

MISS SKINNER OPPOSES NATIONAL THEATER

The salute-to-the-arts luncheon that began all the controversial cultural conversation contained explosions from the artists themselves. Asked what each would do "If I were President for a day":

Actress Cornelia Otis Skinner observed dryly, "I would not tional repertory theater. I don't believe it would work here.

encourage a naI have a vision

of a Senator whose daughter has made a hit as Candida in the Vassar Club play insisting she be made part of the troupe."

Architect Philip C. Johnson proposed "the destruction of U.S. Highway No. 1 from Washington to the border of Maine, including all the cities along the route" in order to rebuild. "We have to build to be remembered," he said. "Sparta conquered Athens but we remember Athens."

An abstract expressionist artist, Larry Rivers, said he would have Government do nothing for art. "Government taking a role in art would be like a gorilla threading a needle. It is cute to watch, the heart is in the right place, but it is clumsy and above all impossible."

The Pulitzer prize-winning author, Paul Horgan, and Violinist Mischa Elman took the opposite view. "Art flourishes best where the artist is cherished," said Mr. Elman. "Appropriate $50 million a year to worthy projects," said Mr. Horan, "and take art to the people" on a freedom-train basis.

Ballet Choreographer George Blanchine was the most ethereal. "God creates beauty, man assembles it," he said. And women are appointed by destiny to inspire beauty.

"I would ask Mrs. Kennedy to lead in the spiritual and artistic life. * * Already without her saying anything, all the women are doing their hair like Mrs. Kennedy. If she said one word about beauty, all the women would follow."

HUDSON MANSION LIVES AGAIN BOSCOBEL, DEMOLISHED AND SOLD FOR $35 6 YEARS AGO, HAS BEEN RESTORED TO 18TH-CENTURY GLORY (By Merrill Folsom)

GARRISON, N.Y.-A new major point of interest for motorists on drives up the Hudson Valley will be dedicated by Governor Rockefeller today and opened to the public soon after June 1.

It is Boscobel, a beautiful frame mansion that has lived many lives. Originally at Crugers, 15 miles south of here, it was torn down 6 years ago, and its rare woodwork, staircases, mantles and other elements were sold for $35 to a dealer who specialized in selling second-hand woodwork.

Earlier, the mansion had passed through other vicissitudes, but this was the climax.

The 1955 sale did not go unnoticed in this area. A leader in seeking to preserve this precious bit of Americana was Benjamin W. Frazier of Garrison, president of the Putnam County Historical Society. He enlisted the interest and help of others in Putnam and Westchester Counties, and a fund-raising campaign was started.

CONTRIBUTORS

The principal contributors at the start were Mr. and Mrs. DeWitt Wallace of Pleasantville, copublishers of the Readers Digest. Mrs. Wallace gave $750,000, and she and her husband, through the Readers Digest Foundation, set up a trust fund of $500,000 to keep the restored structure open to the public in perpetuity.

The Wallaces, on a trip to England and France some months ago, bought antique tables, chairs, pictures, and other furnishings for Boscobel, since the originals had vanished long ago. The replacements are considered typical of the period and place.

Other contributions have been received and pledged for the restoration. The total sum required apart from the trust fund, was set at $1,250,000.

The urgency of the matter early became evident when Mr. Frazier learned that some beautiful parts of the old house had been sold to be incorporated into a handsome new home being built on Long Island. The proprietor was persuaded to give up the original parts if they could be faithfully replaced. Mr. Frazier recently said that this cost "many thousands of dollars."

COMMITTEE FORMED

A committee, Boscobel Restoration, Inc., was set up. Carl Carmer, author, of Irvington-on-Hudson, is president. Other members are Mrs. Wallace, Mr. Frazier, Mrs. Charles Stearns, Harry G. Wilcox and Mr. and Mrs. Frederick D. Thompson, all of Westchester or Putnam Counties.

The dealer in second-hand woodwork cooperated in taking Boscobel apart with the greatest care, numbering each element. These parts were stored in barns

around Garrison.

A 36-acre tract on a plateau high above the Hudson River midway between Garrison and Cold Spring was acquired, and Boscobel now has been assembled there. The tract adjoins State Route 9D.

The site is across the Hudson from the United States Military Academy at West Point. Directors of the restoration expect to welcome many visitors from among the motorists on circle tours to West Point, Bear Mountain State Park, the Washington Headquarters and other Revolutionary War shrines near Newburgh, and the Sleepy Hollow restorations that the late John D. Rockefeller, Jr. endowed in Westchester County.

Boscobel, on its original site overlooking the Hudson at Crugers, was an American landmark that was commenced in 1795 and completed in 1804. It became one of the great social centers of the Hudson Valley.

It is a fine example of the style of the noted 18th-century Scottish-born architect, Robert Adam. His elegant designs, based on classic and Italian models but displaying an airiness and lightness all their own, are to be seen in numerous public and private buildings in London and elsewhere in Britain and are considered 18th-century masterpieces.

IMPORTED DESIGN

It was constructed by Staats Morris Dyckman, a member of one of the wealthiest families in New York at that time. Dyckman had seen the design in England and brought it to this country. The name Boscobel was taken from an estate in Shropshire, England, where, in 1651, King Charles II hid in a hollow oak after the defeat of his army by Oliver Cromwell at the Battle of Worcester. Originally the name Boscobel had come from the Italian "Boscobello," meaning beautiful wood.

The mansion was sold by Dyckman descendants to the Westchester County Park Commission in 1923. The commission relinquished Cruger's Park, in which Boscobel stood, and the mansion itself, to the Veterans' Administration after World War II. The Government built the $25,000,000 Franklin Delano Roosevelt Hospital for neuropsychiatric veterans next to the house.

INDOOR SKATING RINK

Several times the Veterans' Administration threatened to raze the mansion, partly because it was considered a possible hiding place for mentally disturbed patients of the hospital. Then, for several winters, the main hall, 42 feet long, was used as a skating rink by Boy Scout groups.

Despite the efforts of those interested in preserving the mansion, its demolition was suddenly ordered by the Veterans' Administration and the dealer made his $35 purchase. The bargain has been compared with Peter Minuit's purchase of Manhattan for $24.

A carriage house on the new property of Boscobel will have exhibitions of the various aspects of Hudson Valley life in the era of the early Dyckmans. They will include farm implements and tools. The exhibits will be changed occasionally.

Soon

The dedication will be at 3 p.m. today in a large tent on the property. after June 1, the mansion and other buildings will be open to the public from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day except Tuesday. The entrance fees will be $1 for adults, 60 cents for children 6 to 14 years old, and $2.50 for families of two adults and up to four children.

[From the New Republic]

[From the New York Times, Saturday, May 13, 1961]

A HOME FOR AMERICAN ART

No one seriously questions that European painting, in the aggregate from A.D. 1200 to the present, is immeasurably superior to anything yet produced on these shores. But this does not mean there is no such thing as American art. Unfortunately the visitor to Washington-from Dubuque or Delhi-can easily draw that conclusion from what seems to be the total absence of concern on the part of the American Government for American art.

The National Gallery of Art supplies an excellent view of European art, particularly painting, from the earliest Renaissance up to the start of this century. Some of the greatest European masterpieces are in the Gallery. American art, however, is not represented with anything like the same completeness or the same quality in individual examples. Now there are two bills before the Senate (and two before the House) which would provide a home for the National Collection of Fine Arts and the proposed National Portrait Gallery. The proposed home-the Civil Service Building in the District of Columbia, also known as the Old Patent Office is itself one of the architectural monuments of the Nation's Capital and was only barely saved in recent years from destruction in favor of a parking lot.

In the Senate, legislation introduced by Senators Humphrey of Minnesota, Williams of New Jersey, and Long of Missouri, would establish a National Portrait Gallery and house it in up to one-half of the space in the Old Patent Office Building the remainder of the space to be reserved for the National Collection of Fine Arts (which was the intended occupant of the building when Congress ordered its preservation in 1958).

Senator Clinton Anderson of New Mexico declined to join Humphrey on the grounds that no new legislation was needed. On February 24, however, Anderson, joined by Senator Saltonstall, introduced legislation of his own establishing a portrait gallery in the old Patent Office Building. The language in all four bills is very similar but there are significant differences. The Humphrey bill grants the new portrait gallery up to half the space of the building and specifies that the building shall also house the National Collection of Fine Arts. The Anderson bill makes no mention of all of the national collection and gives the portrait gallery use of "the whole or any part of the building."

That language opens up the direct possibility that if the Anderson bill is the one finally passed, the National Collection of Fine Arts will never occupy the building reserved for it by Congress in 1958, but will continue to be crowded in among the stuffed elephants and plaster Esquimaux of the Museum of Natural History-in space which is needed by the Museum of Natural History and which is pitifully inadequate to show anything like the scope of the national collection. The national collection itself, it must be confessed, is no great shakes as an assemblage of art, either American or European. There are better collections of American painting in New York, Chicago and dozens of other American cities and towns. But in Washington, the Nation's Capital, the national collection is at present our last best hope, such as it is. If the collection can stay alive, if it can find suitable quarters for preservation and exhibition, if it can come out from behind the elephants in the Natural History Museum, it just may, in the future, attract the kind of liberal and princely givers with whom the national gallery has been so singularly blessed.

[From the Sunday Star, Washington, D.C., May 28, 1961]

ART LEAGUE FEARS Loss OF PATENT OFFICE "HOME"

(By Grace Bassett, Star staff writer)

Will American art take second place to American history in the first suitable home for native talent now planned in the Nation's Capital?

Some Washington artists are afraid so, despite assurances to the contrary from Smithsonian Institution and Congress. The 170 members of the American Art League, Inc., have resolved to fight legislation which, they feel, may keep the National Collection of Fine Arts out of the monumental old Patent Office Building at Eighth and F Streets NW.

The history of the bill, the building, and the collection has made artists wary. They can point to a 23-year record of futile efforts to establish a suitable gallery for American art in the Federal City.

Failures seem no less frustrating to Smithsonian Secretary Leonard Carmichael, who assured the House Appropriations Committee this year that a requested $400,000 would finance remodeling plans for the building for an art gallery. Included would be both the National Collection and the National Portrait Gallery, he testified.