THE COLUMBUS MEMORIAL LIGHTHOUSE MESSAGE OF GENERAL RAFAEL L. TRUJILLO, PRESIDENT OF THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

PECULIAR satisfaction is mine on seeing that the momentous

A of a memorial lighthouse to

in the capital of the Dominican Republic, the place destined by Providence to be the cradle of European civilization in the New World, should have progressed so far toward becoming a glorious reality.

Now at last our cherished project, sponsored also by the Pan American Union and the League of Nations, which has recommended it for world consideration, is about to take form in a marvel of hallowed stone.

Not only will the lighthouse symbolize the homage paid throughout the ages to the Great Navigator and stand as the heroic expression of his brilliant vision and accomplishment, but, more nobly still, it will be the sign of brotherhood among the nations-the emblem of an international peace born through the application of the highest of all laws, the law of love.

How appropriate it was that the plan of the design awarded first prize in the second stage of the lighthouse competition should be the Cross, the highest symbol of love, most eloquent expression of Christian idealism, and purest representation of the closer relations of men and nations!

Such was the inspired concept of Gleave, the architect, whose skill has enabled him to envision embodied in everlasting stone that deed considered by many the greatest episode in history since the advent of Christianity.

On behalf of the Republic of which I am President, permit me to express most profound gratitude to all the countries that have thus far had a part in the erection of the lighthouse and to take this opportunity of rendering special thanks to the Pan American Union for its cordial assistance. I venture the hope that every country which has not yet had a share in rendering homage to Columbus may join these others so that the monument to his name shall be a universal tribute to his genius and his deeds.

Because of the extraordinary influence which the discovery of America has had on the progress of humanity, Columbus, aided by the noble and heroic Spanish nation, may be considered one of the greatest instruments for the achievement of international good will. It is therefore to be hoped that the rays from the lighthouse erected to his memory shall be like a banner of love under which all the peoples of the earth may partake of the sacrament of peace.

THE MONUMENT TO THE DISCOVERER OF AMERICA AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE

T

By L. S. Rowe, Ph. D., LL. D.,

Director General of the Pan American Union

HE plan for the erection of a continental memorial to the Great Discoverer is one that is certain to kindle the imagination of all the nations of this continent.

Warmly approved by the Fifth International Conference of American States held at Santiago, Chile, and by the Sixth Conference held at Habana, the project may be said to have the united support of the nations of America. The resolution adopted by the Assembly of the League of Nations carries this approval one step further by giving to the project world-wide support.

Every one interested in this great memorial owes a debt of gratitude to the Government of the Dominican Republic, which at considerable sacrifice has defrayed all the preliminary expenses. This has involved in the first place a world-wide competition of architects whose projects were exhibited at Madrid in April, 1929, and subsequently at Rome. The international jury which viewed this exhibit selected the 10 best designs, and the architects thus selected entered upon the second competition. The designs submitted in this competition were exhibited at Rio de Janeiro in October, 1931. The international jury awarded the first prize to Mr. J. L. Gleave, of Manchester, England. The premiated design is in every respect worthy of its great purpose.

Now that all the preliminary steps have been taken, the time has arrived for the assembling of funds necessary for the construction of the lighthouse. The Government of the Dominican Republic has generously set aside a magnificent park, and it is confidently expected that not only the Governments of the American Republics will make their contribution but that popular subscriptions from every part of the world will also be forthcoming.

The memorial, in addition to its great monumental significance, will also serve a highly useful purpose as a beacon to navigators by sea and by air. The Dominican Republic has become a great cross-roads of aerial navigation, and a beacon such as that which the Columbus Memorial Lighthouse will afford will mean much to the safety of travel.

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THE COLUMBUS MEMORIAL LIGHTHOUSE ARCHITECTURAL COMPETITION

ITS HISTORY

By C. KEECH LUDEWIG

Assistant Foreign Trade Adviser, Pan American Union

XACTLY 360 years after Columbus sighted the lands of the New World, which he took to be the western coast of the Indies, there appeared in print for the first time the suggestion that the achievement of the Great Navigator be commemorated in the form of a lasting monument in Santo Domingo, the first permanent settlement of Old World inhabitants in the Western Hemisphere, on the shores of the island known to the world as Santo Domingo or Haiti and to Columbus as "La Española."

The following is an excerpt from the History of Santo Domingo written by Antonio del Monte y Tejada, a son of Santo Domingo, and published in 1852:

The time has arrived with this Era of Enlightenment, the nineteenth century, when the verdict of posterity should be anticipated and proclaimed. This verdict must be as noble, generous, memorable, and eternal as his deeds. Let all America proclaim it in unison, and let her acknowledge by all means and by every manner that the honor of the Discovery belongs to Columbus; that to him, as the initiator of such great exploits, are due the many discoveries that have been made by others to this day; that all the influence exerted by this inestimable act on the history of civilization is his because of the revolution that it effected in the sciences and in the spirit of modern nations; that without exception all nations who have possessions in America owe him a debt of gratitude because he was the instrument chosen by the Divine Providence to help them to achieve such possessions and the happiness that it had prepared, in the course of time, for their subjects in this hemisphere; and in order that this acknowledgment may be worthy of the New World let us erect in the most visible and notable place in America, in a central point and where it may be visited by travelers as they approach her shores, the statue that his greatness and remembrance demand. I am daring enough to designate as such a place, Cape Isabela on the island Hispaniola, because there the first city in America was founded. Let this statue be a Colossus like that of Rhodes, and let it be designed by the best sculptor available and paid with funds raised by popular subscriptions in all the cities of Europe and America; and let this statue have its arms extended and pointing to the one and the other American Continents. In order that this symbol may carry within itself all the attributes of perpetuity, let there be established in it a lighthouse so travelers from the Old and New Worlds may look, full of gratitude and emotion, toward that venerable image when they sight the first land from the ocean. If the descendants of the illustrious House of Veragua feel that to them belongs the