Evening star. [volume], November 24, 1963, Page B, Image 23

About Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972

Image provided by: Library of Congress, Washington, DC

                
Cities
People
Mr. Kennedy's
Three Projects
By ROBERT J. LEWIS
pROM THE TIME of his
first month in office,
President Kennedy took a
personal Interest In a project
that —ln spite of all hls
other magnificent accomp
lishments will certainly
constitute one of the most
notable monuments to hls
memory.
And this, with great under
standing, he recognised.
When hls friend, William
Walton, once apologised for
bringing a problem involv
ing Lafayette Square to his
attention at a busy moment,
Mr. Kennedy smtled and
said, in two sentences that
strike a toll of sadness In
one’s heart:
“Don’t apologize, Bill. After
all, it may be the only mon
ument we’ll be able to leave.”
o
AS A SINGLE ACT, pres
ervation of Lafayette Square
at first may seem to be of
minor importance In com
parison to the truly awe
some variety of this much
oeloved man’s achievements
during less than three years
in office.
Yet, as House Speaker Mc-
Cormack so aptly said last
Friday, John F. Kennedy
was a man of keen vision
who looked ahead.
He perceived clearly the
significance of preserving
this historic square across
from the White House, and
of enfolding It In the Na
tion’s warm embrace.
Blessed with a sense of
humor and a certain de
tachment, he yet was broadly
committed to the idea that
history deals In unexpected
ways with the acts of men—
transforming seemingly In
consequential matters Into
formidable ones, as like as
not, and filing away some
more prestigious work In the
dusty pigeon-holes marked
for miscellaneously paltry
things.
o
TO HIS NATION and the
world, President Kennedy
appeared to epitomize the
man of action—the man of
ready smiles and hand
shakes, of wit, of a willing
ness to break new trails, to
plead for boldness, to travel
by any means so long as it
was fast
Yet for all this outgoing
energy—a kinetle Image that
still denies as incredible and
unreal the tragedy of last
Friday Mr. Kennedy was
also the reflective figure
mirrored in a fine prose
style, with a penchant for
tradition, and a respect for
the physical arts of the
world around him.
Decisively, and at the cost
of much personal effort, he
committed himself to lead
ing a drive for S3O million
with which to build a Na
tional Cultural Center In
Washington.
As a universal act reprov
ing the hatred that cost his
life, a sorrowing Nation
could now quickly oversub
scribe this goal so that a
befitting memorial he so
much deserves may soon be
built to commemorate hls
martyrdom.
o
IN THIS MOMENT of na
tional grief, it may also be
well to reflect upon Mr. Ken
nedy’s third great legacy of
responsibility to the city
scene around us.
Within a few weeks, he
was to have presided over
the completion of a program
to improve Pennsylvania
avenue as the Nation’s prin
cipal ceremonial way.
In devoting himself to
these causes, he displayed
a splendid consistency.
For in the large sense, La
fayette Square, the National
Cultural Center, and Penn
sylvania avenue were essen
tially quests for harmony. In
that respect they were indi
visible from President Ken
nedy’s transcendent search
for a Nation at peace in a
harmonious world.
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The statue of President Garfield, assassinated in 1881, looks
down as workmen prepare the catafalque for the coffin of
Wife's Kiss
On Deathbed
Described
Mrs. Jacqueline Kennedy said
good by to her husband with a!
final kiss on the lips as the
President lay dead in the emer
gency room of a Dallas hospital.
The Pint Lady then took a
ring from her finger and slipped
it on the lifeless finger of her
husband.
The scene was described to
the Associated Press by a wit-,
ness. Representative Gonzalez, I
Democrat of Texas, who added |
that the farewell was so touch-1
ing he couldn't bear to watch.
“I couldn’t take It,” he said
later. “I walked away.”
Minutes later, Mr. Gonzalez
mid, hospital attendants
wheeled the bronze coffin con
taining Mr. Kennedy’s body out
of the hospital for the flight to
Washington.
At every stage in the har-i
rowing day, Mrs. Kennedy’s
stoic courage was noted by all
who Aw her. She appeared in
complete control of herself at
all times.
Tragedy dulled her usually
lively features and, though she
did not/weep in public, the
shock of her husband's sudden
death showed clearly. Through
out the day, she kept on the
suit that was stained with Mr.
Kennedy’s blood when she held
hls head in her lap on the
futile race to the hospital.
Only recently out of seclusion
after the death of her two
day-old son, Patrick, last Aug
ust, Mrs. Kennedy now faces
the task of moving out of the
White House and making a
home for her two children,
Caroline and John, jr.
The family will have a choice
of homes—the new ranch-style
house at Atoka, In the Virginia
hunt country, a cottage in the
Kennedy family compound at
Hyannis Port, Mass., and homes
in Georgetown and Newport,
R. 1., owned by her stepfather
and mother, Mr. and Mrs. Hugh
D. Auchincloss.
Board Picks Goff
Charles M. Goff, admin
istrator of the Alexandria Hos
pital, has been named a mem
ber of the board of directors of
the Virginia Hospital Associa
tion.
WEDDING SONG OF KENNEDY'S !
TO BE SUNG AGAIN AT FUNERAL
“Ave Maria,” sung at President Kennedy’s wedding,
will be sung again by the same vocalist at his funeral
tomorrow at Mrs. Jacqueline Kennedy’s request.
Boston tenor Luigi Vena said the White House had 1
telephoned him Friday night and asked him to sing.
Mr. Vena said he had met Mr. Kennedy about 20 1
years ago, when Mr. Kennedy was a Navy lieutenant. '
Since then, Mr. Vena said, he had seen the late President i
at many social functions in Massachusetts. :
Mrs. Jacqueline Kennedy’s mother had asked him to i
sing at her daughter’s wedding in Newport in 1953, he <
said.
Besides “Ave Maria,” the tenor said he would sing
two other songs which will be decided on after his arrival ,
in Washington today.
Mr. Vena, 55, has been a vocalist-since 1922. After !
studying privately in Boston, he studied and sang opera 1
roles in Milan and Rome. Since then he has sung mainly
in the Boston area at social functions, banquets and I
churches. He is choir director at the Church of the <
Presentation in Brighton, Mass., a Boston suburb. i
\
METRO AREA
Rotunda Is Given a Housecleaning
Before Kennedy Procession Arrives
By BAM BABTMAN j
| Star SUH Writer
W or k m e n last night ham
mered. swept and Ousted to
prepate the vast Rotunda of
the Capitol for the body of
' John F. Kennedy.
The President’s body will lie
' in state there In a closed casket
on the catafalque which was
hammered together after the
death of Abraham Lincoln.
! The public this afternoon
: and evening, and for one hour
' tomorrow morning, will file
past the casket.
Yesterday, civilian and mili
tary crews performed house
keeping chores in the echoing
Rotunda—the heart of the
Capitol.
Men from the Capitol Archi
tect's Office dusted the statues
of Washington, Jefferson,
iJackson, Lincoln and other
giants of the Nation.
Other workmen put together
draped stands for reporters.
Paintings Dusted Off
Others swept and vacuumed
, the floor, and flicked dust from
the “Landing of Columbus,”
“The Embarkment of the Pil
grims,” "Baptism of Pocahon
tas” and tbe other five giant
paintings on the walls.
In the center of the Rotunda,
a woman knelt beside the bier
to sew up some rents In the
black velvet and black broad
cloth that will drape the cata
falque's dias and base. She Is ;
Mrs. Mary Scott of 52 Fifty
third street 8E„ who works as
Junior Village
Sends Regrets
To Mrs. Kennedy
“We loved him as we do
you.”
In this simple telegram sent
to Mrs. John F. Kennedy, the
children of Junior Village tried
to convey their grief at the
death of the President.
Junior Village youngsters
felt especially close to the late
Chief Executive and his fam
ily. They had been guests at
children’s parties at the White
House. Mrs. Kennedy visited
Junior Village last year at :
Christmas. i
The institution in Southwest i
Washington is the city’s home i
for youngsters whose own ]
homes, at least for a time, are <
unsuitable.
fljc Sunday
WASHINGTON, D. C., NOVEMBER 24, 1963
President Kennedy in the Rotunda of the United States
Capitol.—Star Staff Photo by Randolph Routt.
I SCHEDULE OF TIMES LISTED
FOR KENNEDY FUNERAL
TODAY
I pm. Body will be carried from the White House
by official cortege down Pennsylvania avenue to the East
steps of the Capitol, where ceremonies will be held before
i the body is taken into the Capitol Rotunda to be placed
in state mourning.
1-9 p.m. Body will lie in state in the Rotunda where
the public will be permitted to file past to pay their
respects.
TOMORROW
8-9 am. Public viewing at the Capitol.
II am. Body to be transported by official cortege up
Pennsylvania avenue to the White House and then to
St. Matthew’s Cathedral byway of Seventeenth street.
Noon. Pontifical requiem mass celebrated at the
Cathedral, followed by burial at Arlington Cemetery.
a fitter for the Quartermaster
maintenance shop at Port My
er, Va.
The cloth, she explained, was
tom slightly when the catafal
que was moved up to the Ro
tunda from the crypt below.
The velvet and broadcloth
were fitted on the catafalque In
1960 when the bodies of an
unknown sollder of World War
n and of Korea lay in state in
the rotunda before joining the
unknown hero of World War I
In Arlington Cemetery.
The catafalque, which has
borne the last remains of five
American Presidents in state
In the Rotunda, Is kept In the
sub-basement crypt that was
built for a tomb for George
Washington.
The public will begin filing
by President Kennedy's body at
V-. 4 • , - j
Requiem Site Familiar to Kennedys
8t Matthew’s Cathedral,
where the requiem mass will be
offered at noon tomorrow for
the late President Kennedy, is
well known both to the Ken
nedy family and to Washington
Catholics.
Mr. Kennedy and his wife
attended mass there many
times on holy days.
Mrs. Bose Kennedy, the
President’s mother, was an
even better-known figure at
the cathedral. She attended
mass there because she regu
larly stayed at a nearby hotel
when she was in town.
The cathedral itself Is well
known because It is the organi
zational center of church activi
ties for the approximately
306,000 Roman Catholics in the
113 parishes in the Washington
Archdiocese.
The cathedral, at 1725 Rhode
Island avenue N.W., had its
start as a chapel of St. Antho
ny of Padua on June 14, 1898.
Its copper-green dome and ag
ing red-brick exterior have
been a landmark of the Con
necticut avenue area for many
years, even though the building
now is overshadowed by taller
office buildings.
Clsoed to Public
The cathedral will be closed
to the public for the mass to
morrow, with the White House
issuing the invitations for the
1,100 seats in the edifice. The
parish choir, augmeted by
others, will sing at the mass.
Some of the parish staff also
will attend.
' about 2:45 o’clock this after
noon, officials said.
The procession bearing the
President’s remains, paced to
muffled drumbeats, is expected
to arrive from the White House
at the East Front Plaza of the
Capitol at 12 minutes before 2. j
Estimates are that brief
ceremonies—and time set aside
for members of the Kennedy
family, the diplomatic corps,
members of Congress and other
dignitaries in the Rotunda—
will mean admittance for the
public about 2:45 p.m.
The public will come up the
East Front steps four abreast.
At the door, guards will chan
nel the mourners into two
lines.
The lines will move on both
sides of the casket and then
straight across the Rotunda
lm ,
I l .’fc
H <*”.,* * tV .•
. ‘ s * » S *: <
r:v*' :; -- ; Hi ! 2 IVN
Black and gold bunting drapes the doorway
of St. Matthew’s Cathedral, 1725 Rhode
Island avenue N.fV., where services for Presi
dent Kennedy will be held tomorrow.—Star
Staff Photo.
The Rev. Atm and F. La-
Vaute, assistant rector of the
cathedral, said the fine details
of the church serivces were still
being made late yesterday, un
der the co-ordiantion and su
’iand out to the main steps on
| the West Side of the Capitol.
The Kennedy family has
asked that there be no flowers
in the Rotunda.
Capitol officials said that if
flowers are sent or brought,
they will be pat in the old Su
preme Court Chamber in the
Senate Wing.
Aside from the draped stands
for reporters, there will be little
to detract from the casket and
catafalque, centered In the Ro
unds and capped 58 feet above
.by Brumidi’s and Costagglni’s
frieze.
| Four guards from the four
' services will stand as sentinels
‘off the four points of the bier.
IThey will stand guard there
i the entire time that the Presl
' dent’s body is in the Rotunda.
, The United States flag and
the presidential flag will be
; posted on the west side of the
Rotunda.
The official word had been'
|that the public would be per
mitted in the Rotunda today
{only until 9 p.m. But House
Speaker McCormack made it
clear that no one was going to
be turned away for being a few
minutes late.
The public is to be permitted
to pass by the casket for one
hour tomorrow, from 8 to 9
aun.
At 11 a.m. the President’s
body is to transported to St.
Matthew’s Cathedral, where a
pontifical requiem mass will be
celebrated at noon.
pervision of the White House.
The cathedral’s regular or
i ganist and choirmaster, C. Eu
gene Stewart of 1711 Massa
chusetts avenue N.W., was busy
all day yesterday rehearsing
Areo News, B-2-3-4—Obituaries, B-5
Society, B-9-18—Garden, B-19
D. C. Democrats
To Give Johnson
Full Co-operation
Most of City's 1960 Delegation
To Convention Opposed Texan
By CHARLES D. PIERCE
Stir Stiff Writer
The District Democratic Central Committee pledged its
full support yesterday to President Johnson
A telegram sent to the President by the top officials of
the local Democratic Party stated:
“The Democratic Central Committee of the District of
Columbia pledges our full co-operation and support to you in
carrying out your overwhelm- 1
ing responsibilities as leader of
our Nation and of our party.!
“We have faith in your abil
ity to guide us through these
sad and dangerous times. We
hope you will call upon us
whenever we may be needed.”
The telegram was signed by
W. John Kenney, committee
chairman, and three committee
vice chairmen. Joseph U Rauh.
jr., Mrs. Todd Duncan and the
Rev. E. Franklin Jackson.
Repercussions Seen
However, the change in the
White House could have serious
political repercussions at the
local level.'
A majority of the D1 str 1c t
delegation to the 1960 Demo
cratic national convention op
posed the nomination of Mr.l
Johnson as vice president.
The anti-Johnson group at
that time was spearheaded by
Mr. Rauh. This group included
Tilford E. Dudley and Mrs.
Polly Shackleton, the two per
sons recommended by the com
mittee to succeed Walter|N.
Tobriner, president of the Dis
trict Board of Commissioners,
if he does not want a second
terms.
Mr. Tobriner, whose present
term expires in March, was
also initially opposed to the se
lection of Mr. Johnson as the
vice presidential nominee.
However one party official
said Mr. Johnson has changed
a great deal since 1960 and
that his image is now more lib
eral than it was three years
ago.
Supported Johnson in 1960
He predicted, that the local
committee will give President
Johnson strong support, since
he is the probable party nomi
nee for President in 1964.
W. John Kenney, chairman
Maryland Fireman, 18,
Dies, Was Hit by Auto
Dennis Michael Boswell, a
Prince Georges County volun
teer ftpeman, died at 3:20 jwp.
yesterday of injuries received
when he was struck by a car
at the seeks of a fire ssrly in
the morning. '
Mr. Boswell, 18. of 2211
Cheveriy avenue, died after)
several hours of emepgfency
surgery at Prince. Georges l
General Hospital.
County police reported ear-,
lier that the fireman was in
jured while he was winding
hose on a truck that was sent
to a blaze in an abandoned
house at Sixty-fourth avenue
and Sheriff road. Cedar Heights.
He was a member of the
Tuxedo - Cheverly Volunteer
Fire Department and an em
ploye. of the Southern Oxygen
Co. in Bladensburg, Md., of
ficials said.
Walter Lanier, fire company
chief, said four firemen were:
at the front of the truck lls-l
with his choir members and
soloists.
Today Mr. Stewart is to con
fer with Luigi Vena, a Boston
singer who is a friend of the
Kennedys, about last-minute
musical arrangements for Mr.
Vena’s songs at the funeral.
Cardinal to Say Mass
Black and gold bunting was
hung outside the cathedral
yesterday, the same colors as
the bunting hung in mourning
at the death of a Pope.
The requiem mass tomorrow
is expected to last about 45
minutes. Richard Cardinal 1
Cushing. Archbishop of Boston [
and a long-time friend of the
guards and large numbers of
Kennedy, is to celebrate the ,
mass.
Parking is to be banned for ;
large areas around the Ca- j
thedral, and military honor
police are expected. This will
be the first state funeral at the
cathedral.
The Right Rev. John K. 1
Cartwright, rector of the cath- 1
edral, is to preach at noon to
day at the cathedral. His tixt 1
is expected to be on the death
of the President. The normal 1
seven masses held on Bunday
are still scheduled. The mass at '
noon today, as well as tomor
row’ ceremony, is to be on '
. television.
Tomorrow morning, the nor- j,
mal masses at 7, 7:30 and 8 ,
r a m. are still scheduled, church |:
! spokesmen said yesterday.
of the local Democratic Party,
and F. Joseph (Jiggs) Dono
hue. former District commis
sioner and a member of the
central committee, were among
those strongly supporting tbe
nomination of Mr. Johnson for
vice president in 1960.
While no party officials
wanted to talk for the record
at this time, one seasoned
Democratic leader predicted
that there definitely will be an
attempt by the more conserva
tive local Democrats to oust
some of the more liberal ones
at the May 5 primary election
here.
There were rumblings of an
insurgent movement within the
District Democratic Party even
before the change in the White
House.
Seen as Boon to Rockefeller
In any case, the elevation of
Mr. Johnson to the Presidency
is expected to stimulate Inter
est greatly In both the Demo
cratic and Republican primar
ies at the May 5 election.
In city Republican circles,
there is some feeling that the
White House change will boost
tbe stock of New York Gov.
Nelson Rockefeller or former
Vice President Richard Nixon.
This is based on the theory
that the present G. O. P. front
runner. Senator Goldwater of
standard bearer.
Arizona, will not have as good a
chance of carrying the South if
Mr. Johnson is the Democratic
standard bearer.
One prominent District Re
publican said he now intends
( to explore seriously the possi
bility of whipping up more en
' thusiasm for Gov. Rockefeller
■ in Washington.
So far Senator Goldwater has
been the top-heavy favorite a
i mong Republicans here.
i tening to a new fire call on
their radio while Mr. Boswell re
. mained at the rear to finish
Ijthe winding job.
“A car came up the road be
hind him,” the chief said. “The
car hit the rear of the truck
and pinned Mike between the
.truck and the car. He never
saw the car.”
! An ambulance on the scene
took the young man to the
! hospital, where officials said
he had suffered compound
fractures of the left leg and
multiple internal injuries.
Prince Georges police said
the driver of the car, Albert
Lee. 25. of the 1600 block of
K street N.E. was charged with
unreasonable speed, driving on
the wrong side of the road and
reckless driving.
Mr. Boswell was the adopted
son of Leroy M. and Beulah
M Boswell of 2103 Cheverly
j avenue. His mother, Mrs. Hel
|en Sanchez, was their daugh
ter. The Boswells adopted Den
nis Michael when his mother
■ died of tuberculosis in Decem
ber. 1945.
Mr. Boswell also leaves two
| sisters, Mrs. Lorraine Rochin
ski of 3007-A Seventy-fifth
| avenue, Rentland, Md., and
Mrs. Gladys Owens of 7320
Forrest avenue, Kent Village,
Md., and a brother, Leroy M.
Boswell, jr., of Glendale.
30 Irish Guards
! To Participate in
Kennedy Funeral
An Irish honor guard, such
as the one the late President
admired so much on his trip
to Ireland this year, will take
part in tomorrow's funeral
ceremonies, i»«,was announced
last night.
The 30 soldiers will arrive
tonight aboard the Irish In
ternational Airlines 707 jet
bringing Eamon de Valera,
Irish chief of state, here for
Mr. Kennedy’s funeral.
Also accompanying the Irish
President will be External Af
fairs Minister Prank Aiken,
the Irish Army’s Chief of Staff.
Gen. Sean McKeown, United
States Ambassador Matthew
McCloskey, and Major Vivian
de Valera and Dr. Brian de
Valera, sons of the Irish Presi
dent.
Patrick Cardan, Washington
district manager for Irish In
ternational Airlines, said the
plane would arrive at Dulles
Airport at 9 p.m.
Mr. Cardan said the deci
sion to bring the solders was
made "when the Kennedy fam
-1 ily let it be known they would
be welcome.”
B