A salute to truth

There are lots of ways to think patriotic as we approach another Independence Day. Let’s be a little more creative than just finding a longer punk to light another firecracker.

Who’s Francis Blair?

Here’s a hint. He’s one of two Missourians memorialized by a statue in the National Statuary Hall Collection you can see as you vacation in Washington, D.C — at least for now.

This is an elite honor. Each state in our union is limited to display only two statues depicting persons notable in their history. The hall is magnificent in its splendor. It is built in the shape of an ancient amphitheater. Its walls are painted plaster to accent colossal columns of marble, black and white marble tile flooring, and sandstone. A lantern in the fireproof cast-iron ceiling emits natural light.

The hall was actually the second and third meeting place for the House of Representatives. The current hall was built after invading British troops burned the Capitol in 1814. Many important events took place in this chamber, including the inauguration of five presidents. The government relocated into chambers with better acoustics in 1850.

Francis Blair of Missouri is one of the statues on display here. The 100 memorial statues are donated by each state for national display. The two representing the Show-Me State are Francis Blair and Thomas Benton.

So, are Blair and Benton familiar to you?

Odds are, more Missourians today know the painter, Thomas Hart Benton (1889-1975). Our kids have memories of vacation hours spent in the car driving to wherever, listening to folk music mostly about Missouri. A family favorite is a tune about Benton, “after he painted these walls,” a song about the controversy in accepting Benton’s mural on display in our statehouse because it offers an unabridged history, including Indians and whiskey, brothel lovers, the back end of a mule while plowing, boss Tom Pendergast, a baby’s bare bottom, slaves … and so much more.

For a statue of Benton to be in the national hall comes as little surprise to me. At my back, as I type these words in my office, hangs a framed photograph of a portion of that same statehouse mural by Benton. It depicts the notorious James Boys robbing a train within an old west background.

Benton, even within an artist’s license to revise, revealed truths in our state’s history … even as some condemned his choice of topics as offensive. He chose truth over popularity.

Benton said that his Missouri mural was his best work. I like the photo, not only to appreciate Benton’s unique artistic style of realism but because it reminds me of press association trips to Jeff City while at this newspaper’s helm. I took this snapshot using a 35mm film Nikon (now an antique camera) while on a statehouse tour not long after Gallatin Theatre League performed the re-enactment of the 1883 Trial of Frank James here. Nobody else would treasure a “cheap” photo knockoff of an authentic mural. But for me, what I placed in that frame offers a flood of living history, so to speak.

Like Benton, each one of the statues honoring a noteworthy life in the National Statuary Hall has a unique story still meaningful in the lives of others. So, what about Blair?

Francis Blair (1821-1875) was an American jurist, politician and soldier. He is perhaps best remembered for his efforts in preventing Missouri from being absorbed into the Confederacy — a very important development at the beginning of the Civil War. He commanded a division at Vicksburg under Gen. Sherman and took part in Sherman’s famous March to the Sea. After the war, Blair was a vice-presidential candidate.

But, despite all this and more, he’s hardly a household name.

That’s why there’s an effort underway to replace the statue of Francis Blair with a statue of Harry Truman. The project is spearheaded by the Truman Library Institute and supported by Missouri’s current congressional delegation. This proposal for a new statue is in addition to efforts to rename Washington D.C.’s Union Station to the “Harry S. Truman Union Station.”

No doubt Blair was up to the challenge of his part in the particularly distressing times of our Civil War. Truman, likewise, stands firm in our history as World War II ended and the beginning of the Cold War was defined.

No one has to explain who Harry Truman is. His straight-talking, common sense style and leadership is widely known and admired today. For many, Truman defines the very essence in characterizing the Show-Me State.

I have a copy of that famous black-and-white photograph at home showing Truman holding up that Chicago newspaper which erroneously declared “Dewey Defeats Truman!” Somehow, even during times when I’m discouraged, I reflect on how the big shots labeled Truman as the underdog, the little guy that doesn’t matter. And yet, there stands Truman smiling, triumphant. Suddenly, regardless of private headaches or heartaches, I feel that I too, may yet find my time to smile.

Firecracker Day is not only a celebration of our Declaration of Independence but a time to celebrate those who helped insure our freedoms all along the way. It’s hard to pick just two persons as most notable in Missouri’s history. But it’s hard to think of anyone who represents our state any more than Truman.

Truman is widely known for what he placed on his desk in the White House, a small plaque stating: “The Buck Stops Here.” It precisely proclaims a straightforward truth, one that another American icon, John Wayne, might have put to voice. But imagery aside, it’s Truman’s real tenacity in the quest for truth that we most respect and admire today. Whether by statue or in memory, let’s celebrate Truman as “Missouri’s Favorite Son” and one of America’s most respected presidents.

Both Truman and Benton never shied away from hard truths. And in different ways, each excelled at recognizing truth and then acting correctly upon it. May we also be so inspired.

Now… let’s go light a firecracker!