Letters to the Editor (Aug. 25): Confederate monuments
Move, don’t destroy, monuments
Removing Confederate monuments from public-owned lands is becoming a trend. I would like to see historic statues stay in place; however, I am a realist and know that current the cultural climate has changed.
I don’t want statues defaced, but rather preserved. If that means protected inside museums or buildings, that’s better than their mutilation or destruction.
I have been a Freemason for over 35 years in the Scottish Rite. The statue of former Confederate Gen. Albert Pike does not belong on Judiciary Square in Washington, D.C. Pike is best remembered for being a local presiding officer of all four York Rite Bodies in Little Rock, Ark. I admire the good aspects of Pike’s life, but I frown on the figurative warts on his biography.
I wish that Masonic Leaders would move the statue to the interior of Wichita’s Scottish Rite Center. The Wichita Scottish Rite already has large portraits of Albert Pike adorning its walls, along with an authentic signed letter written by Pike in 1890 within its library and museum. The Wichita Scottish Rite building would be a logical choice to discreetly preserve the Pike statue and possibly prevent bloodshed over it.
James Marples, Esbon
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This story was originally published August 25, 2017 at 4:07 AM with the headline "Letters to the Editor (Aug. 25): Confederate monuments."