Harry S. Truman photo

Letter to the President of the Senate and to the Speaker of the House Concerning a Proposed Statue of Commodore John Barry.

July 23, 1947

Dear Mr.____________:

Public Law 109, Seventy-seventh Congress, approved June 10, 1941, authorized and directed the President of the United States to present to Eire a statue of Commodore John Barry in honor of the bicentenary of his birth in 1945. The act authorized an appropriation not to exceed $20,000 and provided for the selection of a sculptor by a committee of three members appointed by the President.

Before action could be taken, the United States was at war. Because of the shortage of bronze it became necessary to defer the project until after the end of the war. During the past year alternative plans for carrying out Public Law 109 have been investigated, and it has been ascertained by the Commission of Fine Arts that a sum of not less than $30,000 now will be needed to procure a suitable statue of John Barry. In view of this fact, it seems to me proper that the entire matter should be presented to the Congress for consideration as to the desirability of enacting legislation which will provide sufficient funds to enable the President to make the presentation to Eire.

HARRY S. TRUMAN

Note: This is the text of identical letters addressed to the Honorable Arthur H. Vandenberg, President pro tempore of the Senate, and to the Honorable Joseph W. Martin, Jr., Speaker of the House of Representatives.

Harry S Truman, Letter to the President of the Senate and to the Speaker of the House Concerning a Proposed Statue of Commodore John Barry. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/232098

Filed Under

Categories

Attributes

Simple Search of Our Archives