Official Organ Of The Slavonic Benevolent Order Of The State Of Texas, Founded 1897.
VOLUME 59 — NO. 40
BROTHERH
HUMANITY
BENEVOLENCE
Postmaster: Please Send Form 3579 with Undeliverable Copies to: SUPREME LODGE SPJST, POB 100, TEMPLE, TEX 76501
OCTOBER 6, 1971
FROM THE EDITOR'S DESK Your attention is called to the many events on the forthcoming weekends, beginning with Czech Day at the State Fair in Dallas, Sunday, October 10. Check the Entertainment Calendar. • • Not too often does a father induct his son into the Armed Services. Under Features is a story about Brother Stanley Vrla, our Publication Committee secretary inducting his son, Kenneth, ant° the U.S. Naval Reserve. • • Two famous sculptures of George Washington might never have been fashioned had it not been for an insurance policy on the life of the renowned French sculptor, J. A. Antoine Houdon. Houdon was recognized as the world's greatest sculptor of his day, when Thomas Jefferson asked him to come to America in 1785 to do a statue and bust of George Washington, who had then retired from public life. The trouble was that Houdon had been disappointed not long before when the Russian government failed to pay him for similar work done at its request. He demanded pre-payment from America, and what's more, consented to make the hazardous voyage to "to Virginia and its savages" only if the U.S. government would pay a large additional sum to his family if he died during the trip. The Americans wanted Houdon at any price and so
FRATERNITY Fraternity is a lovely plant That grows in a garden place; A plant that can fill your life with peace, With fragrance and charm and grace. To brighten the darkest sky; A plant that can lend its color rare A plant that can banish loneliness And send away despair. But whether it blooms depends on you, For the plant is a fragile one; You must warm its leaves with the golden light Of affection's shining sun; You must plant its roots in the fertile soil Of a thousand thoughtful deeds; And must keep it free of distrust and doubt, For distrust and doubt are weeds. agreed to all his terms. The astute Jefferson recognized the risk involved and knew that life insurance, then still in its formative stages in the United States, was the only means of covering it. He therefore contacted people he knew in London to find out what the terms would be to insure Houdon's life. He added that Houdon was "between 30 and 35 years of age, healthy enough, and would be absent from France about six months." Although history does not
record the name of the company that issued the insurance, a short time later the insurance was approved and Houdon came to America. Those who have seen the marble statue of George Washington in the Virginia state capitol building at Richmond, or the bust of the Father of his Country at Mt. Vernon, have tangible evidence of Houdon's genius. • • There were 55,300 deaths and almost 2 million disabling injuries due to traffic mishaps in the United States last year, reports the Institute of Life Insurance, based on the latest figures released by the National Safety Council. The state of Connecticut's share of those statistics, 451 dead and nearly 40,000 injured, has prompted a group of state insurance associations to launch a powerful advertising campaign which includes a full-page newspaper advertisement that lists the first names and last name initials of those who died on Connecticut roads in 1970. The purpose of the campaign is to seek public support for ;legislation, proposed by the insurance associations, to toughen state traffic laws. A second advertisement asks readers to mail back a coupon to urge support of the proposed legislation. Of the 451 deaths, 219 were 25 or younger. The proposed legislation would es•