The Informer (Monrovia)
Roland Perry
2 November 2009
The Senior Senator of Maryland County, John Ballout has launched a hunt for the missing head of the monument constructed on the campus of the University of Liberia built in honor of late President Williams V.S. Tubman.
The monument according to Senator Ballout was shoot down during to course of the war and head cut off by some unknown forces; thereby leaving it to lie in ruin with parts broken. He said along with authorities at the University of Liberia, he is contemplating on rehabilitating the damaged monument, but can not do so due to the absence of the head.
The monument, unveiled in 1956, was constructed in commemoration of the liquidation of a loan in 1926 that was negotiated during the administration of President C.D.B. King and Edwin Barclay, then Secretary of State. The main objectives for negotiating and accepting the loan was to ensure political stability and investment to gain sovereignty.
According to record, President Tubman initially opposed the loan from it onset when he was a senator, but later sponsored and introduce the bill in the Senate based on party line. The bill was passed and the loan was accepted.
In his speech delivered on February 16, 1965 during the unveiling of the national monument on Camp Johnson Hill in Monrovia, now Capital Hill, he said "I am being doubly compensated by my election to the presidency for sponsoring in the legislature and after becoming president, for retiring the loan by paying in full all amortization and interest fifteen years before maturity date. This would appear to be compound interest."
He added, "It is therefore in this perspective and in the spirit of meet humility and gratitude that I recognize this testimonial and the kind expressions of your appreciation, and pledge myself to the continued service of the nation and its people."
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