Judge halts loans by CW Library & Museum
By Deborah Fitts

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. - Plans by the Civil War Library & Museum to make its extensive collection available to a new museum in Richmond received a sharp setback in March, when the Pennsylvania Attorney General won a temporary injunction to halt the move.

"We believe that under the [Library's] 1888 charter, these items should remain in Philadelphia," said Sean Connolly, spokesman for Attorney General Mike Fisher.

Judge Anne Lazarus of the Philadelphia Orphans' Court granted the injunction March 19, the same day that Fisher filed his petition. In mid-April the museum entered into a consent decree with Fisher's office, leaving the injunction in place pending disposition of the case.

Fisher is seeking to bar the Library permanently from loaning or transferring items from the collection outside the city. And he wants the Library to "provide a full and complete accounting regarding its financial operation," as well as a "complete inventory" of its collection.

Orphans' Court, a division of the Court of Common Pleas, has jurisdiction over nonprofit organizations in the state.
Fisher's pre-emptive strike dealt a blow to the financially strapped Library, as well as to the planned Tredegar Na-tional Civil War Center in Richmond. The $38 million facility, which organizers say will open in 2003, was count-ing on the Library's collection to provide the bulk of Tredegar's Union artifacts.

Library President Michael Schwartz declined comment on the developments, citing pending litigation. But he said Fisher's suit "was not un-anticipated. We knew certain parties were supplying certain information."

Dan Larkin, the attorney representing the Library, maintained that the Library has "the absolute right" to provide items to Tredegar, and said he was confident that none were donated with the requirement that they remain in the city.

Struggling to keep afloat, the Library's board had viewed Tredegar's interest as a godsend. Together, the Library and Tredegar announced a "strategic alliance" in February whereby items from the Library would go to Richmond while Tredegar would create a "new venue" for the Library in Philadelphia.

Among the first to applaud the attorney general's action was Pennsylvania Sen. Vincent Fumo, a powerful veteran legislator who was sharply critical of the Library's plans. Christopher Craig, a spokesman for Fumo, promised "to do whatever we can to assist" in efforts to keep the collection in the city.

"First of all," said Craig, "the record will clearly indicate that most if not all the items were given to the museum with the understanding that this was to be a Philadelphia collection. There's not a clear right of this facility to let the collection go out of the state.

"These were clearly veterans who fought for the Union, or family members, to demonstrate their sacrifice, and they sure didn't think they were giving items that would be shipped to Richmond."

Craig said the Library's financial woes would be readily remedied by donations at the local level. The Library has failed to reach out for help, he indicated.

In court documents filed March 19, Attorney General Fisher noted that the Library's 1888 charter states, "The business of the corporation is to be transacted in the City of Philadelphia in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania."

The Library was created in 1888 by MOLLUS (the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States), an organization founded by Union officers in 1865. The collection is comprised of relics donated by MOLLUS mem-bers, the families of Union soldiers and the general public.

Fisher acknowledged that the original charter was amended in 1986, when MOLLUS separated from the Library. At that time, the provision restricting the business of the corporation to Philadelphia was deleted. However, Fisher went on, "It is the Commonwealth's position" that items donated to the Library prior to 1986 continue to be restricted "by the terms of the 1888 charter to remain in the City of Philadelphia."

Connolly, Fisher's spokesman, said if Judge Lazarus sides with Fisher, it will be up to the Library, rather than a third party, to produce the financial accounting and the inventory.

Fisher has also asked Lazarus to combine his suit with that of Philadelphia's Grand Army of the Republic Civil War Museum & Library. The GAR Library filed suit against the Library in February to recover two stuffed heads loaned many years ago - the head of Gen. George Meade's horse, "Old Baldy," and the head of an army mule.

Lazarus's March 19 temporary order enjoined the Library from removing any item from its collection out of the city, as well as "selling, transferring, exchanging, leasing or otherwise disposing of their assets."