Evening journal., 1904-09-24
OUR STATE EAIBLEMS
LACK OF ARTISTIC TASTE IN THE
VARIOUS INSIGNIA.


patriotic feeling or an exceptional de-
gree Of intellectual detachment TO be
able to assess the merits Of the ma
tional flag viewed wholly from the
aesthetic standpoint II is possible
that n denatlonalized cosmopoiite like
the late Mr.. whistler could pronounce
On unbiased Judgment upon the rela-
tive artistic merits Of the flags OF the
various nations, but the ordinary citl-
zen who should pronounce the stars
and stripes aught but the acme Of ar
tistic perfection would be voted akin
to him that would peep and botanize
upon his mothers grave" In the flag
we see glorious memories and lofty
ideals. not harmonies OF color, or, rath-
er, we never truly see the flag at all,
but its sight evokes flow of feeling
which we mistakenly identify with
the national banner Much the same
deep seated sentiment, attaches to our
national coat Of arms, the eagle and
the shield. Both the hag and the ma
tionai escutcheon are rightly immuta-
Bile.
But the matter is wholly different
with the seals and coats Of arms OF our
various commonwealths. The chances
are that the ordinary citizen of fair In
telligence would be at a loss for an
answer il asked offhand to describe
the seal Of his own state 1t is not
therefore an altogether hopeless task
to essay a few observations upon tho
artistic merits and defects OF state
seals with tile idea Of effecting an i'm
proyement I'm some Of them. Timely
alteration Is the more necessary be.
cause the state shields are employed
more and more for the architectural
ornamentation Of public buildings.
There is, OF course, no reason-ws
may as well admit It at once-why our
state coats Of arms should conform
technically to heraldic requirements 81
long as they do not violate the more
imperative belests Of good taste. Not
few Of the states have seals whicl
are dlgnifed. beautiful to the eye anc
graced by symbols Of historical asso
ciation Thus the Calvert arms, which
have been transformed into the OF
fetal shield of Maryland satisfy all o.
! these desiderata. So, too, the stat'
seal of Connecicut-three convention
allied grapevines upon a plain fel'
surmounting a scroll with the motto
"Qui Transtulit sustlnet," is altogethe
in good taste Many Of the shields Of
fend the eye, however, and the mos
common causes Of offense are the over
/ crowding Of details upon limited SUI
3 face, the inartistic attempt TO preserv
f traces OF historical association, the as
of misleading symbolical represents
tions and occasionally an undiscrlm
mating and exuberant civic magnill
n quence which eliminates IN the yeriel
artistic bathos.
Some one has suggested that II OF
IS civilization were suddenly TO be blottC
j. out and the sole remaining mon
r ments were our gravestones, the 4
scrlptons and figures thereon woul
= produce a most bewildering misco
I ception of our views upon most su
p jects of human interest Very simil,
e would be the result If all that remai
+ ed to the far Off historian and archa
n ologist. as the sources Of our histor
b were the coats Of arms Of our common
wealths.
For example. they would certainl
= be mystlfied as TO the Indian al
r origlnes. The noble red man appeal
on three shields and in three dlstin
garbs. On the Massachusetts shiel
G stands natty Bumpo, shapely and mu
r cular in build, clad snugly in his dee
o skin jacket and legglngs. with bo
S and arrows I'm hand and a couple
crow feathers cooked atilt IN his ha
! --one. by the way, Of the best shield
artistically considered. Of the who
+ lot. On Florida's shield stands a plac
n and buxom Mrs. Lo, with fringed ski
d falling to the knee-she whose imal
IS formerly advertised the tobacconist
n shop-holding a branch, presumably
j. the weed, doubtless portraying the a
y original race that inhabited the Eve
! glades. But the height of philistin
! vulgarity is reached in the shield
g Oklahoma. Here a melodramatic
N dian Of the dime novel variety. who
n made TO look like an iguana or horn
c toad by n ten foot string Of feathe
down his back, Is striking hands wi
plebelan white, while before the
A. both an impassive Goddess Of Liber
y in q star spangled waist and a red a
n white bunting striped skirt holds ale
the scales OF justice. Equally bafli
= to the future archaeologist is the
dustrial equipment represented
state shields. In the effort to preser
historical associations of an inanimi
il kind the designers OF our republic
escutcheons have accumulated a p
n diglOus assortment of machines a
4. other impedimenta which today say
W less OF antiquity than Of the junk sh'
xt Antique plows such as Cincinnati
would have discarded, sea craft
wonderful pattern. sail bearing can
boats, steam brlgs and side wheell
:. beside which q trireme looks mode
I lie in hopeless juxtaposition with I
:, cornucopia, the Phrygian cap or pile
! and similar classical paraphernal
. How early was this tendency to n
: classical and colonial symbols is am
I. ingly illustrated in letter written
= John Adams to his wife, the redoub
: BILE Abigail, under date Of Aug.
ID 1776. He relates that he has been !
upon a committee Of congress to p
- pare device for a great seal for
confederated states" and recounts