Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1905-07-14

utCiScu tildL Iic uluSt CUT MS nalT AIT
cease to paint his face-though in
this same country disrcputable women
may paint their faces without hind
drance and poets and pianis,s may
wear their hair without limitation a.
to It's profusion. Actually, the Indian
Is given liberty only in Il single direc.
tion-librrty to die. And he is tax
ing advantage Of it-under govern.
mental supervision. Soon he will be
nothing more than memory, and
then a tradition, perpe,uated by this
inappropriate coin. II our Govern.
ment would take as device a rat in a
trap and label it Liberty" it would
be quite as appropriate as the Indian
heads. The diverse of this coin has
the general effect OF an old-fashioned
trousers button.
Our other coins in current circula.
ton are little better than the one cent
piece. The tiyecent nickel shows us q
pert, meaningless head. frivolous and
vulgar in the extreme. 1t is utterly
lacking III any suggestion of dignity.
The diverse is jumble of ugly letter.
ing, a vegetable wreath and the letter
"N." The silver dime has button
like diverse and has a reverse head
which bears n slight resemblance to
the first Napoleon done up in a wreath
and misiis Liberty cap. The same
head appears on the quarter-dollar and
half-dollar, and it is so much better
than the hideous heads on the nickel
and the dollar, that one hesitates to
criticise it through fear that q change
might result i'll something incompara-
bly, worse. The diverse sides of the
quarter and the half,dollar are the
same-a spread.eagle, evidently copied
from one-half of the kernel of an
English notwithstanding ribbon in
his beak with the almost illegible
motto "E Pluribus Unum," pro-
fusion OF arrows in one claw and n
colossal olive.brancll in the other, a
shield worn as a chest.protector her
aldically representing the arms of the
United States without the stars.
These stare, however, We find as a
constellation about the eagles head.
The denomination OF the piece and
the legend United States of Amer.
lea" also occur. One objection to this
diverse design is that the eagle is
grievously overworked. The general
effect is crowded and confused.
For pure, unadulterated hideousness,
however, the dollar certainly "takes
the palm" from all the other coins.
The diverse presents q more or less
impossible vulture with wings raised
rs if about to fly. This may have q
certain appropriateness, for in this
country dollars fly" faster than in
any other. But above the eagle is the
legend, In God We Trust" which ap.
pears to be curious combination Of
philosophy. satire and irreverence. A
stranger, or even person not entirely
u stranger, might assume from this
combination that the vulture illus.
trated, or exemplitied, the kind OF God
trusted in or especially recognized.
What does "ln God We Trust"
mean on an American coin? What
business has it there? Are We truly a
religious nation, with ideas of honor
and probity, or is this just mild at,
tempt to throw sand into the eyes Of
other nations to enhance our credit
with them, and with our.elves-as a
man often endeavors to gain social
recognition and commercial credit,
or tries to compromise with not en-.
tirely inactive cOnscience-by joining
a fashionable church and making his
responses in a particularly sOnorOus
voice?
In connection with our Government
and our money, such al expression is
distinctly sacrilegious. The majority
of tie American people may trust in
God" but that is not the kind of
trust" that this Government has to
deal with, and the line has no appro-
priatcness on our coins.
AS our civilization advances" l am
not quite certain that u slight change
of the motto might not be employed
with appropriateness and effect, as:
"THE TRUST OUR GOD."
The reverse Of the dollar shows a
particularly fat, thick, unattractive
head, with profusion OF frOwsy hair,
some heads of grain and other forms
of vegetation mixed with liberty
cap.
Our eagle We have stolen as her
aldic emblem. We have no particular
business with it, A turkey, q peacock
or pig would be quite as appropriate.
However, most of the other modern
nations have also appropriated the
eagle as device. The Greek coins
bear eagles, the Roman standards we're
surmounted by them, aud even back
in the Ptolemaic times the eagle was
in evidence. And he is not clean
bird either?
We have some perfect Legitimate
emblems: The shield with the stars
and stripes, the thirteen stars repre-.
senting the original States, the motto
I" f Pluribus Unum," and perhaps some
others. The Indian is American, but
We should hesitate TO flaunt our dis
honorable conduct toward him by
placing his visage on our coins. Al
any rate we should not use him in
connection with the word Liberty,
or " In God We Trust"
1t is to be deplored that either the
excessive modesty, or the inordinate
vanity, of George Washington led hin
TO object to the portrayal OF the Presi
dents head on Cur current coins. II
is true some of our Presidents have
not been handsome men, and other
wise, also, some of them might not dc
credit to us or to themselves. How
ever, their portraits would give oul
coins historical interest and would
serve 10 keep in mind their admins
tratiOns aud their most characteristic
events. 1t would not have been Il ser
ious matter if the Presidents bad OBJ
tanned some additional distinction an(
little longer immortality" by thi:
recognition of their respective term'
of office. This, probably, would pre-
vent our forgetting some of them
and, in the case of possibly bad or in
efficient men, it would serve to keeI
10 mind the lessons to be derived from
their unworthy administrations.
Even now, this system might be be