New-York tribune., 1907-09-22
THE FACE ON THE COINS
f. Ed7rin El7oeU Defends the st.
Gaudens Designs.
To the Editor Of The Tribune.

To the Editor Of The Tribune.
Sir: This attack the St Gaudens designs TOT
the new coins because he has used the best lrlsh
face he could find is absurd and is as un-Amer-
lean as the acts of of the so-called American
societies, who would be Better occupied In an
earnest effort to be American themselves
In the first place an artist has the divine right
to carry out his ideal after the public the gov
ernment has had the confidence to go to him for
an expression of his genius. In the second place
who Of our American sculptors would. have oeen
big enough and Intellectual enough to have selected
a beautiful face from the working people but the
lamented ST. Gaudens?
Would the face of German. Hebrew or Scahoi-
navian have been any appropriate for such
honor have any other distinct type mat
could call all American?
The fact that Mary Cunningham working
honestly in the United states OF America ana IN
tended to remain here. perhaps to marry and settle
down. was enough to entitle her to the honor ana
she received first call AT the hands Of the greateSt
sculptor of modern times and. lastly from the
greatest democratic government the world has
known.
St Gaudens was a deeper thinker than the pubic
gave him credit for and shall one day hnd out
that he was only half appreciated. and thar the
public followed the cunning smooth pretenders ana
not the greatest mind in art shall ever see IN
our day.
Examine the matter from purely artistic point
of view and we have to regret that such mlnd
has gone from among and that We shall not
again have opportunity to be enriched oy MS
thought. so clear and so loyal
Instead Of complaining that the face Of Mary
Cunningham is to adorn our money. we should oe
proud that 1t is the face Of one OF the most ae
lehtful people the world has ever produced Al
most every other nation is lacking in that hne
quality Of sentiment except the Irish frehch anu
italians In the faces of these people one mas
still remaining a beauty 81 expression coming
from warm and true hearts unsullied by the a"iu'
greed of possession. .
There are no more beautiful women in the "oili
than the daughters % the so-called common irlsh'
a term unfit to express such types Of humanity
These daughters OF Ireland have something III
their faces at inspiring and nonle' purely
womanly: full of an exquisite human qnai'y ol
rare feeling that makes the whole world the better
for theIr having lived No Oriental can match
these sweet Irish girls. who make the pest OF
human mothers and the jolliest Of merry wives
and sweethearts full Of the fine traits OF the ages
and as pure emblems of American womahhood as
any 10 be found In this broad land
l. Mary cunningham was laborinE in America
and doing her work honestly and well, she repre-
sents the grandest type Of womanhood and Is a
rerfect type from which to take the face or our
coins
Let us hear no more from this so-called Ameri-
can society and its attempt keep from the Amer
,ran public the work Of greatest master In
sculpture; and let us hear more Of the UrAtness
Of sweet Mary Cunningham. or any other honest
working girl 10 he represented on our money
We sadly need honest expression IN our every
day Nfe and when the beautiful soul Of this sim
3le honest girl looks at from the coins 81 our
country she VIII carry about tn" most benign and
healthy influence we have had for many years and
We shall live rise mp and glory In the fact that
not only have such beautiful coins. but We
had a sculptor who great enough and intel
IectuaI enough 70 be guided by hts own individual
genius ana to do the thing that the Ereat God IN
him prompted. for IN doing there can be no
error.
81. Gauders has done moro than the Church
has done IN setting UP its head from the carpen-
.ers bench In Galilee. He has only followed the
instinct OF humanity base It's great acts sim
pie honesty, and he found the expression OF his
feeling in the face OF Mary Cunningham.
Had ~ not been for the Whites. Sullivans. Ocira-
dys McKinIeys and countless other Irish families
who gave their lives and strength FOR the found
ing OF this Republic. would to-day have no
home for the seekers Of freedom and would still
be under the rn!srule OF England. the most subtitle
and at once the most heartess nation the globe
FRANK EDWIN ELWELL-
New York Sept. 70. 1907.