New-York tribune., 1910-09-10
1.-THE CONVERSE PLACE
A Farm Possessing Beauty That was
Not Bought with Money.
To the Editor of The Tribune.

To the Editor Of The Tribune.
Sir. As T do not believe In waiting 10
mt ON a mans tombstone the things that
might have said while the man hinseiL
lived and as I deem ii to be the duty OF
every one TO make known the existence y.
a beautiful thing that any man has oohe'
ask the cooperation of The Tribune III
calling attention to beautiful thing Dach
among the hills of Connecticut, remote
from the beaten paths Of appreciation
Returning from farmers picnic near
Stanwich, half a dozen miles north OIL Tie
suburban town of Greenwich, came upon
a large farm known locally as the Coil-
verse place" Now, l had heard OF thiS
farm. invariably as having cost Pile OF
money!" and as giving employment 10 d.
MANY OF the local inhabitants as Wouic
condescend to work long enough TO ara"
weeks pay; and my mind was influenced
to some degree, perhaps, by certain cas'
iron stays. nastiffs, lions and Venuses on
lawn a few miles east Of New canaan
therefore I was not altogether prepared
for what J saw.
IT has been my privilege to see farms,
large and small. on several continents.
have seen Cliveden and some other country
tates on the Continent and along the
Riviera, aad | have visited, as guest
rural retreats OF potentates in Asia; yet
never have seen any farm. country place
ancestral estate or rural palace that So
completely and satisfactorily filled my
ideal of what 4 country place should be as
this farm home of Edmund G. Converse IN
an Iinfreuuented hill section of Connecticut.
There are larger farms than thlS' thert
are rural homes that may have cost per-
haps. a.greater pile" of money: there are
country places that attract more puDlic
attention. yet / know of no place that Is SO
simple In original conception, so perfect III
outline, so fautless In symmetry, so true
in harmony It is a masterpiece IN ruTai
art IT is a classic
Catching first view from the main coun-
try road, l forgot that this place had cost
d pile of money; l forgot that 1t gave en-
ployment to many men; l saw only that
the man who had created this home among
the Connecticut hills had gwen to the
eleven hundred acres something more than
mono al.t' days work can buy. He had
given % it t part of himself-a distinct ex-
press II character and purpose that one
almost might be tempted TO call soul.
The dominant note is simplicity. There is
a grateful absence OF ornamentation, OF
fountains, of shaded walks, of statuary and
of rows of trees. There is breadth of de-
sign: there is an almost auStere purity of
outline. 1t is an oasis of beauty in the
Saharan expanse of the commonplace.
This place was not built by money alone,
but by love and art and intellect working
together. The man who has created 1t IS
as Justly entitled to public recognition as
the man who produces d masterpiece OF
sculpture, painting, music or literature.
tried to convey an incomplete express
sion of this thought TO my companion of
the drive. a minister of the Gospel but
this worthy gentleman betrayed his Con
necticut affiliations by, saying: My, ism |
that a fine stCne fence!'
[ would suggest to persons who pass up
and down the undulationS of the Connect
cut landscape at the rate of Il mile in
forty-seven seconds that they inquire the
way tq the century old village of Stan
vicll and so along past ''the Converse
place" at their sloWest speed. IT they have
inherited an appreciation of anything
above the structural appeal of a stone
fence they will see something worth while.
WILLIAM WILLARD HOWARD.
Stamford, Conn, Sept. ., 1910.