Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-01-26

the eye, In a field of azure intended to
represent blue sky. are the words,
Annuit Coeptis. Across the base of the
pyramid is the date 1776 in Roman num-
erals. Underneath this is a picture of a
rather scraggly field out of which a few
scrubby punches of Grass are growing
listlessly. Over the field winds a golden
scroll on which is the inscription Novus
Ordo Seclorum.
Mr.. Hunt had to go far back to the
archives Of the earliest days of the re-
public to find the significance of this al
ally he found an explanatory letter writ
ten by Charles Thomson, secretary OF
the Continental Congress-, who designed
our coat-of-arms in its entirety. Concern
ing the reverse side, Thomson writesA
1.-The uncompleted Pyramid signifies
growing Strength and Duration. The
Eye over 1t & the Motto allude to the
signal interpretations OF Providence in
favor of the American Cause. The date
underneath IS that of the Declaration of
nifty the beginning Of the new American
Aera, which commences from that date -
In going through these same archives
this twentieth century coat-of- arms
maker discovered why the reverse side of
the shield is so little known. 1t seems
that Immediately after Congress had
adopted 1t an avalanche of adverse criti-
cism began to pour in from artists and
public men all over the country. The
tenor of these complaints was that the
design was mot like that of a great ma
ton" Complaints of this sort continued
for many years. during which time it was
thought wise not to offend the esthetic
sense of the public by using the objection
able side So. gradually. the whole thing
came to be forgotten, and eventually
Congress quietly decided that since it
had been kept in the dark up to that
time 1t would be wise to keep 1t so.
Uncle Sans coat-Of-arms maker had
been studying heraldry many years be-
fore 1t became necessary Tor him to apply
his knowledge. His first call came when
Porto Rico was made a part of the
United States. The island had but one
seal, and this was the exclusive property
OF the city OF San Juan. Spain never
granted coats-of-arms to provinces-only
to important seacoast cities.
There were a number of reasons why
the San Juan seal would not do. Its de-
sign included rock in the sea, the lamb
of st. John and the royal crown of Spain.
Unquestionably 1t was striking-but the
lamb Of st. John was a symbol Of the
Roman Catholic Church land Uncle Sam
was symbol of the royalty that the
Constitution of the United States par
ticularly abhors. 1t was up to the gov
eminent to get a new seal-and so they
called in Mr.. Hunt.
The latter studied the history of Porto
Rico for nearly a year. He drew many
hundred designs. Finally he hit upon a
shield containing a rock in the sea- a
chief-which is the upper section OF the
shield-of stripes like those in the Amer
lean coat-of- arms: a crest of the Santa
Maria, Columbus flagship, and a motto
"Proespera Lux Oritur''-which is to say,
IAN suspicious light breaks
The rock in the sea was given the gen.
eral lines of Porto Rico. The corbel was
shown under full sail with the Spanish
standard flying from the peak and laid
upon the American "pales' or stripes OF
the design were the familiar laurel and
the wand of Mercury, with its winged
head and coiling serpents. The last two
features lack the special significance that
Mr.. Hunt holds so important, but he ex.
plains that they were needed to ''sort OF
fill out the design"
When the Porta Rican coat-of-arms was