Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1916-05-06
GAROOYLE AIT j. or P.
~DORMS" CARICATURE
OF PRESIDENT WILSON
Comic Portrayal in Marble Said
to Represent Him Holding
Huerta's Head in His
Hands
PRANK OF AN UNKNOWN

The University Of Pennsylvania has i'm
n1ortalfzed In marble n comic portrayal OF
Woodrow Wilson and set the lfe-size
Image Of the Presidents countenance upon
one OF It's buildings. Alongside OF the will
son head Is the head OF Huerta--cut Off
and ciutched in the hands OF the grinning
President.
Wilson and Huerta are among the
"sargoyles" that line the wallis Of the dor
mitories, though not half a dozen persons
connected with the University know It.
OF course 1t wasn't the official intention
Of Provost Smith and the others in au-
thority at Penn TO hold up to ridicule the
former President OF the neighboring (and
rivaD institution at Princeton. 1t was
young architects Joke and not the in
terition OF the University, but nevertheless,
say some Penn alumni, II Is the University
that is put in the position of poi;ing pub
lie fun at the President, and the young
architects name viii probably never come
out. He may be in Toxic by this time,
telling over the rice wine, of the trick he
played on Old Penn.
Not the most happy phase of this par
ticular trick to the minds OF Penn grads"
is that II presents a political opinion,
like cartoon and precisely the opinion
which patriotic Americans in the future
will object to, For. they say. the Presl-
dent went into Mexico to avenge an insult
to- our flag and not ito get Huerta's
head" But in a most graphic manner
this bit of cartoon in stone teaches that
Wilson took Vera Cruz just TO oust
Huerta; In other words. that he con-
Quoted a most hypocritica procedure.
which is the very thing his enemies ac-
cuse him OF having done. Whether his
tory exonerates him or not. 1t is sure
thing that Penn never will unless they
chisel off that gargoyle. So, at least
say the "old boys" of the Red and Blue
ha Hr,,, 80 hat ht,fI
dormitories denies Il all, but the pro-
fessors of the School of Architecture don't
deny Il. They think it's a good joke II
being legitimate. in the good old tradition
OF gargoyle-making to play pranks in
these fantastic decorations.
The ones in the dormitories are not.
strictly speaking, "gargoyles'; they are
really "grotesques." gargoyle is the
decorative figure at the end OF n rain
spout; the grotesques. or chimeras, that
are so interesting and mysterious an ex-
preston of medieval architecture, are
decorations of a similar nature not con-
nected with rain spouts.
Why these grotesques snou1d have been
made often to look like the evil one him
self, though used to embellish cathedrals,
is question that dips into theology; some
think they were put there to make fun
of the devil and expose his ugly features
to public contempt. But architects hate
TO admit that religion had anything to do
with the building of cathedrals
They like to think that cathedrals were
purely of architects, by architects and
for architects. and that IL there never had
been such thing as a Christian religion,
there would still have been cathedrals
built just to decorate cities AS matter
of fact. they are probably right In think
ing the designing of grotesques was left
entirely to the decorative fancy of the
sculptors who happened to be engaged
In the various parts of the decoration.
Now. these young men combined busi-
ness and pleasure, sometimes by making
the apes and quaint visages Of monks
scholars, clowns, etc. In their grotesque
resemble persons quite we'll known in the
neighborhood. perhaps the bishop himself
II they were daring and subtle enough In
caricature or perhaps only the master
architect. So II is right In the tradition
of the art that one of the innumerable |
grotesques OF the dorms shall be a sly |
caricature of Mr.. Wilson.
Now for the categoric denial of Mr.. |
Stewardson, of Stewardson & Page, de- |
signers of the dormitories.
II designed the building in question
myself" he said. There was no inten-
tion of making the decoration resemble
Wilson or Huerta. As a matter of fact |
the faces do not resemble those men The
idea that we tried to caricature the
President is amusing, but absolutely with
out foundation"
After that denial there is no use in
pointing to the fact that the leerlng gar.
goyle is the living. breathing image OF
the President. Nor in pointing to the
fact that the head has a scholars mortar
board cap and tassel of the modern type
unlike the medieval cowl usually seen in