Voice of the People

A Name to Be Remembered

Editor of The Times-Dispatch, Sir:

Mrs. Fitzgerald’s reference to the “matchless monument to the Pathfinder of the Seas,” by Frederick William Sievers, impels me to inform a “Virginian by Adoption” that this memorial was erected at a cost of $60,000—not a small sum.

Most of the donations came from native Virginians. Contributions were received from

all sections of the State. When “Virginian by Adoption” says that Virginians and Richmonders in particular are letting this name be forgotten, it is well to recall the State-wide collection from school children, which reached the sizable amount of approximately $1,900.

Virginia’s Indian children surprised me with a donation. This check was accompanied By a letter from the chief of the tribe. If Matthew Fontaine Maury is not known now in his native State, the undersigned is willing to learn what more could have been done by the association, formed in 1915, to call attention to Virginians, of their failure to honor him as he deserved.

Among the many donors was Woodrow Wilson, then President of the United States. Another native Virginian who contributed to the monument fund was Lady Astor. Worthy of inclusion in this letter is the fact that a picture of the Richmond memorial, with description, occupies a place in the biography of Matthew Fontaine Maury, by Charles L. Lewis, professor at the United States Naval Academy.

GASTON LICHTENSTEIN.

Richmond.