THE GERMANIC MUSEUM

The Germanic Museum, housing specimens and copies of German mediaeval and renaissance art, is now reopened to the public for the first time since the outbreak of the war. During these four turbulent years the new building, provided for in the will of Adolphus Busch, was the object of frequent discussions as to what might, and what should be done with it. Unevious patriots suggested tearing it down; others, more lenient, that it be converted to a toolhouse, or at least a garage--anything, in fact, but what it was originally intended for. The structure, meanwhile, was ostensibly neglected, the wrought-iron gates remained securely barred, and the replica Lion of Brunswick, rising on his pedestal from a tangle of savage-looking weeds, seemed sadly in need of a currying.

Now, however, the building is to come into its legitimate own. Considered architecturally, it is certainly no disgrace. Moreover, as the University's Germanic collection is a trifle too good to destroy, it needs a depository, and naturally this much-slandered edifice will dutifully continue serving this purpose. The odium that attaches to it will, of course, wear off in time, and eventually the museum may be expected to gain the attention it righteously deserves. The sooner the artistic hatchet is buried the better.