Will one tire of their mass? Are they needed in such mass to subtly suggest battle flight? Is there not some symbolism less realistic and obstructive that would turn the trick? This thing cannot be _near_ great. It must either be _great_ or miss greatness altogether. Hence my anxiety.... I have faith in Borglum and admire the calm, fine way he receives the layman’s counsel. But this work is not a mere statue. It is a daring spiritual expression. It must not offend any canon of form or grace. Sometimes in writing I weary of seeking the hidden, difficult, aptest phrase and content myself from sheer ennui with a lesser form. He cannot do that, for my expression is ephemeral--his is eternal and unlimited.... It is significant, in view of later comments on his irascibility, that the sculptor welcomed such criticism as this. Because of the positioning of the memorial--in clear space, free from buildings and silhouetted against the sky--he made some changes in the figure. The wings were made lighter, the feathers outlined more distinctly, and some of the feathers were separated to admit light between them. Characteristically, there seems to have been no discussion of price or of compensation to the sculptor until the first model was completed. At that time he wrote that the cost would be $12,000, owing to the increased cost of bronze. Then he moved on to some work in Cuba. There was delay in getting the marble from Tennessee in time for the unveiling. Because of this the braces and rivets attaching the figure to its round base were not in place when the draperies were lifted. Dr. Alderman went through his speech in grave apprehension that the whole exhibit would fall on his head. But it all came right in the end--through sheer luck, perhaps. Mr. Fuller wrote that a friend of his, “a learned physician and a just and judicious man,” had looked at the memorial from an unusual point of view. This friend reported: I am sure it is a great work of art, but I studied it mostly from the position of the anatomist. The lines are perfect. What a grand specimen of the human architecture, as if just from the hands of his Maker! A model of human architecture! I noticed particularly the different prominent muscles, tense and drawn in preparation for flight--how anatomically correct they were in location and function.... I shall never forget.... The aviator’s father was deeply touched by the figure. He wrote to Gutzon: