The text describes another collection for the creation of a statue of Maria Konopnicka, this time by the American Polish community, specifically the Union of Polish Women in America, which was to donate $2,000 for the purpose (Source: "Wschód", Lviv 1936, no. 1, p. 4, after: Jagiellonian Digital Library).

A modernised reading of the text

American women remembered Lviv. Collection of $2,000 for the monument to Maria Konopnicka

Lviv society still has fresh memories of the celebrations marking the 15th anniversary of Maria Konopnicka's death, the most important moment of which was the ceremony at Lychakiv Cemetery, by the Mausoleum of the Great Poet, erected through the efforts of the Committee for the Construction of a Monument to Maria Konopnicka, with substantial subsidies from the Municipality of the City of Lviv, the Ministry of Culture and other institutions.

In addition, at a large civic gathering at the City Hall, the Committee appealed to the people of all of Poland to support its campaign to erect a monument as soon as possible to the poet whose works instilled the ideals of independence and the spirit of action into the Polish heart in the gloom of slavery.

In the further development of this action, proclamations and bricks for the monument building fund will be sent out in the near future. At a time when the public is being called upon to make sacrifices for this purpose, it is advisable to report on the present stage of this action. All the more so because a comforting fact has recently occurred which will contribute significantly to accelerating the moment when a monument to Maria Konopnicka will be erected in one of Lviv's representative areas - here in our city.

Bringing this moment closer is due to the Committee of the Polish Women's Union of America, which, in addition to its splendid foundation for the Cemetery of the Defenders of Lviv, also donated a fund of $2,000 for the construction of a monument to Maria Konopnicka. This grant has a noteworthy history. Since its inception, the Association of American Women has held a deep veneration for the Great Poetess. Proof of this was the honouring of her with the highest dignity the organisation had at its disposal, i.e. the appointment of her as an honorary member of the Union.

An expression of reverence for the national bard was also the fact that, on the occasion of a trip by American women to Poland, the then President of the Association, Mrs Napiera Iska, established cordial contact with the Committee for the Construction of the Monument. This contact has continued to the present day, notwithstanding the change in the Union's Board, of which Ms Honorata Waloska is now the President.

At a time when the Committee is to dispose of such a generous donation and when it is counting on the increased generosity of the public, it is worth reviewing its activities to date. The Committee was formed spontaneously, almost immediately after the death of the Poet and the interment of her remains in the Lychakiv Cemetery. It brought together the most prominent representatives of all social circles under the leadership of Jan Kasprowicz.

Donations began to flow in a rapid stream and one could expect the plan to come to fruition soon. Unfortunately, the war years came, followed by devaluation, which reduced the funds to a trickle. When, after the death of Jan Kasprowicz and the subsequent departure from Lviv of the second consecutive chairperson of the Committee, the enthusiastic Jadwiga Petrycka-Tomicka, the chairmanship was taken over by Mrs Jadwiga Zgórska in 1924, the capitalised fund amounted to a mere 2000 zloty.

Despite such slender funds and unfavourable general conditions, the idea of building a monument was not abandoned. Work on the new project continued. Thanks to the perseverance of the Committee, a new artistic design by Luna Drexlerówna was acquired. It depicts an "Oracza" - symbolising the creative activity of the Poetess. The project was favourably evaluated by an artistic commission composed of the most prominent art experts in the city and approved by the authorities.

The municipality of the city of Lviv donated a square for the monument in Kosciuszko Park. This monument will certainly become a real adornment of our city. It is worth noting that the Committee - in tribute to the piety of Mrs Luna Drexler, who put so much work and heart into the work she had begun - also used her design for the construction of the tombstone in Lychakiv Cemetery. A bust of Konopnicka was placed on a stone pedestal, a study of the head for the monument designed by Luna Drexlerówna. After this brief historical outline of the campaign, we return to its current status.

The Committee - after covering its expenses to date for the designs and plans - has 10,000 zloty in cash plus 21,000 zloty donated by the Polish Women's Union in America, making a total of 31,000 zloty. The cost estimate for the monument, on the other hand, has been calculated at PLN 50 000. So there is still a shortfall of PLN 20 000. This is a serious sum, especially in view of the severe economic crisis. The Chair of the Committee, Ms Zgórska, in a conversation with a representative of the "East" editorial board, emphasised that the Committee is aware that we are living in a sad reality in which so many needs are demanding satisfaction. Despite this, however, we must not forget that in any era, however hard, man "does not live by bread alone" and that this applies to an even greater extent to the collective organism that is the Nation.

The commemoration with a permanent monument of the Great Awakener of the national soul, whose works were a powerful consolation for us, spiritual salt in times of bondage, and a source of living moral strength - has been handed down to us by the initiators of this work as a duty to be fulfilled, as a continuation of the work around the creation and respect for our spiritual goods. Such work can never be interrupted.