New-York tribune., 1902-12-14

md sculptors, and those Of the bishops. assum
ing that century shall suffice for the compile
ton of the structure, what an imposing array
Of names the tablet will bear! There would be
Mxty for the building committee alone.
At the meeting Of the trustees when the com
Rittee vacancies were filled 1t was reported
hat a legacy of 100000 from Georgiana E.
Morris had become available through the death
of her sister, Mrs. Julia e. Balm. for whom IT
had been held in trust. One who lived at the
cceptfon of the enterprise had endowed it with
almost a quarter of million dollars. to revert
to the cathedral fund at the close OF a life for
the enjoyment OF which it had been tempo
rary reserved, had passed to her reward, the
loved one had followed. and only ten years
had gone sy and only arch OF the four
had spanned the yet shapeless aisle III ten
years round out one such story, what will be
brought forth in twenty. forty, eighty or a hum
dred wears? And vet what is 5000 to such
IL undertaking. tenth of such sum was re-
Quired to build the wooden form for turning; the
curve of one of the elk flying buttresses sup
porting the single arch already built! The whole
viii not pay the cost of transporting the stone 10
the site for the three arches yet TO be erected
Ey such comparisons only can the mind be made
10 conceive the vastness and the costl!ness Of
.Ais prospective New World rival TO the greatest
Aeigious edifces of Europe.
The trustees of the meeting referred TO award
ed a contract for the erection of three or the
eight columns about the Chancel They are to be
sixty feet high, and eacn viii consist OF two
pieces The intention to make them monoliths
las been abandoned. There is said to be no
practicable means for conveying such enormous
WEIGHTS to the site and erecting them. Stones
@. the size required would weigh three hundred
tens each in the rough and two hundred tons
feared that such weights
could not be transported over the streets OF
New York and there is q fear that. even when
divided into two parts, their conveyance from
the river front to the site may cause much dam
age. The monCliths for the new Hall OF Rec
ords, the hauling and raising of which was a
matter of great interest to building en-
gneers, weighed only fifteen tons each The
halves OF the cathedral columns undressed. VIII
Toe times that weight.
Work has been begun the choir OF the ca
thedraI. Stonecutting has been going on for
1cn:e time. Forty stonecutters are employed
constantly at this work, and 1t is said that the
same force, working every day in the year
cept Sundays and legal holidays, at the rate
and even with the improved appliances provided
to aid in the task cannot in less than ten years
cut all the stone required to finish the interior
of the choir AS fully half as much will be
qured for the exterior of the same part Of the
more speedy means for accomplishing the task is
found even if every other branch of the work
keeps pace with the stonecutting, fifteen years
more will be consumed in building the choir
The choir will fill the space of 120 feet between
the Belmont Chapel and the arch already erect
ed. 1t Will be 81 feet wide. and the distance
flom the floor to the highest point in the vauie-
ed ceiling will be 10S feet. The of the floor
will be approximately 6.JOO square feet. 1t is
almost impossible for the lay mind to compre-
hend the quantity of material necessary to con-
struct the choir. The Belmont Chapel is said to
contain 1900 cubic yards of stone. and brick
enough to erect a six story house, the latter hay
ing been used only in lining and filling the walls.
The ornamentation of the cathedral will prob
ably occupy the lfetimes of several sculptors.
Its extent, like nearly everything else about the
ediice be comprehended only by piecemeal.
In the Belmont Chapel there inches for no
less than fifty-two statues. To fill these is a
task which few sculptors working in the old way
would be able to complete from the time Of ma
ture experience In their art to the end of the
average life. J. @. c. Hamilton. one of the
most prolific sculptors In the United States, has
undertaken the task of supplying all the deco
Horam