The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1906-02-23
HOW TO FINANCE
MODERN CATHEDRAL I | L: A
HOW THE MONEY FOR ST. JoHN'E
N. y. rs BEING RAISED.
Large Gifts of Levi P. Morton, John
Jacob Aston and August Belmont
Nearly All the Contributions Made
Without Restrictions Cost Of Some
of the Old-World Cathedrals.
New York Post.

&ss~ New York Post.
Ten millions, it is estimated, will be
spent on the Protestant Episcopal Ca
thedral Of St. John the Divine before
the great structure on Morningside
Heights in this city is finally completed.
been used up in the thirteen years dur
ing which work has been carried on,
and in spite of progress which the
building committee considers satisfac-
tory, little more than the outlines Of the
choir, one colossal arch, and one Of the
seven "Chapels of the Tongues" are
as yet visible to the casual sightseer.
Accurate estimates Of the wealth ex-
pended on medieval cathedrals can
certain that the expenditure of ready
cash upon them was comparatively
small Even in New Spain, where silver
and gold were for time more plentiful
than ever before in history, the ca
thedral of Mexico was erected at a cost
Of only 100000. The total cost Of
in the s World has, # i IS true, Been esti
mated at $7O,0OO,0OO, but Of this large
proportion was devoted to interior deco
rations, to monuments, to the tombs Of
the popes, and to other objects not es-
sential parts Of the church itself, but
on which Michael Angelo and his fell
low artists labored for years. The out
lay. moreover, was spread over four cen
ing were laid in 1850, and it was not
entirely finished until 1880. a., a
Only the unparalleled prosperity and
| wealth of the America Of the twentieth
century have permitted the erection
without strain upon individual re-
sources Of such building as the Ca
thedral of st. John, for the cathedral
builders Of today have at their disposal
none of the assistance that was at hand
churches of the old world. Tithes are
unknown in America; no broad ,acres
of, fertile land pay rent to abbot or
bishop. no peasants. are called from
their own fields to labor without pay on
the growing structure. The revenues
of the diocese of New York, derived
chiefly from small assessments levied
on parish churches, are barely sufficient
to- defFay the necessary expenses Of adj
ministration.
Voluntary Gifts Relied On.
The trustees of the new American
cathedral have to rely solely upon vol
untary contributions to complete their
project. The gifts which have made
| possible the work already done and
which are making possible the erection
Of the rest Of the structure range in
size from the 100000 given last win
ter by former Vice President Levi P.
Morton to the two and one dollar bills
which come from less distip guished per-
sons. A large number of contributions
are from persons living in the immedi
neighborhood in Harlem, from whose
streets the outlines of the growing ca
thedral on the heights stand out against
| the sky. ii - y =
In 1902 the Cathedral Leag que was or:
ganized to provide systematic means of
Carrying on the work. Each member
of the league agrees to pay toward the
lars, either in a lump or in ten, annual
instruments Of $40 each. The member
ship Of the league has increased steadily
until it is now nearly six hundred, and
in the last two years it has turned over
to the Cathedral treasurer $4,000. Such
a sum looks small alongside of Mr..
Morton 3 100000, John Jacob Astor s
100000, the 100000 from the Cole
estate for the endowment fund, and
other gifts Of six figures, but the trqs-
tees are determined that there shall be
no excuse for thinking Of St. John s
as erich mans church, =
The article in the league 8 constitu-
ton opening it's membership to any
person Gin sympathy with the erection
and proper maintenance of the cathe-
dral is no empty formula. One Of the
earliest and largest contributors to the
undertaking was a well-known Presby-
terrain who gave 100000 of the $780,
900 paid for the site and from time to
time Presbyterian clergymen have sent
smaller sums.
What the citizens Of Sienna, who
scrutinized With jealous eye the ex-
penditures on their cathedral would
have said to 100000 for single
chapel can hardly be conjectured. The
little chapel on which this sum is be-
ing spent is the gift: of August Belmont.
Along side of st. Savior's, as the Bel
mont memorial is called, there are now
being dug the foundations or second
chapeEthe gift of the late Mrs. Ed
ward King Of this city.
The great bulk of the contributions
to the cathedral are made without any
; restrictions whatsoever. In such cases
half the money is spent on building and
half goes into the endowment fund in
order to provide an income for the
: maintenance of the vast structure an6
, the prosecution of the many and varied
activities of which it is to be the
center. =.