The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1914-01-01
The Cathe dral Of IT.. John the
Divine.

UTaI u ots Johu thS Di''hS WV
put on a quasi public exhibition. and
some Of the drawings have since at-
tanned publication. The departure
from the original scheme shown in the
new drawings was 80 wide and violent
as necessaril to arrest the attention
Of all who saw them.
1t may be observed incidentally that
there 10 no body Of architectural clay
men" more competent to form an opin-
ion upon n question like this than the
clergy of the Protestant Episcopal
Church. 1t is to that church that the
Gothic revival" Of half century ago
owed, In ecclesiastical architecture. its
most valuable encouragement and its
most attractive examples OF Gothic
pure and peaccable. beginning with old
Trinity in New York. which Is now,
counting from the date OF its conSe-
Grafton, two-thirds of Il century or
age. A complete set of photographs OF
the actual work and of drawings for
It's newly proposed completion might
be submitted to the Episcopal clergy
with more confidence of n inst solution
than like submission to any other
professional body excepting that of
the architects themselves. The YER
dict OF the architects would he likely,
human nature being what 1t is and
professional ethics" being what that
IL. to be BIASED against the modif-
cations. since there is n delicate ques-
ton Of comfy" involved.
As to this question it Is mere JUS
tice to say that the trustees were en-
tirely within their contractual rights
In abrogat ting their agreement with the
survivor Of the firm Of Helms 4 La
Fargo after the lamented death Of
the senior partner. But Of course the
ethical" question has nothing to do
with the aesthetic. The msthetic
question Is whether the modified de-
sign promises n more impressive and a
more expressive completion of the ca
thedral than the original design. \
subnh ssion of the two sets of designs
to public criticism. rs a correspondent
of ours suggested last week. would he
the most available method of deciding
this question. What seems to be an
official recognition Of this probability
was made in a recent number of the
Churrhmdn, In which criticism was
virtually invited, but without any pre-
sentation OF the documents upon which
criticism must be based. And re-
port In THE Sun Of Monday last shows
that the invitation has been accepted
and has resulted in hundreds OF
letters adverse to the proposed modih.
ca lions.
1t Is fairly clear that the motive
to the qualifications has largely been
feeling that the actual work. so
far, as It has been carried, is not
sufficiently Gothic" while on the other
hand it Is clear from an inspection
OF that work that 1t has been Gothi.
clzed In execution beyond the natural
and logical expression Of the primary
motive Of the design. which Is not
, technically Gothic at all. In truth,
the question Of Gothic or Gothic
was the very question involved In the
original competition twenty-five years
ago, when 1t was decided adversely to
the Gothic pretension. The modernism
Of the cathedral consists in the devel-
Opment OF the crossing at the in.
tersection Of the nave and the tran
septs 80 as to afford space for huge
auditorium" This development was
the 'clou" Of the. accepted design OF
Messrs. Helms and La FARCE, and also
of the other design which was Of most
interest In the final competition. that
OF the late WILLIAM APPLETON POTTER.
The award was due to the belief OF
the trustees and their professional ad-
visers that the preferred design man
aged 1t better.
Now. while the motive OF the ac-
cepted design proceeded In way from
the late English Gothic cathedral Of
Ely. albeit there executed In perishabe
material and crowned with the famous
'lantern" In wood, the expression Of
the feature Is much more abundantly
precedented In Byzantine architecture
than In Northern Gothic. The short
wide nave, amounting only to a mar
thex' OF the central space. has no re-
lation to the long drawn aisle and
fretted vault Of the Anglican minister's.
The comparatively shallow and rounded
and hipped transepts, considered as
expedients for enlarging the available
Auditorium" were admirably adapted
TO their purposes, and they also served
as appanages ana apparent abutments
to the central feature much more
appropriately than could the long
gabled Anglican TRANSCRIPTS which
have been substituted for them In the
modified design. An architectural ra =