Evening star., 1919-05-07
DECLARES RHEIMS
CATHEDRAL BURNED
German Curator Says 1t Was
Protected by Hun Artillery
Commander.
BY BEN HECHT.

his ancient fingers to crease the postal
card into innumerable folds. The
venerable curator OF the Friedrich
Wilhelm Museum and custodian OF
German art was telling the story of
the war and he was eager to make II
a convincing story He was eager TO
convince his listener that his people
were not a race of bloodthirsty van
dals. He sat with his legs wropped in
a travellers blanket, the sun shining
| full upon his fine old face. and told
his story. 1t was Of the lombard
ment OF Rheims by the German Sd
Army. His thin fingers worked
| nervously with the postal card. He
spoke in English.
Declares Art Protected.
II have seen what has been printed
| of u.s." he said. ut is all so untrue
| and yet the world believes II. Ask
! of the museums in Belgium and in
eastern France If any single picture
is missing today. Ask OF them II
| a single statue was broken by the
| German army of occupation. Ask II
| an important book or valuable tap
| estry is missing. Here from Berlin
| we directed the care of the enemys
art works in the territory captured.
1 myself respect and admire French
! art above all others. No, the German
vandal did not spoil one object of art
and the German Hun did not ruin a
| single canvas. Had they been our
own we could not have protected
them better than we did"
What Of Louvain and Rheims?" I
asked.
Excellenz Won Bode regarded mo
sorrowfully.
Tells About Rheims.
I'll tell you of Rheims" he said
| slowly. ''Of Louvain I don't know e1-
cept that the cathedral was saved and
that the library was damaged. 1t
must have required careful shooting
to save the cathedral Of Louvain-
the easiest mark in the city. But Of
Rheims know more. My friend, Gen.
smiled ssa Df forget Hee SGa: hi:
name. I am growing old. He was my
friend, and for many years long ago
we studied art together Before the
war he was stationed at MagdeburG.
There during his leisure he attended
the university for special study in
the history OF art.
"On his last furlough before the
war he made a trip through France.
visiting all the famous cathedrals.
Architecture was his passion. Above
all he loved the architecture of
| France. He had written a book upon
1t. And then the war came and my
| friend, Gen. Won, Gen. Won -
Again the desperate smile. Il cannot
remember his name, and 1T is inn
portant because you will find him
and speak to him about what tell
you"
Perhaps you will think of his
name later" I suggested.
Quite so." said Excellenz Won Bode.
When the war began my friend
found himself in command of the ar
tillery of the Sd Army. He found
himsek. directing the fire upon the
| city Of Rheims in which stood the
| cathedral he loved as only con-
noisseur Of beauty can love beautiful
commanded the artillery that bonn
barded Rheims and then he went
away. He could not stand it any
longer. He had given orders that il
any shot hit the cathedral the entire
gun crew would be held responsible.
Thought Cathedral Saved.
"The enemy used It az q signaling
station. Its spires were high. and
But no shot hit the cathedral and my
! friend wrote to me. Rheims must
fall soon. but. thank God. have saved
the cathedral A month after l re-
He was old and shattered. ri never
again commanp the artillery con-
fronting Rheims he said. Some
thing must have happened to the ca
thedral at Rheims. Last week the
wooden scaf,olding erected by the
fire. We stood watching the cathe-
dral burn. and oh! the fools did
nothing to stop it,"
Herr Won Bode stopped the story
there and looked eagerly at his lis
tener. Then he asked, querulously.
Il see you make notes. You will write
| what I have said, yes" The ancient
! fingers allowed the postal card to rest.
Won Bode resumed talking, and this
| time he told tho story Of President
Ebert aud the royal art galleries.
Get Pictures for Ebert.
when Mr.. Ebert Became presi-
dent" he said. he called upon mo
and asked me to give him 100 pictures
| or so to hang up in his new rooms in
Wflhelmstrasse. I told him it was
impossible and that the kaiser him
! self did not have the power to strip
| the art galleries. It makes no diff
| the pictures. Mrs. Ebert says we need
| about 100 pictures and I want the
| best 1 didn't know what to do.
appealed to Mr.. Scheidemann. asking
him to take some Of the pictures in
Wilhelmstrasse and give them to his
friend Ebert, but Scheidemann said
| that. far from giving Ebert any pic
! lures, he himself wanted more. For a
week l feared that this new kind of
ruler would succeed in destroying our
wonderful collection.
THE idea of Mr.. and Mrs. Ebert
hanging up Titians and Rembrandts
| in their bedrooms spoiled my, sleep.
! Finally I was struck with a happy
thought. I went around to the .homes
Of my friends and to old government
buildings and after a diligent search
| resurrected some fifty pictures They
were mostly landscapes and portraits
done by third-raters. These l had
brought to the Ebert mansion. I had
to include two or three old masters
for fear some one might ask him
questions. And there they hang now.
Mr.. Ebert is satisfied. Mrs. Ebert is
satisfied and 1 am satisfied and the
priceless collection in the royal gal
leries remain intact.
Il offered to secure for Mr.. Ebert
full collection of modernist paint
ings. inasmuch as all modernists are
revolutionists and helped to over