The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1919-01-27

and naked in all its misery and DESC
lation. looked like q graveyard In the
moonlight. There were more crows
in the air, circling over the ruined
town that there were human beings
below In the Uttered streets.
Cardinal Lucon, archbishop OF
Rheims, who stood steadfastly by his
charge for four years, during which
time scarcely q day passed without a
German shell hurting death into the
city met the President at the fence of
rough boards which now excludes Gu
riosity seekers and encloses the rub
bish into which this most historic edi-
fee has been reduced.
The cardinal conducted Mr.. VIII
son to the nave OF the cathedral,
where in 1914, the Germans during
their short occupation of the city
placed their wounded, and then. being
forced to evacuate, burned their men
to death by incendiary shells that
fired the roof, but did not damage the
vault.
Art Treasures In Ruins.
All over the tagging. worn smooth
through the years by millions of feet
bringing Frenchmen to an hours de-
votion. were piled heaps of rubbish,
remnants of statuary and frescoe
fragments Of columns and sculptures
which were accounted the most per-
feet and complete examples of the
Gothic art. AS the president and the
cardinal stood together, looking up
ward. while the prelate briefly re-
counted the story of four years Of
constant destruction, they looked
straight through to the clouded sky.
The snow furry that was covering
the bare ruins of the city outside.
also was laying a blanket upon the
inside OF the cathedral.
The chalk stone of Champagne, Of
which the cathedral was built, is seal
ing off from the effects of German
fire and the falling snow flakes were
mixed with an almost constant drop
ping Of fragments.
Pausing moment before the scene.
the crucifix above the north door. and
before the paintings of the coronation
OF the, Virgin. near the central door,
Mr.. Wilson silently viewed the des-
truction wrought upon those master
pieces by the burning Of the scaffol-
ings when the Germans set fire to the
roof Of the edifice.
Ruins of statues lie about the side
door, and the great Rose window,
said to be the most beautiful in the
world, where Field Marshal Won
Moltke, in 1870 sat and watched the
sunset, Is shattered by shell fire I'M
til it looks like camouflage set I'D
by the roadside.
Mr.. Wilson followed the cardinal to
the ruins of the chapel where old
time kings watched through the night
at the time of their amounting, and
to the museum where priceless Flem-
ish tapestries were ruined.
He was shown where thousands of
shells thrown from German batteries
on two sides burst among the butt
resses which support the main struc-
ture and where forests of sculptures
which ornament the structure have
been SCARED, nicked and torn by frag-
ments from the big shells, but very
few of which ever reached the vault.
Given Glass Panel.
Part of the vault, however, lies a
heap of twisted and crumpled wreck
age upon the main altar where it was
thrown, by explosions which wrecked
most Of the stained glass Thirteenth
century windows. Cardinal Lucon
took Mr.. Wilson outside and they pick
ed their way through rubbish heaps to
point from where they could view
the shell-riddled painting of the Last
Judgment, above the south door; the
symbols from Noah's Ark about the
great Rose window, the statue of St.