The Concordia sentinel. (Vidalia, Concordia Parish, La.) 1882-current, 1920-09-18


During the past 80 year= over 100000 has
been expended upon the fabric. This large sum
has been obtained partly through the temporary
suppression OF one of the Abbey canonries and the
Hse Of the income for the fabric, partly through
subsidies supplied from time TO time by the &C.
ciesiastcaI commissioners in answer to urgent and
piteOus appeals. At the present moment we are
indebted TO the extent of several thousands of
pounds in respect of moneys borrowed from the
ecclesiastical commission for essential repairs.
Nov, however, faced with desperate
Srate OF things The of money which more
stilan 50 years ago fixed for the maintenance
f the fabric and for the services of the Abbey has
become utterly inadequate for these purposes The
immense rise in the cost of materials and in the
wages OF the staff, together with the greatly In
creased standard of efficiency demanded in the last
half century from every branch of service to
church and nation, has brought us to the verge of
Bankruptcy. 1t has even been. necessary, while
fabric repairs have unavOidably been postponed,
divert the absolutely essential duty of keeping
mp the services and worship of the Abbey the in
adequate sum Of money which had been ear
marked for keeping the fabric in repair.
~We are no longer able to pay our way.
sat the same time there is urgent need for
al The repair of the two great western towers.
! - The reparation of the external stonework
of Henry Wis chapel.
81 The renovation of a large portion of the
parapet running round the roof.
~ The repair of the cerestories and flying
buffresses
There is besides a continual large outlay re-
quired by the maintenance in proper repair Of
al The much decayed cIoisters, and
- The ancient dwellings which, at the present
scale of prices not be kept in suitable struct-
ural repair Gas has hitherto been requireD at the
private cost of the officials who are the temporary
occupants. 80
~But the Abbey must not be allowed to suffer
The English-speaking peoples of the world glory in
Westminster Abbey. They will not tolerate the
thought that it's structural condition should suffer
through lack of adequate funds. They will expect
me TO take them into my confidence as now do
II know we'll after residence for over nine
years In this place, and l know well from the ex-
Graordinary experiences in the Abbey during the
years OF the Great War. how dear Is this church
20 the people of this country, to our brothers and
sisters in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South
Africa, and India; and, in a peculiar degree, to
gur brothers and sisters Of the great Republic of
America. :"
Il ask for the sum of f250OOO. OF this, the
SIM OF 100000 is required for structural repairs
I'm the immediate future"
The safety of the Abbey and its relics was of
great concern to the dean during the period of afr
raids during the war. OF this he writes in the
London Times:
~When the war broke out it was hardly be-
Eieved that London was likely to be assailed from
the afr. But as time went on the menace became
evident. The counses of those who at first had
said. Oh there is no practical danger; they viii
never get as far as London, and IL they do you
can safely take the risk of not being hit could
E7sE possibly he followed by those on whom the
esfisE responsibility rested. We decided TO do all
tehat was possible for the protection of the chief
treasures of the abbey and to give assurance TO
the FzfEiic that nothing had been neglected
~Nes2fess 20 say. many interesting and fantas-
tie Suggestions reached me, displaying more SYM
patty with the security Of the building than prac
teal knowledge OF the cost of the feasibility
Of the recommendations. What we did may be
grouped under three heads-u) The removal Of
treasures to a safe place; (2) The protection of
eertain conspicuous monuments and 90 The SUBJ
StMfion OF wood for glass in four of our most an
Gent stained glass windows.
~(il The following objects removed TO
the crypt under the cloister house: The corona
ton chair; the old professional shield and sword
the saddle. shield and helmet associated with King