Evening star., 1923-09-29

Paris has its Notre Dame, London its
Sacred Westminster Abbey and St.
Paufs. Rome it's ma jestic st. Peters,
but up to the present time no build
ing has been erected in Washington
comparable in architectural spiendor
to other public buildings. as wit
ness to those spiritual ideals Of which
we. as people, boast, and for which
we hold coveted place in the esti-
nation of the nations of the world.
The late Lord Bryce. whose dis
eliminating books on American life
hold an Incompatible place in our
literature, said to special envoy
who came to us during the great
war: You will find America a land
of ideals" We are proud to believe
ttat the great ambassador was right.
While we have grown amazingly
along commercial lines, we have not
forgotten that the things that make
a people great are its spiritual ideals.
We are giving much heed today to
| institutions that have to do with
culture and refinement, such as uni
verstties. art galleries and conserva-
tories OF music. but are We giving
like heed and consideration to those
institutions that have to do with the
things of character? Are we sacrf-
f1cing .aat which witnesses to our
highest ideals, to our so-calleJ prac-
tical conceptions of life? Are we
following the best conceptions-con-
ceptions upon which our fathers
bu!lded this nation, when we create
with splendor and magnificence vast
governmental buildings anu noble
structures that witness to art ana
literature. and ignore or treat with
indifference those buildings that
stand for inspiration and our devo-
tfon to Him whom we believe to be
the source anu sustainer of our life
as a people? However men may re-
gard or interpret their religious be-
Z. liefs, they still feel the thrill and
| inspiration of those great temples
or shrines that have become the
centers of a nations devotion and
the witnesses of its loftiest aspira-
tions.
greatest of modern architects, there
Is being erected on Mount Sc. Alban,
the most commanding site in Wash
ington, such house of prayer and
| praise. When completed it will be
western continent. and in beauty of
! design one Of the noblest in the
world. Already. the apse of this
great cathedral has been completed,
and while constituting only a frag-
ment of the whole building, 1t wit
| nesses in itself splendor Of archi-
lecture and is the object Of admira-
tton of the countless thousands who
visit 1T year by year. Beneath this
apse stands the completed Bethlehem
| Chapel. wherein services are said
! daily. Notwithstanding the limita-
tion of its space, this little chapel
has witnessed more notable gather
ings during recent years than any
church In the city. Already, II is
for those services that express in
large terms our obligations and de-
votions as great people.
The foundations of the entire
cathedral have been completed and
! at the present time the noble choir
been said by the contractors, who
| have the work in hand, that the en-
tire building can be completed within
| a period of Ave years. To do this
| approximately ten million dollars
The property, whereon this cathedral,
, with its schools and other buildings
already erected--stand, comprises
sixty-tive acres, the largest property
Of its kind used for such purposes
| is finished, 1t will be the most out
standing and conspicuous building in
: the capital. It's great towers will
rise hundreds of feet above the levels
| of the city itself.
In an age that is so utterly mate
rialistic and utifitarian as ours, there
are those who cannot see the wisdom
of creating such a splendid fabric
| for the sole purpose of satisfying the
artistic and the devotional, or for the
put for public services. These same
critics might. with possibly more
1 forceful argument, inveigh against
| the erection OF a noble memorial to
shaft to the memory Of Washington.
If they persisted in their argument.
| they might maintain that great art
/ galleries, visited by comparatively