The Birmingham age-herald., 1923-02-17

towers will be 195 feet tall. The mas
 sive central tower erected. On the
 great eminence will have an eieva-
 tion of $40 feet above the city of
 Washington, making it the most con
 spicuous and commits ling object Tn
 the capital.
 Gift of Mrs. Russell
 The apse already erected was the
 gift of the late Mrs. Archibald D.
 Russell, in memory of her mother,
 Mrs. Percy R. Payne. The Bethle-
 hem chapel, beneath the apse IS at
 present used for services. A con
 siderable portion of the choir al
 ready is in process of construction,
 largely through the gift Of Wash- ington layman whose name IS With
 held, and the foundations of the en-
 tire structure. also in process of con
 struction, will be completed within the coming year. The present value
 of the property with it's endowments
 and investment funds has been con servatively estimated more than four
 million dollars by the late John A. Kassou. one time United States min ister to Austria.
 Behind the present national move
 ment are to be numbered some of the best known Americans. Among
 
 those who are taking an active part are the following members of the Cathedral Chapter; Charles c. Glover.
 chairman of the board of the Riggs National bank, at whose home Tn 1893 a meeting was held which re- suited in the charter of the Cathedral Foundation; Henry White, former American ambassador to france; Charles J. Bell, president of the American Security and Trust com 1 pany; James Parmele, trustee of the | Carnegie foundation fund; Corcoran Thom and pr. William H. Winner, Bishop Perry of Rhode Island. Bishop Rhinelander of Pennsylvania, Bishop Harding of Washington. president of the chapter; the Very Rev. G. C. F. Bratenahl dean of the Cathedral
 Rev. William L. Devries, the chan | cellor; Rev. James b. Freeman, rector of the Church of the Epiphany, and pr. William c. Rives. Subsequently there will be added to the list other bishops of the church, distinguished saergymen and laymen and women from all the states.
 Plans Announced
 In presenting the plan for im- mediate construction, Dr. Freeman
 today. in behalf of the bishop and the chapter, made the following an- nouncement:
 This Cathedral that it is proposed to erect in the capital of the nation, l makes an unusual and unique ap- 1 peal because it is national in char acter There is no other city on this i continent where such building can 1 so fitly express. the high ideals of | our nation as Washington. This is more than a diocesan building and it's | interest $ more than local. Here in 1 Washington stand the great build l lngs that have to do with the large l concerns of federal administration, | and here it is indispensable that a | great cathedral building should in | carnate and interpret those things | that we hold and believe to be fun | damental to the perpetuity
 | nation itself.
 Beyond the fact that it is the | building of great religious body it | must stand as the witness of our | common faith as a people. An the l very best sense 1t Is to be house of prayer for all people. No build | ing iii Great Britain so focuses the 1 affection of the people as We5tmin- | ster Abbey. This great abbey is | literally the shrine of Great Britain. 1t is believed that the national cathe- dral in Washington ultimately must l come to be to America what the 1 Abbey is to the English people. It ought to be the place of sepulture | for the great dead of our nation. It ought to be a memorial to the men and women who so unstinting-
 ly gave themselves for the people