Salt Lake Tribune | 1914-10-11 | Page 22 | Rheims Cathedral not Badly Damaged

HIS CATHEDRAL NT BflDLYDAMAGED Prominent English Merchant Mer-chant Makes Statement on Bombardment LOVDON Oct 11 1 40 a. m Frank. Hed0es Butler a prom nent Eng Ish merchant who Is well known In America as a follon er of aeronautics returned to London Saturday night after a fortnight spent n Hhelms In a statement regard ing the effect of U e German fcombard ment of that clt he said The Rhelma cathedral was not ser I ously damaged b; the bombardment In six months people tv 1 1 not know by Its appearance that It has been under fire Fron the point of view of art the can nonading was al nost a blessing for the old houses in the ne ghborhood have been so badly damaged that it is un Ikely they will be rebu t This will result n a c ear ance about the cathedral whicl will en able visitors to get an adequate view of its beauties The Vails carvings towers organs windows and pictures are all intact. The wooden roof vias burned but the main roof is of stone two feet in thickness and It is undamaged The wooden roof was ntended merely as a shelter against the weather and its loss is unimportant The exterior of the cathedral suffered in only one place where two of the carved figures were severely chipped They form part of the elaborate group of the Last Judgment After the bombardment began the en tire population of the city fled to oellars which were soon made almost uninnabit able by hordes of rats In the cellars of a big champagne firm there were 4000 refugees It Is worth noting that the grape crop n France this jear Is Ideal and that the champagne will be tl e best I ten ears. By a strange coincidence the vintage or 18 0 also was of superb qua lty While I was in Rheims every day English staff officers including Prince Artl ur of Comnaught came Into town from the firing line