| Show M mf m f On the left Mra J E Stevens r After Years of Patient Wasting R who called wrote forth the Mrs Bel X r o monts mont's spirited let let- t ter to the Bishop the Millionaire 4 Society I I II II I Woman Gels Even With Bishop Manning for the Way He Once T v 1 aT T tai F a i J fT yu M s l I t M w 4 i ir r j The of St John 7 the the Divine to which wealthy a t 1 Mrs Belmont declines to t 4 t a contribute a penny as it will 3 f flook look if the millions r j Ii 4 for its completion nary are J f ever raised a a o 1 r r ws IT s A G 1 A 1 5 ro If f t The Rt Rev William T Manning Bishop of New York in his robes of office and carrying the beautiful beautiful ful gold crozier presented to him I by English Englis i admirers N the year 1919 people interested in inthe inthe inthe ON IN I inI the various charitable activities of New Yorks York's wealthy and fashionable Trinity Parish were amazed and i bed fied to learn that Mrs O 0 H I Belmont had ceased all connection with the Sea SeaSide SeaSide Side Home Homo at Oakdale Long Island the where the parish parish provides every summer every a t I healthful vacations for hundreds of the city's poor children and working girls ti L She no longer visited the home the list of contributions for tor its sup sup- support port tup-port port showed not a penny from her her previously generous purse and another woman was elected t to the office of president which Mrs Belmont had held ever since the establishment of the institution i Nobody could understand why Mrs Belmont should have ceased to be an active supporter r of the home AS s everybody re- re recalled caned called this useful charity the b forerunner of many of its kind was aU Mrs Belmont's idea it idea it owed l S S owed its existence to her Pk Way back in the early t she had given to buy twenty acres of landat land at Oakdale v vand and to erect there a commodious commodious commodious y ous building of rooms The v building is large enough to ac- ac accommodate accommodate ac accommodate F 4 x more than a hun hundred I dred at one time p Later on she Increased her f original endowment by substantial gifts and she arranged to a divide with Trinity Parish the heavy annual cost of upkeep Kf Of HI the many charities in pa v t rH which Mrs Belmont was inter inter- interested 1 d ested this was her favorite her particular pet She devoted a aI I great amount of time to the in institution and its unusual success y Mrs was generally attributed to her 3 a W K zeal In its behalf haU and her busi businesslike B ya v Mm Vander- Vander g r i B ness-like ness conduct of its affairs fairs bilt Why she the should suddenly separated have abandoned the helm to another Su i from Mrs another seemed inexplicable Rl ii 4 Belmont As AI to what had happened to break oft off is iB-i's Ea S 1 s son n by bya a connection of more than thirty years W 5 her jS first standing Mrs Belmont herself was WIlS mys mys KW husband silent but from close friends I M but not of hers the curious learned that it was bA M divorced ff due to the Rev Dr Mannin Mannings Manning's s 's objection fx H to having a divorced woman prominent In the affairs of the parish when ho he was thundering from his pulpit Sunday after Sunday against the evils of divorce Mrs Belmont's first husband as is well known was the late William K Vander Vander- Vander-bilt Vander course he found the name namo of Mrs Bel mont Bel-mont bUt bilt and she sho had divorced him many mont standing out above aboe all the rest years yean before She was the most most distinguished of all The Ito Rev Dr Manning now Bishop of the many divorced men and women who the Diocese of New York was then be beginning went to Trinity Church to say their ginning a vigorous crusade against di dl divorce prayers vorce In looking over oyer over the list of his The conscientious rector decided derided that parishioners to see how many divorced it would v be he inconsistent with his attitude people he had right in his own flock of on on divorce to allow a divorced woman to 1 ti i N t k t 1 tAa Aa Aak 1 41 l a as s continue any longer to bo ho an active leader in parish affairs And the way he took of letting Mrs Belmont know that her interest in the religious and charita charita- charitable charitable ble work of the parish was no longer welcome was a I very curious one and one that proved extremely humiliating to the object of the rectors rector's displeasure According to the report of m mare more e than one Trinity parishioner Dr Manning ordered the name of Mrs Belmont omitted from the next issue of the parish year book The volume listed all the theother theother theother other officers of the Sea Side Home it enumerated all the other contributors but as to the th homes home's founder and president president president dent and chief financial supporter it was waa as silent as all if she had never existed For Joor the first time in more than thirty years the annual report of the work of Trinity Parish contained not a mention of Mrs Belmont Of course ourse Mrs Mis Belmont needed no further hint than this cutting one that she ahe was no longer lODger wanted in Trinity Trinity- Trinity or at least that her efforts weren't She promptly resigned the presidency of the Sea Sen Side Homo and stopped all financial support of the institution To do this gave her pride a severe wrench ench and it also robbed her life of ono one of its dearest Interests Man Many friends of Mrs Belmont urged her to make a vigorous fight for her right to continue active in the affairs of the home she founded They assured her that if she would openly oppose the auto lIutO autocratic cratic ruling of Dr Manning she would find much powerful support among the Trinity parishioners But nut Mrs Belmont said a decided no She preferred to hoid hold her peace and bide her time ime in silent patience sure that some day there would come an opportunity opportunity opportunity for her to get the last laugh out outI I of the situation and even een things up with Dr Manning for the pain and humilia humiliation tion he had caused her That opportunity she had hoped for all these years came only the other day while Mrs Belmont was reading her mail mailin mailin mailin in the breakfast room of her beautiful home Beacon Towers It arrived in the guise of a letter from Mrs Joseph Earle ue Stevens prominent in society and the affairs of the Episcopal Church Church which read as follows My dear Mrs Belmont Bishop Manning gave me your name to write to and ask if it you would feel like giving something toward the final completion of the Cathedral of St St John the Divine as we are making our final Easter drive this week and we h have ve not heard from you as yet Hoping you OU may feel like answering favorably and forgivIng forgiving forgiving ing me for having bothered your you with kindest remembrances yours MARIAN WHITAKER STEVENS There is no record of what Mrs Be Bel- Bel Belmont's Belmonta monts mont's immediate reactions were to a first reading of this letter but it may maywell maywell wen well be believed that she had to read it over several times before she could fully funy grasp its surprising import import- The idea that the man who bad deposed her from her place in the activities of Trinity Parish should even indirectly be solicit solicit- soliciting soliciting ing her support for the Cathedral must have seemed almost past belief It is quite easy tp to believe that when at last she grasped the letters letter's Import and realized that her long awaited op- op opportunity opportunity op opportunity had arrived she may have ex- ex excitedly ex excitedly cit clapped her hands and given an exuberant shout of joy At any rate she promptly summoned her secretary and dictated two letters a brief one ono to Mrs Ste ens Stevens refusing her appeal appeal and a longer very vigorously couched letter to Bishop Manning Here is III the letter which she dispatched to the Bishop and copies of which to tomake tomake tomake make her revenge complete she gave to the newspapers Dear Sir I am in receipt of a letter from Mrs Joseph Earle Stevens in which she states that you have given her hermy hermy my name asking her to write me to know if I would give something toward the final completion of the Cathedral of St St John the Divine Will you allow me to remind you dear sir that it is only a few years back you would not permit my name to ap- ap appear appear ap appear pear as the president of the Trinity SeaSide Sea SeaSide Side Home for Sick Children in the br J Future Feature Inc be In r J-r Mrs O H P Belmont whose peppery to todo r do anything to aid Bishop Manning in the xa xai i completion of the cathedral has created a sensation in fash fash- fashionable Z y society and religious circles yearly book issued by Trinity Church This information was given me by Mr Richard Delafield Mrs Richard Irving and Mrs William Jay They also called my attention to the omission of omy my name I had given this home to the Trinity Corporation years before belore and from the beginning of its ita existence been its president president president dent at the desire of all persons inter inter- interested interested interested ested in this worthy charity Your objection to my name figuring in the records of Trinity Church chari chari- charities charities ties you stated was because of my d di- di divorce di divorce vorce which was obtained in New York state on statutory statutory grounds Not wishing to offend your sensibilities sensibilities sensibilities ties much against the advice of many of my most intelligent friends I relieved your disapproval of my existence by re- re resigning resigning re resigning signing from the presidency of the home You may then dear Bishop perhaps understand my surprise at hearing that you had asked Mrs Stevens to appeal to tome tome tome me for funds I presume that the names of those making donations arc to be mentioned and on account of my divorce you will request that my donation must not be attributed to me This is the attitude you took to all my gifts to the Trinity Sea Side Home The recognizance of a gift is of no importance We give because it Is a blessing to be able to give What I fall fail to understand Is why this change on your part dear Bishop My My status remains the tho lame same ame I am still stilla a divorced woman ALVA E BELMONT To this verbal verba lashing by the famous suffrage leader Bishop Manning had no reply whatever to make Officials of the Cathedral however declared that Mrs Stevens letter to Mrs Belmont was not sent by his instruction or with his knowledge Mrs Stevens rallied to the Bishops Bishop's support by putting the blame on her social secretary for including ing Mrs Belmont's name In a list where it had no place But these denials and explanations could not not in the least lessen the s satis satisfaction faction of Mrs Belmont and the amused delight of her friends over the way the she turned the tables on Bishop Manning Later on she compared Bishop Manning with the late Bishop Potter much to the formers former's disadvantage She said The late Bishop Potter made me one of his closest advisers when he started a competition of architects for the tho Cathe Cathe- Cathedral Cathe- Cathe Cathedral Cathedral dral lIe He kept in mind the cathedrals of Europe which were In building for cen- cen cen tortes too the spiritual outgrowth of the people But Bishop Mannin Manning is trying to tin fin finish fin finish ish the Cathedral in his generation It Itis Itis Itis is a very bad time when there is so much poverty to be bo relieved d dand and so many calls caUs for money that are more urgent I would not have been surprised to get a business form letter but to get this personal appeal shocked me I con con- concluded concluded con concluded that he had forgotten all about the affair ofa of a few years ago Mrs Belmont's chiding of the Bishop has created a sensation in society and Episcopal Church circles There is much speculation as to what effect it will have on the raising of the millions necessary to complete the Cathedral of S1 St John the Divine a project on which Bishop Manning has set his heart If H the Bishop should decide to refus refuse gifts from divorced persons it would so narrow the field of possible contributors that the completion of the Cathedral In Inthis Inthis inthis this or the next generation might be quite Impossible And what is to be bedone bedone bedone done about the Belmont chapel which is already a part of the Cathedral and which was the gift the gift of a divorced W woman t Mrs Belmont who was Miss Alva E ESmith Smith has been known in in recent years year chiefly for her activity in the feminist movement She was one of the first suffrage leaders in this country Born in Mobile Alabama she was a grand grand- daughter granddaughter of General Robert Desha of Tennessee Sirs Mrs Belmont's philanthropies have been many She has haa been the good angelof angel angelof angelof of the National Womans Woman's Party repeat repeat- repeatedly repeatedly edly contributing to its exchequer One third of the tho building which is the head headquarters quarters of the organization in Wash Wash- WashIngton Washington Washington ington was subscribed for by her Mrs Belmont is the mother of the for for- formet for former mer met Consuelo Vanderbilt who divorced the Duke of Marlborough and Is now Mrs Irs Jacques Balsan Balun William K and Harold S Vanderbilt are arc her sons The Tho former has long been separated from his wife but there is no divorce Bishop Manning l has repeatedly con con- condemned condemned con condemned divorce from the pulpit and re recently made an address addreS in which he de deplored the increased number of divorces In society He ne has been one of the lead lead- leading leading ing spirits at the general conventions of the Episcopal Church in fighting any re- re relaxation re relaxation of the strictures against the remarriage of divorced couples His lIis most conspicuous ruling on this point was when he prevented the Rev Dr Percy Stickney Grant from marrying Mrs Rita do de Acosta Lydig I 1 t Sl |
