Binningen, 21st February 1907. Mrs. Chas. D. Kaier Mahanoy City Pa. U.S.
Dear Madame!
Much to my regret I heard that you
had waited for my letter for a long time without fulfilling your wish. The
reason is that I was convinced until today, nobody of your family speaks
German. Thatīs why I asked Mrs. von Hornstein several times to write a letter hardly to you in
my name. Not until the latest days I heard that someone in your family speaks
German.
Beside of
that it was impossible for me until today to write something special concerning
the windows. In the year 1906 it was entirely impossible to install the
windows. The church got done not until November and during the cold period at
that time the expensive windows could not be installed as correctly as they
should cemented as it was demanded because of their value. We should have
been glad of installing normal windows as a interim makeshift..
Apart
from that the artist whom we had engaged had too much work that he could start
with our windows not until this year.
Frankly
speaking I worried about the windows and they made me many unhappy hours. What Mr. Baron von Hornstein
told me in summer 1905 after your visit instructed by you as he said did
not correspond to that what Father Kaier wrote to me
later on. There were very great misunderstandings and the only explanation is
that Mr. Baron did not understand your words because of the difference of the
languages. As a matter of course I was surprised by these misunderstandings.
They made Father Kaier very angry against us.
Although we didnīt have any intention and we insured
him times and times that his wishes would be fulfilled exactly, he wrote to me
some deeply hurting letters and I could hardly write to him without being
scared.
The
baron said then in front of the parish council and all of them could listen
to his words by mistake that from America 4 windows are donated and we could
engage any artist we want; we had free hand with the price, the windows should
only become beautiful.
We
relied on that and without an ulterior motive we engaged the best artist
nearby: Professor Geiges in Freiburg
i.B. We engaged him because he also created the other
simple church windows.
I
never would have engaged Mr. Geiges with the figurative windows if I had known all the
misunderstandings, that not 4 but 2 windows are donated and some other things.
Now we are bound to Mr. Geiges what is not variable.
If you have the opportunity to meet Father Kaier,
please assure him that we didn't want to hurt him. That we let wait him such a
long time with the windows was because the artist put us off from day to day
and the windows couldn't be installed because the process of building up the
church was slower as we had expected.
During
the last days this sketches arrived finally; unfortunately they were so big
that it was not possible to send them to America. I asked Mr. Geiges at once to put me smaller ones to my disposal, which
I immediately could send to America
as soon as I had received them. On Pentecost the windows should be installed.
Unfortunately
I have to tell you the price is much higher than I expected. Each window costs
1800 Marks, together 3600 Marks. In his last letter Father Kaier
told us that he would only pay 1000 Marks for his window. I didnīt
dare to tell him that it costs 800 Marks more and I never will do it because I
fear he will withdraw his whole donation, as he often said. Iīd
rather pay the additional costs myself but it would be
very hard to me. The upper church authority in Karlsruhe will probably refuse to take over
the costs on the financial fund because the fund has melted down by building up
the church, I canīt expect anything from the people
around here and thatīs why I am responsible for the
deficit.
But
if you would take over the whole amount of your window, you would save me in an
embarrassing situation; my financial situation is so bad that I will have to
suffer for years when I have to take over the deficit for one of the windows.
The
high price is because our windows are double windows, which are divided into
two parts by a strong fin of stone in the middle. In each of the two parts has
to be put a painting. That is: One window has two paintings. I made enquiries
about such figurative windows and they are not cheaper somewhere else, except
we wanted low quality but that was particularly excluded by Father Kaier.
I tell
you the situation as it is at the very moment but I ask you urgently not to say
any word to Father Kaier about the embarrassing
point. When I promise to send the sketches as soon as possible, I ask you to be
so kind to give me an answer occasionally.
Yours thankful and sincerely
Father Trenkle
(parish priest)