The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1884-07-16
THE BARrHoLDI STATUE.
An Extraordinary Work of Aria Statue
Stuffed with Sand.
London Daily News.

Stuffed with Sand.
London Daily News.
The statue has had all sorts of vicissitudes.
It's conception is due to the great French sculptor
Bartholdi, who has passion for working on the
colossal scale; but he and few faithful friends
had no little difficulty in persuading the public
of two hemispheres that they were in want of
this work. A Franco American committee was
formed in France with very influential names
NJ Laboulaye NJ. Oscar de Lafayette, NJ de
Rochambeau, ID. Paul de Remusat NJ Wadding-
ton, etc.--and the Franco American committee
duly issued its proposals for subscriptions in
France and in the United States They were
put in very seductive for1n-the republic of
France was to make this pretty gift to her elder
sister of America Everybody said it would be
q good thing but few put down the money
However, by dint of vigorous beating of the big
drum on platform and press, by concerts and
lectures, and balls, and fancy fairs, as well as by
generous donation the money was got together
and the statue of Liberty now stands finished
in its Paris workshop, the most extraordinary
work of its kind Of all time.
The moment after the presentation the work
men will begin to take it to pieces for transport
to America, where it will be riveted together
again to stand for eternity. The dimensions are
almost ludicrously large. The figure alone in
net, stands los feet; the extreme length from
the sole of the foot to the end of the torch in the
outstretehed hand is 1877 feet inches; the pedes
tai of granite will be So feet high, and the two
entire work. The monument of Fish street HILL
the loftiest isolated column in the world is but
202 feet high; while the faf-famed Colossus of
Rhodes stood only about 40 feet without his
stockings The work has been going on all these
years, slowly but surely at the copper foundry
of Mondint ct Cie. near the Pare Monceau in a
great workshop built specially for it. The
further the coppersmiths advanced with their
task the more Gliputian they became in relation
to it What were men,. for instance or the
children of men In that awful eye measuring
thirty inches from corner to corner! A six
foot man standing on the level of the lips
only just reached the eyebrow While
they were working on the crown Of her head,
they seemed to be making q huge sugar cauldron
and they jumped with ease in and ont the Tip Of
the nose Fifteen people might sit round the
flame of the torch, and they would reach that
elevation by spiral staircase within the out
stretched arm
The details of the construction are hardly less
curious. Something light was wanted for trans,
port 70 the other side of the globe andsomething
strong as WE'LL to enable the statue to resist the
wear and tear Of the elements for at Bedloe it
will stand in very exposed place. It was de-
cided, therefore to make 1t of plates Of very thin
copper only an eighth OF an inch thick-for1r-
ing an inner and an outer skin abouta foot apart
and to fill the space between them with sand
especially toward the base, so as to give the
statue the requisite sohdity. The colossal statues
of the past were either of solid metal or were
filed up with masonry or woodwork. II was
impossible to adopt that plan in the present
instance; the cost Of the metal would have been
too great, and the difficulty Of transporting in
superable AS it is, the small plates can be east
~ unriyeted, packed on board ship, and riyeted
together again when they reach their destinar
ton. The sand can be easily poured in or
drawn off for repairs for any particular part.
The two skins are to be kept In their places by a
gigantic skeleton framework in iron, running
foursquare from the basement to the very
crown of the head, exactly like the framework
0f n lift. and meant 10 serve that addition Al