Salt Lake evening Democrat. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1885-1887, 1885-07-30
BUILDING THE PEDESTAL.
The Vast Sums Uselessly Expended
by the ssRHSiness Men.
Fundamentals Journal.


At the beginning of the Bartholdi ped
estal bid was made to construct the
entire pedestal of solid granite, for the
sum of $780, S7. The committee rejected
the bid and went to work in its own way
BY May LIST, 1884, it had spent $4,000,
and the pedestal was no more than fairly
under way. Then Mr.. McGaw, engineer
OF the Girard avenue bridge at Philadel-
phia, offered to complete the structure ac-
cording to the plans OF the architect, for
$l32 COO. This bid was also rejected On
the 10th of June Mr. Evarts announced
that the committee had received $24l,-
600 for the pedestal.
In the first place the committee could
have had the pedestal built and ready for
the statue by next autumn at a cost Of
less than 100000, if they had accepted
the first bid. In the next place they
could, after spending $4,000, have had
it built by accepting the second bid at Il
total cost of $242 900 In either case the
original design would have been carried
out. Put, instead of improving either of
these opportunities, they have gone on
collecting and spending money, and have
involved themselves in still further ex-
pense, at the same time that they have
decided to reduce the height of the pedes-
tai bv tWenty-nine feet. After declining
to have solid stone foundation built at a
reasonable price, they decided to adopt
concrete, because that would be cheaper.
The concrete, according to the estimate
of the contractors, should have cost $780,
600 In fact, it has cost nearly $l0O,OO0.
THE REASONS FOR THIS WERE SEVERAL
Day labor was used, and it was continued
all through the winter, a season in which
experienced engineers, familiar with the
conditions of our climate, would not
think of proceeding with such a task.
Again, frequent changes were made in
the composition of the concrete and
what is more extraordinary is that the
weakest layer was placed at the bottom.
This was done by order of the chief
/ engineer, in defiance of the specifications
TO which the contractors who were lay
inc the concrete had agreed. Again,
fourteen persons were employed to assist
at inspecting" an excavation which was
only ninety-one feet square. In seven
months from the commencement OF the
construction-0c October l 1888, TO May /,
18S4-the expense for engineering super
intendence alone was $4,000. Judged
by the usual rules in work OF this kind, 1t
ought not to have been more than s., 300.
The case at present seems to be that
the committee has used up the cash, or
contracted for materials, to the extent OF
something like 100000; and it looks as
if, in the end, the pedestal will have e, cost
the people 100000 or 100000. They Tn
might have had it for $1,000 That
which have stated rests upon incontro,,
vertible evidence. If the publishing OF
it checks subscriptions, that will be bet,
ter than the continuance OF a policy OF
extravaganza more suited to Egypt than
TO the United States OF America. Down
with shams The business men ON this
committee have given us very encour-
aging example of the results to be ex-
pected from government to he con-
Quoted by business men.