The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1886-11-05


the siege, and which now stands in
Union Square, gave him an opportuni
ty to push matters among his New
York friends.
A call for meeting at the Century
Club was issued by William M. Ev
arts, John Jay, w. II. Wickbam, S. d.
Babcock, William II. Appleton and
Richard Butler There the plan Of
the French committee was talked ovei
with Bartholdi and Rochambeau and
an American committee was organized
MIR. Evarts was its chairman and Rich.
ard Butler its secretary. Subcommit
tees were appointed and weekly meet.
ings were held for a time. The ques
tion of procuring legislation from Con
gress was the most important.
After some drawbacks and delays, a
joint resolution was introduced accept
ing the statue and setting apart a site
on either Governors or Bedlow's Is
land for the statue, aud on February
%, 1877, it passed both Houses. Gen
eral w. II. Sherman was sent on to de-
eide between the two, and wisely con
| firmed Bartholdi's choice. Fort Wood
was given up as military post and
turned over to the use of the Ameri.
can committee.
TARDY GROWTH OF TIE STATUE.
Bartholdi went back to France in
the fall of 1876 The political crisis
that came toward the end of MacMa.
hons Presidency had had disastrous
effect on the affairs of the French.
American Union. Subscriptions had
almost ceased to come in and word was
sent to the American committee that
the work on the foundation and pedes
tai of the statue had better be post
poned for year or two. 1t was not
until 1879 that money enough was
raised in France TO pay the bare ex.
penses of the work on the statue.
In 1878, however, Barthoidi, san
guine and undaunted as ever, executed
the head for the Paris Exposition.
The other parts followed at intervals,
and by July, 1880, the French com
mittee saw Its way clear to report sub.
stantial progress to the American COM
mittee and to fix a probable date for
the completion of the statue. On Oc-
tober "a, 1881, the anniversary of the
surrender of CORVALLIS at Yorktown
all the pieces of the framework and of
the base were put in place, and Levi
p. Morton, then United States Minister
to France, was invited TO drive the riv-
ct of the first piece which was to be
mounted. The statue was nearly fin
ished in 1888, but the work on the Pc
destal here was so backward that it
was decided to leave the completed
goddess on exhibition for awhile in
Paris.
Finally, on July 4,1SS4, Count Ferdi-
nand de Lesseps, who had succeeded
M. Laboulaye as President of the
French Committee, turned the statue
over formerly to the United States
through Mr., Morton. 1t stood six
months longer waiting for the compile
ton of the pedestal. 1t seemed for a
time that it would have to wait torev-
er, and the work of taking it down was
begun in January, 1885, with many
misgivings. The pieces were packed
carefully in 210 cases and slowed on
board the French man.of-war Isere at
Rouen. The statue was insured for
about half its value.
The Isere had an extremely rough
voyage and had to put back once to
Rouen to escape a storm. Outside the
harbor of New York she was met by
the French North Atlantic Squadron,
under Admiral La Combe, and escort
ed into the bay with flying colors.
The Isere reached New York in June,
1885. The pieces of the statue were
lightered over to Bedlow's Island and
were stored there until May last, when
the work of setting up the great cop
per goddess for the last time was begun.
THE AMERICAN COMMITTEES TRIALS.
The American committee could do
nothing, of course, after obtaining the
grant of site from Congress, but wait
for the signal from M. Bartholdi and
his friends to break ground for the
statues pedestal. In 1882 some pre-
liminary steps were taken. A public
meeting was held in the Academy of
Music on November 2s of that year,
and the taking of subscriptions was
pushed vigorously.
The New York Legislature passed a
bill appropriating $4,000 for the work
on the pedestal. But Governor Cleve-
land vetoed it, to the great disgust
of the managers of the Pedestal Fund,
as unconstitutional. A still greater
disappointment came with the winter
of 1Ss4-5. A bill appropriating Sl00-
600 was introduced during the short
session of Congress, and failed through
the neglect of the Committee on Ap-
preparations to insert the item in their
final report.
Work on the foundation inside the
old fort was begun in the spring of
1883, and the foundation itself was
finished before the end of that year.
In the spring of 1884 the cornerstone
of the pedestal was laid, aud a few
tiers of granite were added now and
then from month to month. The first
bit of enthusiasm was over, and the
subscription list hung fire. Statuettes
and photographs were struck off by
the committee and offered for sale, but
the returns grew smaller and smaller
One hundred and seventy. five thous.
and dollars had been raised by the
summer of 1884, and the committees
persuasive powers were apparently OK
hausted, It's run of bad luck could
not be broken.
In March, 1885, when the statue wa.
almost ready for shipment, and the
American committee, in state o.
thickening despair, the New York
World Unexpectedly undertook tC
raise the 100000 still needed, anC
opened subscription list of its owl
for that purpose. By July a total o
Sl02, 006.39 was turned into the Pc
destal Fund. This tlded the commit
tee over the fall and winter of 1885
and served, indeed, to finish the mas
sive pedestal in April, 1856.
The iron framework and braces TO
the support of the statue were put VI
in May and June, and on July l2ti