The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1886-11-06

the French-American Union were present
The right hand of the goddess was strucl
off in its colossal proportions and sent t
the Centennial Exhibition at Philadelphi
in 1876.
Bartholdi himself came over in that yea
as one of the French jury for the exhibi
ton. The unveiling of his statue of La
fayette, which was ordered by the Frencl
Government as a gift to the city of New
York in acknowledgement of the relief sen
to Paris after the siege, and which nov
stands in Union Square, gave him an op
portunity to push matters among his New
York friends.
A call for meeting at the Century Clul
was issued by William NJ. Evarts, Johr
jaw, w. 81. Wickham, S. D. Babcock, VIM
H. Appleton and Richard Butler. There
the plan of the French committee was
talked over with Bartholdi and Rocham
beau and an American committee was or.
ganized. Mr.. Evarts was its chairman and
Richard Butler its secretary. Sub-com
mittees were appointed and weekly meet
ings were held for time, The question
of procuring legislation from Congress was
the most important.
After some drawbacks and delays, Joint
resolution was introduced accepting the
statue and setting apart a site on either
Governors or Bedlow's Island for the
statue, and on February %, 1877, itpassed
both Houses. General W. T. Sherman
was sent on to decide between the two, and
wisely confirmed Bartholdi's choice. Fort
Wood was given up as military post and
turned over to the use of the American
committee.
TARDY GROWTH OF THE STATUE.
Bartholdi went back to France in the fall
of 1876. The political crisis that came
toward the end of MacMahons Presidency
had had disastrous effect on the affairs of
the French-American Union. Subscrip-
tions had almost ceased to come in and
word was sent to the American committee
that the work on the foundation and pc
destal of the statue had better be postponed
for wear or two. 1t was not until 1879
that money enough was raised in France to
pay the bare expenses of the work on the
statue.
In 1873, however, Rartholdi, sanguine
and undaunted as ever, executed the head
for the Paris Exposition. The other parts
followed at intervals, and by July, 1880,
the French committee saw its way clear to
report substantial progress to the Amerl-
can committee and to fix probable date
for the completion of the statue. On 0c-
tober "a, 1881, the anniversary Of the sur
render of Cornwallis 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 rivet of the first
piece which was to be mounted. The
statue was nearly finished in 1888, but
the work on the pedestal was so backward
that it was decided to leave the completed
goddess on exhibition for awhile in Paris.
Finally, on July 4, 1884, Count Ferdi-
nand de Lesseps, who had succeeded NJ.
Laboulaye as President of the French
Committee, turned the statue over formally
to the United States through Mr.. Morton.
1t stood six months longer waiting for the
completion of the pedestal. 1t seemed for
time that it would have to wait forever,
and the work of taking it down was begun
in January, 1885, with many misgivings.
The pieces were packed carefully in 2lO
cases and slowed on board of the French
man-of-war Isere at Rouen. The statue
was insured for about half its value.
The Isere had an extremely rough voy-
age 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 escorted 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 Is
land 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 no.
thing, of course, after obtaining the grant
of site from Congress, but wait for the
signal from NJ. Bartholdi and his friends
to break ground for the statues pedestal
In 1882 some preliminary steps were taken.
A public meeting was held in the Academy
of Music on November % of that year,
and the taking of subscriptions was pushed
vigorously.
The New York Legislature passed bill
appropriating $4,000 for the work on the
pedestal. But Governor Cleveland vetoed
it, 10 the great disgust of the managers Of
the Pedestal Fund, as unconstitutional A
still greater disappointment came with the
winter of 1SS4-85. A bill appropriating
100000 was introduced during the short
session of Congress, and failed through the
neglect of the Committee on Appropriations
to insert the item in their final report.
Work on the foundation inside the old
fort was begun in the spring of 1888, and
the foundation itself was finished before
the end of that. year. In the spring of
1884 the cornerstone of the pedestal was
laid, and 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 COM
mittee and offered for sale, but the returns
grew smaller and smaller. One hundred
and seventy-fve thousand dollars had been
raised by the summer of 1884, and the
committees persuasive powers were appar-
emily exhausted Its run of bad luck could
not be broken.
In March, 1885, when the statue was
almost ready for shipment, and the Amer
lean committee, in state of thickening de-
spair, the New York World unexpectedly
undertook to raise the 100000 still need
ed, and opened a subscription list of its
own for that purpose. By July total of
S102,006.39 was turned into the Pedestal
Fund This tided the committee over the
fall and winter of 1885, and served, indeed,
to finish the massive pedestal in April,
1885,
The iron framework and braces for the
support of the statue were put up in May
and June, and on July 18th the work on
the copper plating itself was begun. Many
of the huge pieces boxed up SO long, shaken
about in so many landings and exposed to
great> variety Of temperatures mad fiat
tened ouf>of their original shape. There
was great deal of delay from time to time
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