The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1886-10-28
LIsERTY's STATUE.
History of the Colossus to be I'm
velled To-day.
The Largest Work of the Kind Ever
Completed by Man.
First Suggestion of the idea to BAR
tholdI and His Friends.

undertaking with some sense Of its Difficult
ties and triumphs.
The history Of the Bartholdi Statue from
first to last is a cheekered one and goes back
through all sorts of delays and difficulties
for almost twenty years. 1t was, strangely
enough, just at the close Of the disastrous
war with Germany and while the horrors Of
.he Commune were still raging in Paris that
M. Labouiaye, the founder Of the French
American Union, first definitely broached
his patriotic project Of building in this coun-
try a joint memorial Of the struggles Of
French and Americans In the Revolution,
and sent the young sculptor BarthOldi TO the
United States to find, if possible, some suit
able and happy idea.
The sculptor thought over some plans for
the proposed monument on the way out, but
only lazily. Suddenly one beautiful spring
morning steaming up. through the Narrows
Into New York Bay. the moment Of inspira-
tion came, and the sculptor saw in fancy the
majestic figure Of Liberty towering with her
torch over the bastions of old Fort Wood,
lighting the crowded ha rbor with its tribu-
tary rivers and the vast, blaek-hued cities on
their borders, the very image of a teeming,
populous miniature world.
With all his travels In America that Inn
preston grew only sharper and more de-
fined. Before returning to France he made
water color drawing of the Statue Of Lib
erty on Bedlow's Island, and showing it to
various prominent men in America, in the
Union League Club in New York more par
ticularly and in Philadelphia-to whom N.
Laboulaye had given him letters Of intro
duction, he soon discovered that he could
look Tor support in the United States-that,
as he says, the draft drawn by the French
Committee on American sentiment would
not be protested. Nj. Laboulaye had had
some correspondence already with John jay
and Others respecting the monument; but
though the interest which Bartholdi mem
tions was no doubt aroused, no formal action
was taken until the sculptor's second visit
here.
Going back to France, Bartholdi ran over
his Impressions to NJ. Laboulaye and his
friends and laid before them the plan for a
statue in New York harbor. They adopted
IL with enthusiasm. A committee was organ
lzed under the name Of the French-American
Union, and Bartholdi set TO work to make
MS nrst models: The full plan Of the U Union
was made public at the end of 1874, and sub
scriptlon lists were soon circulating through
out France. A good deal of money came In
at once and more was promised.
The actual moulding of the huge cast be-
gan IN 1872. Ine birth Of the statue was
celebrated on November Of that year by a
dinner at the Hotel du Louvre, at which the
American Minister, Mr.. Washburne, and all
the prominent members Of the eFreneh-Amer-
lean Unien were present. The right hand
OF the goddess was struck off in its colossal
proportions and sent to the Centennial Exhi-
btion at Philadelphia in 1876. Bartholdi
himself came over in that year as one of the
French jury for the exhibition.
The question Of procuring legislation from
Congress was the most important. After
some drawbacks and delays a Joint resoiu-
ton was introduced accepting the statue and
setting apart site on either Governors or
Bedlow's Island for the statue, and on Feb
rnary y, 1877, 1t passed both Houses. Gen.
w. Il. Sherman was sent ON TO decide be-
tween the two and wisely confirmed Barthol-
dis choice. Fort Wood was given up as a
military post and turned over to the use OF
the American committee.
Bartholdi went back to France In the fall
OF 1876. The political crisis that came
toward the end of MacMahon's 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 pedestal Of the
statue had better be postponed for a year
or TWO. lt was not until 1879 that money
enough was raised in France 10 pay the bare
expenses Of the work on the statue.
In 1873, however, Bartholdi, saneuine 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 to report substantial
progress to the American committee and to
hx probable date for the completion OF the
statue. On Oct. "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 +. Morton,
then United States Minister to France. was
m Arfn FFa nIWs -
which was to be mounted. The statue was
nearly finished in 1888, but the work on the
pedestal here was so backward that ID was
decided to leave the completed goddess on
exhibition for awhile in Paris.
Finally, on July A, 1884, Count Ferdinand
de LesSeps, who had succeeded NJ. LabOu- |
laye 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 a time that il |
would have to wait forever, and the work of
taking II down was begun in January, 1885,
with many misgiyings. The pieces were
packed carefully in 2lO cases and slowed on |
board the French man-Of-war Isere at Rouen |
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 es-
eorted into the bay with flying eolors, The |
lsere reached New York in June, 1885. The |
pieces of the statue were lIghtered over to
Bedlow's Island and were stored there until
last May, when the work Of setting up the
great copper goddess for the last time was
begun.
The New York legislature passed a bill APP
propriating $4,000 for the work ON the ped
estaI. But Gov. Cleveland vetoed it, to the
great disgust OF the managers of the Pedes-
tai Fund, as unconstitutional. A still great
er disappointment came with the winter Of
lSoi'53 A bill appropriating 100000 was
introduced during the short session Of Con-
gress and failed through the neglect of the |
committee on appropriations to insert the |
item in their final report.
In March, 1884. when the statue was al |
most ready for shipment and the American |
committee In q state Of thickening despair, |
the New York World Unexpectedly under |
took to raise the 100000 still needed, and /
opened subscription list Of It's own for that /
purpose. BY July total of S201, COG 80 was l
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, 1886.
Dr. Bailey-MOre so, as II Is so insidious
In It's Character that cattle will linger along
with 1t without giving rise ON the part OF
the owner 70 the suspicion that they are
afflicted with the disease Its hereditary
nature makes its influence both direct and
indirect. An ancestor afflicted with tuber- |
culosis transmits it to pOsterity, and with |
less vitality inherited by the offspring comes |
greater virulence Of the disease. The milk |
of the animal readily transmits tuberculosis.
The best authorities say that tuberculosis
once transmitted from dam to offspring /
never can be eradicated.
Reporter-Does the coming winter /
traffic between this port and Europe /
The pedestal proper at its base Is sixty-two /
feet square, and begins at an elevation above /
tide-water Of sixty-fve feet The topmost |
platform is thirty-nine feet and four and |
three-elghthsi inches square and 154 feet above |
low water mark.
The pedestal is in its way most graceful |
and modest structure. 1t Is neither monoto- |
nous nor heavy, and has been made 10 look |
smaller than it really Is. The goddess, in |
fact, gains In point of elevation by this sup !
and towers easily over everything |
else but the effect Is in no way forced or stilt-
like. The soft gray shade Of the pedestal I
blends well with the reddish brown OF the |
copper, and the whiteness Of the rough I
quoins shows far across the water i'm the \
slanting rays Of the early morning or late az |
ternoon sun. The granite used Is from a /
quarry on Leete's Island in Connecticut, and /
the size Of the blocks made tine build |
ing OF the pedestal one Of the heaviest pieces
OF masonry ever undertaken about New 1
York. General Charles =. Stone was the /
chief engineer of the work, Richard NJ. /
Hunt the architect and David III. King, Jr.,
knrtl II H.