The Carbon advocate. [volume] (Lehighton, Pa.) 1872-1924, 1886-11-06
BIUallTimS New York Letter
Special to the CARBON ADVOCATE.

special to the CARBON ADVOCATE.
We thought that the birth of Miss
Liberty couple of years ago was big
thing, very big thing, but it was moth
ing at all to the christening of this
week. At that time there was not a
great deal to enthuse about. Every
thing was in the future, and it is not an
easy task to get up furore about a
hole in the ground; but we did; we got
up quite a procession; we made the
earth shake with the thunder of our
guns, and we sent our French brothers
home rejoicing. But the celebration of
this week was very different affair.
Here We had Liberty herself on a good
solid stone foundation, her torch tow
ering up to the heavens, so that no man
can say her light is hid under a bushel.
have watched the completion of this
magnificent lady with considerable
solicitude. / saw a section of the
mighty arm at our Centennial ten years
ago, two years later, in France, gazed
with awe and reverence on the magnif-
cent head
Later still, used to take a morning
stroll about the hand that stood in
Madison square, and as l gazed upon its
tremendous proportions, imagined that
| would be climbing up the golden
stairs" long before it was finally COM
pleted. But here | stand in front of it,
thousands upon thousands about me. on
land and on sea, the heavens ring with
their shouts, the earth trembles with
the thunder of their guns, the sky is
ablaze with many colored fires, and
Liberty Enlightening the World' is
an accomplished fact and the heritage
Of countless generations yet unborn.
What a lesson of persistent effort.
When Mons. Bartholdi presented this
spendid gift to the people of the United
States hardly a representive man could
he found TO return thanks for the i'm
peral gift. Effort after effort had been
| made to furnish a foundation for the
statue, but the ancient fossils who had
taken charge of the matter aud who
belonged to the Silurian age, evidently
expected that the foundation would be
FINISHED AnRO DOmRi 1886. Pulitzer
of the World took it up and the result,
was 800. OOO hard cash, while the an
cient committee was busy drafting Il
set of resolutions calling the attention
OF the people of the United States to
the matter. 1t is useless after all the
| great dailies have exhausted themselves
to attempt to give anything like a de-
scTiplion OF the celebration. We have
had many great days in New York when
the city let itself loose for Il holiday.
When Croton Water was brought in il
was considered such q blessing that the
city with one accord gave itself up to
rejoicing and the result was one of the
most brilliant and enthusiastic festivals
ever seen on the continent. When the
mighty cable under the sea linked the
Old world and the new in fatenal
embrace, once more the city donned its
holiday rohes, and old men whose
memories ran back almost to the Revo-
luton declared tina. they remembered
nothing like the cable celebration. Miss
Liberty celebration eclipsed them all
and may be classei as among the grand
events of the century. Willie the mill
tary parade has often been equaled add
frequently surpassed nothing like the
naval parade has ever been seen in this
country. Payne, the pyrotechnist OF
the Crystal Palace of London, had
charge of the fireworks and it is doub,.
full if the present generation will ever
again see its equal. The celebration
was a grand success and will be classed
among the notable events of the cen.
tury.
There is on exhibition in Brooklyn, q
short distance from the end of the big
bridge, one OF the grandest works of art
ever exhibited in the world. It is Phil
potteux cyclorama Of the battle of Get
, tysburg. As an exhibition nothing ha,
been seen like IL on the continent. To
the artist il is q miracle; to the lover OF
nature an inspirations; to ;he student oi
history a living fact; to the soldier q
perfect realization of the tremendous
struggle through which he passed; to
the boys who are 10 be the future ruler:
Of this land, no history like this. Theic