The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1886-11-05
SELECT READING.
THE STATUE OF LIBERTY.
HOW 1T WAS MADE AND PUT IN PLACE.


views the history of the great work of
M. Bartholdi which was unveiled on
Thursday of last week in the New
York harbor.
The history of the Bartholdi statue
from first to last is checkered one and
goes back through all sorts of delays
and difficulties for almost twenty years.
II was, strangely enough, just at the
close of the disastrous war with Ger
many and while the horrors of the
Commune were still raging in Paris
that M. Laboulaye, the founder of the
French-American Union, first definite
ly broached his patriotic project of
building in this country joint memo
rial of the struggles of the French and
Americans in the Revolution, and sent
the young sculptor Bartholdi to the
United States to find, if possible, some
suitable and happy idea. The first
suggestion of the statue, perhaps, dates
still further back to a dinner given un-
der the Empire by M. Laboulaye at his
country house, Glavigny, near Yer
sailles.
NJ LABoULAYE's HOPES AND FANCIEs.
1t was at that dinner at Glavigny in
1885, as Bartholdi himself says, that
his mind was first turned in the direc-
tion it was afterward 50 devotedly and
enthusiastically to follow. The after
dinner talk of M. Laboulaye's guests
bad fallen upon gratitude between ma
tons. Some one said that such thing
as national gratitude could not exist.
Italy no longer felt grateful for the
good officers of France in 1859; even
with the United States France could
no more count on the remembrance of
the past.
This M. Laboulaye stoutly protested
against. Whatever might be the case
with Italy, he said, with America
France.had still greater sympathy
than with any European nation. Amer
ica's feeling toward France, too, was
not one of simple gratitude. 1t was
based on the remembrance of a com
munity of thought and struggles and
aspirations. And when hearts had
once beaten together something always
remained behind among nations as
among individuals. This, he contin-
ued, was the basis of the sentiment
felt in the United States toward
France,a sentiment honorable to Amer
leans as well as French, and if ] mon
ument were to be built in America as
a memorial of independence it would
be most natural to have it built by
united effort, to make it the common
work of both nations.
Five years after, in the midst of the
war with Germany, Bartholdi found
himself recurring again to this con-
versation. The war was soon over and
his native province, Alsace, shut against
him. He resolved to travel for year
and visit the country in which his in
terest had been so sharply aroused.
In a month or two he found himself
again at M. Laboulaye's house near
Versailles. With him were M. Lafa-
yette, Henri Martin, Romusat, Volow-
ski and DeGasparin. The talk turned
once more on the feeling of America
for France. M. Laboulaye took up
his old views again and declared that
without doubt by 1876 there would
be a strong patriotic and French move
ment IN America.
$50 to see that county, he said to
Bartholdi. "You will study it, and
bring back your impressions. Pro-
pose to our friends over there to make
monument in common in remem-
brance of the ancient friendship be-
tween France and the United States.
We will take up subscription in
France. If you find happy idea, we
are convinced that it will be successful
on both continents, and we shall do a
work which will have far-reaching
moral effect"
Bartholdi tells all this in his modest
little sketch of the work of the French
Committee And in these two CONVEX
sations at M. Laboulaye's the germ of
the French American Unions project
may be found.
BARTHoLDI's VISIT TO AMERICA.
The sculptor thought over some
plans for the proposed monument on
the way out, but only hazily. Sudden
Iy, one beautiful spring morning,
steaming up through the Narrows into
New York Bay, the moment of inspi-
ration came and the sculptor saw in
fancy the majestic figure of Liberty
towering with her torch over the bas-
lions of old Fort Wood, lighting the
harbor, with its tributary riv-
ars aud the vast, blackhued cities on
their borders, the very image of a
Ieeming, popu,ous miniature world.
With all his travels in America that
grew only sharper and
more defined Before returning to
France he made water color drawing
of the Statue of Liberty on Bedlow's
Island, and showing it to various prom
inent men in America, in the Union
League Club in New York more par
ticularly and in Philadelphia-to whom
M. Laboulaye had given him letters of
he soon discovered that
he could look for support in the United
States-that, as he says, the draft
drawn by the French Committee on
American sentiment would not be pro-
tested. NJ, Laboulaye had had some
correspondence already with John Jay
and others respecting the monument;
but though the interest which Barthol-
di mentions was no doubt aroused, no
formal action was taken until the
sculptors second visi, here.
THE FRENCH-AMERICAN UNION,
Going back to France, Bartholdi ran
over his impressions to NJ, Laboulaye
aud his friends, and lald before them
the plan for a statue in New York
harbor, They adopted it with enthusi,
asm. A committee was organized un-
der the name of the French-American
Union, and Bartholdi set to work to
make his first models. The full plan
of the Union was made public at the
and Of 1874, and subscription lists
were soon circulating throughout
France, A good deal of money came
in at once and more was promised.
The actual mouding of the huge
cast began in 1873. The birth of the
statue was celebrated on November 9th