The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1892-12-17
EVERYBODY PAID Cash.
The Truth and the Whole Truth
About the Justice Rehan
Statue.
Montana Gave $4,000 for Her
Share and Furnished tho
Metal.
The shapsly Ada, tho Sculptor snd the
Chicago Spectators agreed %
Pay tho same.

Either Miss Ada Rehan has q very short
memory, or money is 10 little Of m object
to her that she pays ont thousands without
noticing it; that il, II she is correctly re-
ported az saying that II cost her
nothing but the effort 10 stand still
I'M lock pretty when she posed
for the statua OF Juatice that Ia to be-
made ont Of Montana silver. Ada Rehsn.
formerly of Limerick. Ireland, now OF tho
legitimate American drama. pays the round
sum Of $4,000 for the advertisement and the
Incidental glory that she gets out of the
honor Of displaying her shapely figure to
the public in the form of an eight foot
statue of silver. The state of Montana
pays 49, 900 for its share of the glory, be-
aides loaninR the material for the statue.
The Chicago promoters Of the enterprise
stand $1,000 of the expense for the pi privilege
of exhibiting tho statue for one year and
two months after the fair closes. And the
sculptor pays the same amount for the
credit and renown that will attach to hia
name for having designed what will be one
Of the most unique features Of the fair.
This 10 how it all came about. and az the
people of the state want to know something
of the affair that has created 80 much of q
stir in the east, il is only right that they
should have the full history.
Joseph o. Harvey and Frank D. HiRbee.
Of Chicago, were the promoters OF q com
pany In that city. to have a silver statue Of
Justice made from tho white metal mined
in one of the silver producing states and
placed in the mines and mining depa TT
ment at the fair. Their first arrangements
were made with Colorado. What caused
these arrangements to miscarry is not
known. What is known, however, is that
the state of Montana, through it's local
board Of Worlds fair managers, was next
approached to take part in the enterprise,
and did so. By q contract made Sept. rs.
1882. between the board of Worlds fair
managers of the state of Montana. and
Joseph o. Harvey and Frank D. Hiebee, Of
Chicago, it was agreed that the Montana
board was to deliver free OF charge at the
foundry designated a sufficient quantity of
silver to be cast into a statue to be known
az '.The Statue of Justice of the State of
Montana" to be exhibited at the Worlds
fair; that when the statue is delivered
to the board of managers for Montana they
states exhibit; that on Nov. !, 1898, the
statue 10 10 he weighed and delivered to
Harvey and Higbee, to he kept by them for
sixty weeks and exhibited by them at ans
place or places they may ace at. Ths state
board further agrees to pay Harvey and
Higbes sc, 1000, ons-half upon the compile
ton OF the clay model BY r. II. Park. the
sculptor selected to design the statue. and
the other half to be paid on the compilation
of the statue. Lyman Gage, of Chicago, act
ing as trustee in the money transaction
They give a bond of 1886. 600 to return the
bee are given an option in the contract, mn
der which they "may purchase the statue
for such a sun as will equal it's value reck-
oned by the ounces of silver in weight and
the market price Of silver at the time Of
pu chase." The option runs until JAN. !,
the statue not later than April 80, 1888, and
reserve to themselves the right to select the
model to be used. In accordance with thiG
agreement the Chicago parties made theil
contract-w with Ada Rehan. She was willing tc
pay SO, 600 for the privilege of acting as 4
Guiding Lillian Russell, were not. So Miss
Rehan was chosen. Out of sixty-eight
measurements which mark the standard oil
perfect w~omanhood, sixty-two conformed
in every way to the requirements. and in
none of the other six did she deviate one-
quarter Of an inch from the standard.
There never was any idea of selecting .
Montana woman. 1t was simply a bushes.
transaction on the part Of the Chicago peo-
pie, and there was NO romance in it. Soup.
tor Park. as already stated, likewise pay
$4,000 for the privilege of putting Park,
sculp'' on the base of the status. He is also
under contract to carry out his part of the
agreement.
The statue is to be eight feet in height
above the base. IL cast solid it will take
some "a, 900 pounds of silver. worth ovel
$3.50, 900 in the open market. Ii cast hollow
it will take about $4,000 ounces As the
prevailing price of silver does not justify
wilma nunerl in having a iArpa OnEnN6. thr
chances are that the statue will contain
about $50, 600 in silver. The statue will bs
modelled after the severely Greek style OF
sculpture. A single garment will adorI
the statue, leaving the arms, mock and bus
exposed, and extending to the knees. Oh
her head will be a diadem. In her left
hand, which is raised above her head. shs
will hold the scale, in which gold and silver
balance each other, thus symbolizing Mon
tana's stand on the silver question. In hel
right hand, which falls at her side. will b.
n drawn sword, She stands on a globe tws
mother earth floating in ether. A "chaser'
or inisher is to be expressly imported from
Paris to put the artistic touches o. ths
statue after it is cast.
The silver il loaned by some of the lead
ing mines OF the state. Walter II. Bick
ford, Worlds fair commissioner for Mon.
tana. secured the loan of the metal, whicI
Ia to be returned to the contributors whel
the statue Ia melted down into bars again
or, if sold, the owners get their several pro
portions OF the price received. II Commits
sioner Bickford thought that the most try
ing part of his task was accomplished whel
he secured the p omise of the material an
made the contract he figured wrong. Some
body had to pose IA a model. The con
tractors had alrendy chosen Ada Rehan, th
only woman on the stage willing 10 pay fo
the honor-the women off the stage wer
not taken into consideration at all. i
fact the Montana people had nothing TO d
with that matter. However. that was nc
generally known; indeed it was CAREFUL