San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1896-10-17
SHAMEFULLY NEGLECTED.
Bartholdi's Statue OF Liberty In
New York Harbor
The Splendid Testimonial to America
Allowed To Fail Into Decay-Pres-
ent Appearance of the
Great Figure.

sadly out of repair that $15O,O0O vii
be required to place it in proper condi
ton
The gigantic work of art France
proudly gave to light and ornament the
harbor of New York is rapidly becom
ing a monument of carelessness. In
stead of inspiring the admiration of the
visitor, it gives birth to disappointment
AS you pass meath the first arch the
looseness of the brickwork is promi
nently in evidence. The walls are
scanned and SCARED. Climbing the
stairs, riffs through which the light
streams are observed on all sides
These were not in existence in the stat
ue at first, but are the result of the
rivets intended to hold the huge dress
of the goddess in position having fallen
| out.
Liberty's dress is literally ragged and
| falling from her. Some of the copper
pieces of her attire are loose, and so far
from being fastened to the next patch
| that one can insert ones hand between
the plates. Rivets that are loose in
other places rattle every time gust
of wind strikes the folds of the dress
on the outside, producing a sound like
a gigantic rattle box.
Whenever there is fold in the dress,
the turn of the fold has been subjected
| for some reason or other to rusting-as
it is called with iron-but with copper
it is the depositing of verdigris, or oxide
of copper. Many of these rents are
large and constantly growing in size.
In one place, about half way between
the head and feet, 81 rivets have fallen
out in a row, leaving the copper plate
barely hanging and bent outward. A
good push would force an opening
sufficient to permit man to put his
whole arm through Liberty's watch
pocket at the waist.
At the top, where Miss Liberty's
brains ought to be, are windows which
are really the openings in the crown
surmounting her head. These win
dows are no longer tight and firm.
Climb up through the hollow arm
that holds aloft the torch. When you
are up in the torch, you may look out
and down upon the crown of Miss Lib
erty's head. These six holes in her
skull where the bolts have fallen may
be observed. Dame Nature is well on
in the work of taking out a plate or
two of her skull, the most gigantic
piece of trephining ever known. The
rain may pour through until some day
she will have a fine case of water on the
brain.
AS the wind blows against the huge
pile it rocks, sways and vibrates until
only the bravest feel safe. This is get
ting worse all the time, and the statue
needs thorough reinforcing and brac-
ing all over. The steel beams on the
inside are powerful enough, but they
are thick with rust from the salt air and
moisture that come in through the
rivet holes and rents of the dress con-
tinually.
Once there were electric lights all the
way up the stairs on the inside. The
wires are still there, but the lights are
gone. Now only smoky oil lanterns
flicker and fume, shedding little light
but much nauseous smoke. 1t is like a
climb in a dungeon, except for the light
that peeps through the rivet holes.
Liberty has been described as much
a Goddess of Light as Goddess of Lib
erty.
Now she is a Goddess of Darkness.
Not an electric light on the inside,
where once there were hundreds. Once
the torch had six powerful electric
lights flooding the harbor with their
piercing rays. Only one is left from
the ruin. 1t is in bad repair, and a
man has to be kept on duty every night
to climb up and fix it when it goes out.
wish had a dollar for every time
have climbed up there" he said, to a
Sunday Journal reporter. 81 figured
it out the other day, and have climbed
up those stairs over 5000 miles,"
Not only is the torch almost bereft
of light, but the colored lights that
were once all about the crown are
gone. Only the places are left where
they used to be screwed on. Once
more than $4,000 candle power of lights
shone every night from the lofty statue.
Now only one light is left, and when
it fails the statue will be enshrouded in
| darkness.
Only two men are employed TO care
for the statue, and they do little. The
reason is that Uncle Sam has no money
for the purpose. What is spent comes
from the lighthouse appropriations, at
the expense of other lighthouses. The
profits of the boat line running to the
island are supposed to go to the fund for
the completion of the statue, but there
are no profits. The boat is required to
make its regular hourly trips winter
and summer, passengers or no passen'
gers, and the expense has been greater
than the income.
ITO say nothing of completing the
statue, it would cost at least $50, 900 to
do the needed REPAIRS" said one Of the
employees at the island. There is nc
$4,000 in sight for repairs, and not
a cent for completion."-N. Y. Journal