The Forrest City times., 1896-10-09
A BURNING SHAME.
The Statue of Liberty Is Fast Reaching
 state Of Ruin.

 sadly out of repair that Sl50,000 will 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 insipring the admiration of tb. visitor, it gives birth to disappointment.
 As you pass meath the first arch the looseness of the patchwork is promi- nently in evidence. The walls ara scanned and scared. Climbing the stairs. rifts 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 a gust
 
 on the outside. producing a sound like gigantic rattle box.
 Whenever there is fold in the dress, the turn of the fold has been sub iected for some reason or other to rusting-as 1t 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, 27 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 Libertyss 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 we'll 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 fine case of water on the brain.
 As the wind blows against the huge ond xrs1&, xor ( 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. It is like climb in dungeon, except for the light that peeps through the rivet holes.
 Liberty has been described as much Goddess of Light as Goddess of Lib erty.
 Now she is a Goddess of Darkness. Not an electric light on the inside. here 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. It is in bad repair, and man has to be kept on duty every night to climb up and fix it when it goes out.
 Wish 1 had dollar for every time have climbed up there," he said, to 8 Sunday Journal reporter. "I figured it out the other day. and I 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 50,000 candle power of lights shone every night from the lofty statue. Now only one light is left, and when 1t 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.
 'To say nothing of completing the statue, it would cost at least Si50.00o to do the needed repairs,' said one of the employees at the island. "There is no Sl5o,ooo in sight for repairs, and not cent for completion."-N.Y Y. Journal.