The sea coast echo. [volume] (Bay Saint Louis, Miss.) 1892-current, 1905-06-17

art gallery, the chief attraction Of the
restored park, and ultimately one of the
chief glories of the city. 1t will be the
largest item of salvage that the people
Of ST. Louis will recover from the expo
sition, except the advertising their city
has received, This is due to the fore
thought of Walter B. Stevens, secretary
Of the exposition company, who diverted
everything he could in that direction
and secured the original models Of all
| the statuaTy. The nucleus Of the mu-
scum will be a collection OF the models
OF 200 Of the best statues and groups Of
sculpture on the grounds, which gave a
new impulse to artistic designing in the
United States and stimulated our native
genius to a greater extent than any
iother event in our national history ex-
lcept the Columbian Exposition at Chi
cago.
All Of these models are being restored
under the direction OF Professor Ives,
director Of the art department.; Carl
Bitter, director Of sculpture; and Mr..
Zolnay, and are being placed in the
great central nave Of the art building
They represent an expenditure of $780,
600, and not only encouraged the deYel-
opment Of the art in America, but illus
trate better than any other collection
ever viii or can the beginning Of new
school in sculpture - the American
schOOl-which sooner or later must take
front rank among the various schools
Of the world. And they have almost
equal value in preserving the history Of
one Of the most notable and most ad-
mired features Of the exposition. The
directors tell me that the expenditure
for sculpture was one of the most salts
factory made by the exposition. 1t
yielded 250 statues and groups, contain
ing more than a thousand figures, and
not one serious adverse criticism was
heard. The universal regret among the
millions of visitors was that the statues
could not be preserved. Everybody,
then, will be gratified toknow that most
of them will be. The knightly figure of
St. Louis, which stood in the center Of
the great plaza, will be cast in bronze;
it is hoped that one or two of the other
pieces may be preserved in the same
manner; but the remainder, represent
ing the genius of more than 100 Amerl-
can sculptors, Will be permanently ex-
hibited in the art building.
~
When the wreckers tear down one OF
the big buildings they start at the top
most pinnacle and work gradually down
ward. After they have removed all the
towers and ornaments and slid them to
the ground in chutes, they uncover the
ridge pole and take off the roof. The
same gang Of men have done this sort OF
work so long that they do it very rap
idlv and with comparative ease. AS fast
as an object reaches the ground 1t is
seized by other worRmen and carried to
its proper place. Very little is wasted.
All of the stuff is carefully saved, and
10000 tons Of it have already been sold
to the Pittsburg Plate Glass Company
at dollar ton. 1t will be ground up
and worked oyer into plaster. Three
million pounds of copper wire, which
originally cost the exposition company
5000, goo, has also been sold. 1t is the
most profitable item. Every foot OF it
is carefully inspected; it is reeled up on
the original spools, which were pre-
served, and the larger part Of it is as
good as new. The wreckers have about
a million electric bulbs, which they are
disposing Of in lots to dealers and con-
tractors in that sort of supplies. There
were 125, 900 bulbs on the varied indus
tries building, and there were nearly
100000 on the electrical building, inside
and out. About 900 carloads of sewer
pipe have been taken up from the soil,
and it IS all being cleaned and inspected,
ready to be offered for sale; 1000 car
loads of lumber have already been
shipped to various parts OF the country,
and several hundred carloads of doors
and windows have been sold to contrac-
tors who are building factories, ware
houses and other cheap structures.
Forty-five miles of railroad iron have
been sold to a suburban trolley railroad
company in Illinois for SIG ton, which
cost S24; 1000 ties at 80 cents each,
which cost 80; 400 tons of spikes for
LA cents each, which cost 2 cents
each; and 5000 telegraph or trolley
poles for 50, which cost Si2 each. The
trestle work on the intramural road has
also been disposed of to the same sub
urban company.
-
The horticultural, agricultural and
the forestry, fish and game buildings
have all been torn away, and nothing
remains to mark where they stood ex-
cept enormous piles of lumber, which
are being carefully sorted over and
trimmed at sawmill, buzzing away at
the very spot where the big ears of corn
were displayed. There were II 900, 900
feet of timber and lumber in the agri-
cultural building, of which about so pei
cent was recovered in commercial sizes
The bigger the building the less the