Middletown transcript., 1907-06-01
THE BAYARD STATUE
To Be Unveiled on Saturday Afternoon,
June I'D

June I'D
1t has been arranged by the committee
in charge of the memorial statue to Hon.
Thomas F. Bayard, former United States
Senator, folmer Secretary of State, and
first Ambassador of the United States to
the Court of st. James, to have it unveiled
and formally dedicated on the afternoon
of Saturday, June 22d The ceremonies,
while simple in form and unpretentious
in effects, will be appropriate in dignity
and impressiveness. Besides an open
invocation by the Rt. Rev. Bishop Leigh
ton Coleman of the Protestant Episcopal
Diocese of Delaware, and suitable vocal
and instrumental selections, there will be
two formal addresses. The principal one
will be by former President Grover Cevs-
land, in whose first cabinet Mr.. Bayard
was Secretary of State and who appointed
him Ambassador to Great Britain, and
the other will be by Federal Judge George
Gray, who will introduce Mr.. Cleveland.
Invitations to the unwilling ceremonies
are to be extended to the President and
his cabinet; to the governor and other
State officials of Delaware /; to the Federal
Court Judges resident in this State to
the Judges OF the State Courts and men,
bers OF the bar, to the Mayor and Council
of Wilmington, and to all the leading
local civic bodies. In addition, invita-
tions will be extended to large number
of public men who were associated with
Mr.. Bayard during his long career in the
Senate andt State Department. Among
the civic bodies included in the invita-
tions is the Board of Trade, and nearly
its entire membership of more than five
hundred is expected to attend in a body.
The memorial statue, which will occnpy
commanding position at tile enIl aiice to
Wilmington's beautiful Rockford Park,
is of bronze, more than life size and re-
markably lifelike in appearance The
pedestal is of Brandywine rock and on
two sides will be ornamented with bronze
tablets, suitably inscribed. Around the
base of the pedestal will be an exedra
seat with radius of 174 feet. The floor
space between the statue will be of
cement. Three steps will lead to the
base and the pedestal will be at the top
of. the steps. The general effect of the
entire structure will be imposing, but with |
a simple dignity most appropriate to the
life and character of the man whose hon.
orable memory it is designed to perpet-
uate.
The statue, which was modelled by Miss
Efie Stillman (now Mrs. William Ritchie)
OF London and cast at a bronze foundry
in Surrey, Eng. was given by an unknown
friend of Mr.. Bayard to the Memorial
Association, which pledged itself to attend
to its proper setting up. The Park Com
mission granted the site, which was
selected by its late president,
William M, Candy. The total cost Of the
settings and surroundings will be about
S6 900, which is being met by subscrip-
tions. The matter of requesting contri-
buttons to this fund has been held in
abeyance in order to afford an oppor-
tunity to the many friends and admirers
of Mr.. Bayar1 in public life, throughout
the country, to participate in the giving,
and thus associate themselves personally
in the pleasing work of erecting monu-
ment to public man who had an
honorable and commanding place in the
,ountry's history, and with whom they
had the honor and pleasure of intimate
association.-Egery Evening.