The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1910-06-11

task of adorning
8 the head of the
goddess, 287 feet above the pavement,
has been accomplished.
She stands today Respondent chal-
longing all corners to compete with
her in the hats Of the season as re-
CARDS novelty of design, beauty or ex-
pense.
Miss Freedom has not had newly
trimmed bonnet before for five years
and this abstinence accentuates her
present pleasure. With digntfied re-
serve she has watched the passing OF
the casters and the consequent frenzy
of the millinery world and has made
no protest. Merry widows, peach bas-
kets, toques and turbans have come
and gone without her participation IN
their Establishments. But recently
she tired Of neglect. She sent her
ultimatum to Elliott Woods, the super
intendent of the building, saying that
If he did not provide her with an
Easter bonnet of the very best ma
terial she would allow bolt Of light
ming to rend the capitol asunder.
There was a scientific possibility Of
her making good ON this threat and
the necessary trimmings were forth
coming.
1t was this way:
The goddess, in her exalted posi-
ton almost among the clouds, is ex-
posed to the lightning. Jove loves a
fair mark and he hurls his thunder
bolts at her from May to October It
is a matter Of record that the bolts
find her on an average of three times
year. They rend her headdress and
burn blackened stripes down her
sides. But otherwise she suffers little
injury This fact is due largely to her
bonnet 1t Is specially constructed to
successfully handle lightning.
The best Of all conductors of cleo
tricity is platinum. Platinum tips are
used on all the projections Of the bon
net of the goddess. Next, as conduct
or of electricity comes gold, less ex-
pensive metal, but still ornamental.
The platinum tips have bases that are
plated with gold They are screwed
into the statue and form a part Of it.
Whenever there is lightning play
ing In the vicinity this combination
Of conductors coaxes 1t into their lair
and disperses 1t. It passes from the
platinum and gold tips to. the bronze
Of the staue itself and from this finds
its way to the iron on the roof of the
capitol dome and the whole great
building. Broken into hundred parts,
each inoffensive fragment seeks the
ground.
When Al Porch, the rfgger and the
especial attendant of the goddess,
went up recently to see her, he
brought down with him the tips that
had served their time, and each bore
the mute record of a mighty stroke of
lightning. They were fused and new
ones were needed which would cost
$50 apiece.
With the valuable hat ornaments,
the men millfners went aioft to per-
form their dangerous task.
The mounting into the very pres
ence of freedom Is no mean task Rare
ly is it accomplished by any other
method than that Of scaling ladders.
For so feet before the top of the
statue is reached the ascent must be
on such ladders; that is, when any one
other than Al Porch does it. This
rigger has long made the very PIN
nacle of the capitol his playground.
He has practically lived there for ~
years. The upper dome has come to
be passion with him. A spry little
man Of "a, he runs about those great
heights as the ordinary man walks
the streets.
Once he slipped away from the god
dess and was dashed from projection
to projection down the base. Altogeth-
er he fell SO feet. With one arm bro
ken he chung with his legs, dangling
over the abyss below which would
have meant certain death if his hold
had loosened. Yet later he climbed
one after another of the pillars that
support the statue in an attempt to
capture an escaped canary bird and
finally succeeded.
Many times since he has scaled the
statue to it's top without the help
of ladder. He does this by working
himself into the folds of the garments
of Miss Freedom, and so bracing him
self as to get inexplicable holds.
The only picture ever taken of the
face of the goddess was gotten by a
photographer whom Al Porch virtual
ly carried up the ladders to that dizzy
height.
The top of the bonnet of the god
dess boasts a sort of fiat rosette. It
is 10 inches by Il inches. On the
face that 1t offers to the sky are CHS
eled four names that have not been
read there by half a dozen persons.
They are the names of Abraham Lin
coin, president of the United States
at the time the statue was put in
place; NJ. q. Meggs, government archf-
teet and designer of many public
hufldinps. ThonoS rra11yP.>rI 49,