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The Western news. [volume] (Stevensville, Mont.) 1890-1977, September 07, 1904, Image 2

Image and text provided by Montana Historical Society; Helena, MT

Persistent link: https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn84036207/1904-09-07/ed-1/seq-2/

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N the rotunda of the
Capitol at Washington
stands a large model of
the structure e.xe
cuted with a re
gard for minute de
tail and accuracy
of scale which
makes it a work of
art in. its way. An
accompanying plae
' ' "* ard announces tiiat
It shows the sug
-Tw:v. in* gi-sted extensions
■r; and Improvements
in the Capitol,
which will bring
the building to its
ltnal form. Why docs this shrine of
the republic need alteration? Every
(American is familiar with the outlines
»f soaring dome ami majesti ■ facades.
IA glimpse of tin 1 building arouses dor
mant patriotism and affect! in in the
heart of every American. The halls are
rich with marbles, sculptures, paint
ings and mural decorations worthy of
(the finest Old World palace. Changes
(mean a destruction of many associa
tions.
A critical study of the building,
■however, ami a comparison with the
model, leads to the conclusion that the
«Iterations will greatly add to the |
beauty of the Capitol—already called
a miracle of arcliitei tore. The build
ing Is far from finished. Tin* dome
lacks a needful support and the central
building—the old Capitol—is subordin
ated to the new wings on either side,
dt is now proposed to correct these
faults by erecting an extension to the
central structure, so that the eastern
front, with its portico and steps, will
he on a line with those of the wings.
As for sentimental objections to such
a change, it need merely be stated that
the adopted plan was made more than
e quarter of a century ago. and com
pletes tin* alterations of which the
dome and legislative wings formed
parts.
A Ilbtory in Pictures.
On this page is pictured the evolu
tion of the Capitol. Thus only can the
history of the building be traced and
1he proposed alterations given tlieir
true significance. The structure we
It now was not designed, in the usual
meaning of the term. It has been
(growing slowly during the last 110
years. No single mind is here repre
tented. The story of the structure re
sembles a list of quarrels and competi
tions In which nearly every President,
end certainly every architect and
builder connected with the work, took
Vigorous part. These quarrels have
made the building what it Is—a com
posite structure, representing the best
thought and skill of the American poo
pie.
A rude sketch shows the ruins of tlu
Capitol after its destruction by British
eoldiers August 114, 1814. Compare
this picture with those above it of the
Capitol as it is and probably will he,
«nil all sentimental objections to the
«Iterations are silenced.
Even more striking is the contrast
between the capital city of to-day and
of a century ago. Well can we imag
ine General Washington and Major
■1/Enfant wandering over the Imre
Maryland hills in 1791 planning the
avenues of the unborn town, setting
aside a valley for the main thorough
fare, this knoll for the "President's
House'' and yonder hill for "Congress
Hall." L'Enfant made studies for the
buildings and indicated the sites in Ids
map of 1791. The designs were never
finished. Congress took up the ques
tion. Then the trouble began and it
bas lasted ever since.
UeaiKned by West Indian.
It seemed the irony of Fute that the
euceessful design came from a resident
In the West Indies, who was not a
citizen of the new republic. Congress,
then holding its sessions In Philadel
phia, exhausted every menus to pro
cure a native architect. A competition
was announced in a Phildelphia paper
during 1792 for drawings for "Con
gress Hall" and the President's House.
The prize was a lot in the new city
and $500 or a medal. "Congress Hall"
was to be the largest building in the
country, combining "grandeur, sim
plicity and convenience."
The thirteen designs submitted pos
sessed indifferent merit—that of Ste
phen Hallet, a French architect, meet
ing with the most favor, lie was set
to work on modifications. Then Hr.
William Thornton, of the Island of
Tortola, West Indies, came forward
with a plan which was approved from
the first and is substantially the cen
tral structure of the present Capitol.
Occupied by Congress.
In 1800 the Federal government
came to Washington The old Senate
wing was by that time finished, the
foundations of the rotunda were laid
and the basement of the House wing
was in process of construction. Oil
November 17 both Senate and House
wore called together in the new build
ing—the former body in the original
Senate chamber, the lloor of which
was that of the present basement be
neath what is now the room of the Su
premo ( 'ourt.
Meanwhile, the House, for lack of
better quarters, met in a long apart
ment over the Senate committee
rooms, which is now cut up into oltices
tor the Supreme Colrt. The arrange
ment, quite naturally, gave great dis
satisfaction to the Representatives, for
whose accommodation a temporary
structure of brick, in the shape of an
ellipse 70 by 90 feet, was erected before
the next winter within the rising walls
The hall of the
House, when llnally completed, was
first occupied in October, 1X07.
Benjamin H. I.atrobe had become
Director of Public Works in 1803. He
likewise quarreled with I»r. Thornton,
and President Jefferson aftcrwnrd
took an active part in the discussion.
Most important among his modifica
tions was an alteration of the shape
of the south wing,
jêr.
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BIRD'S-EYE VIEW IN lSt',1.
of the chamber occupied by the House
of Representatives from an elliptical
room to one with two short sides and
curved ends.
A Curiosity in Acoustics.
Thus began one of the most curious
of the disputes regarding the Capitol.
The acoustics of this old chamber have
always been a puzzle. Now tlie Statu
ary Hall, visitors to the structure to
day find cause for wonder In the curi
ous "whisperings" and the transmis
sion of sound from point to point,
audible on one stone in the pavement,
unheard a few feet distant. Hr.
Thornton finally suggested the placing
of draperies between the row of mar
ble pillars at the north end of the
apartment. This served as a temporary
remedy.
The echoes In the House of Repre
sentatives caused continued discussion
between 1820 and 1830, Robert Mills,
an architect under I.atrobe, thought
that the trouble niose from the fact
that the walls in the rear of the col
umns. which partially surrounded the
room, ran at different angles. He
suggested n curved wall and a perma
nent screen parallel with the colon
nade. Bulflnch attributed the faulty
acoustics to the unfinished condition of
the interior. Curtains were suspended
between the pillars and a flat ceiling
of cloth was hung under the domes in
the ceiling. The latter seemed to ab
sorb all the sound. Strickland sug
gested that numerous sunken panels
he placed in the dome instead of tue
painted sections which were and are
still there. Mills' plan of a circular
wall and raised floor was finally
adopted. This chamber has been al
tered decidedly since then, and It is,
therefore, curious that the defects are
still so apparent.
Burned l>y the British,
Evil days were to fall upon the Cap
itol. During the summer of 1814 the
Atlantic seaboard was threatened by
the Republic's enemy, the British.
Almut the middle of August some sixty
English ships sailed up the Chesa
peake. and General Ross landed i.ooO
British soldiers, defeated the Ameri
cans at Bhidenshiirg. a few miles from
Washington, and on August 24 march
ed into the infant capital to destroy it.
Washington then had about 900
houses, scattered over three miles of
open country, and bordering on ave
nues which were merely dirt roads.
The Invaders found that the Capitol
consisted of two wings joined, where
the central pavilion was afterward
erected, by a wooden passageway, 145
feet long, which Congressmen culled
"The Oven," because it lacked ventila
tion and was very hot in the summer
time.
A pitiful scene of destruction fol
lowed. Rockets were discharged into
the roof of the Capitol, to set it on
tire, but did not serve this purpose.
The timbers of "The Oven" furnished
fuel. Books, papers, hangings and lur
nitnre were piled in the center of each
legislative chamber, and rockets placed
beneath tin* material to spread the lire.
A British officer's remark, that it was
a "pity to burn anything so beautiful''
ns the Hall of Representatives, did not
save it from destruction. The two
wings of the unfinished Capitol, the
"President's Palace,'' and tue long
bridge across the Potomac, formed
parts of a conflagration that could be
seen in Baltimore, forty miles distant.
Thus was realized the ruin outlined
In the middle picture. The walls and
many of the interior partitions were
used in tin* new building, which now
forms the central pavilion of the struc
ture. The sculptures crumbled in the
fire, and were replaced. The material
was sandstone, and a coat of white
paint concealed the smoke marks. In
this manner the Capitol and Executive
Mansion were changed from dull yel
low to white buildings, and the latter
earned the name of "White House."
The Old Capitol Kitiished.
During the next thirteen years the
old Capitol was finished. President
Madison was authorized by Congress
litt
RUINS OF BURNED BUILDING IN 1S14.
In 1815 to borrow $500,000 for the re
building. The legislative wings were
reconstructed and occupied in 1819,
and the central pavilion in 1827, the
entire structure costing $3.700,000.
Latrobe made minor modifications in
the Thornton design, llis are the fa
mous "corn columns" beneath the old
Senate chamber—a new American or
der. He increased the height of the
dome, but the drawings were never
executed. Latrobe also changed Dr.
Thornton's semi-cireular portico to tne
rectangular projection which now or
naments the central structure.
The floor of the Senate chamber was
elevated to the main floor, the Supreme
Court moving into the basement be
neath, and the hall of the House as
-umed a form which was meant to re
-emble that of an ancient Greek thea
ter.
Beneath the center of the rotunda
was built a subterranean chalutier,
called the orj'Pt, in which it was un
derstood that the remains of Washing
ton were to lie. In a stone sarcophagus,
exposed to the view of the multitude.
His widow was not adverse to the plan,
but his heirs objected to the removal
of the coffin from Mount Vernon, and
so that project was abandoned. Nev
ertheless, a watcher called the keeper
of the crypt, was employed by Con
gress up to the Civil War and a light
kept there was not extinguished, it is
said, for fifty years.
Charles Bulflnch, of Boston, was
architect of the Capitol from 1817 to
1829, and completed »he building as
-hown in the picture of 1S35. Under
his direction, the dome rose higher
than in any previous design, the
cupolas were added at either end and
the familiar western portico and ter
races incorporated into the design.
The acoustics of the Hall of Represen
tatives still baffled the government,
and William Strickland, of Philadel
phia, was called into consultation with
Bulflnch to supply n remedy.
The picture of 1835 marks the sec
ond stage in the evolution of the Cap
itol. The changes to come gave the
structure substantially its present ap
pearance. The Capitol of 1835 covered
a little more than an acre and a half
ot ground, and was 351 feet 4 inches
long.
New Wjngs nml Borne Added.
In the course of years it became too
small. The Congressional Committee
on Public Buildings advertised, in De
cember, 1850, for plans for an exten
sion of the Capitol. From th.e numer
ous designs submitted four were se
lected, and the premium equally divid
ed among the four architects. The
committee then employed an architect
named Mills to prepare a design for
Hie extension of the Capitol, based on
I lie principal feature of the four se
lected plans. President Fillmore adopt
ed a different design, and the corner
stone was laid on July 4, 1851, an ora
tion being delivered by Daniel Web
ster. Thomas U. Walter, of Philadel
phia, was the successful architect. In
1855 the old dome, which was too
"squatty" to be beautiful on the ex
tended facade, was removed and work
on the present one begun.
During this operation a movement
was started in a convention of Ameri
can artists at Washington to supervise
the decorations in tin* new wings and
dome. The members of the convention
recommended the appointment of a
committee for the work. As named
by President Buchanan, in 1858, this
body comprised Henry K. Brown, a
sculptor, of New York; James It.
Eambdin. a portrait painter, of Phila
delphia. and John F. Kennett. a land
scape painter, of New York. Although
these gentlemen took a hand in the
work of supervision, they accomplish
ed little, and finally abandoned their
duties when Congress declined to pay
their bills for expenses.
Thus the building was brought to
the condition shown in the picture
made in IStil. A comparison of this
bird's-eye view with theCapitol of 1835
illustrates In a comprehensive way the
proportions of the wings as compared
with the size of the old building in the
middle and the contracted dimensions
of the roof upon which the present
dome was placed.
The statue was raised to the apex
of the dome in 1S(»3.
The Capitol To-day.
The Capitol to-day contains 430
rooms. With the contemplated addi
tion it will have 49d rooms—thirty
three more for the Senate and an equal
number for the House of Representa
tives.
When the extension has been made,
the edifice, including the works of art
which It contains, will have cost near
ly $20,000,000—more money than Con
gress had ever imagined, In a lump
sum, when In the early nineties of the
century before last it offered $500 and
a building lot for the best design for
n house for the National Legislature.—
Philadelphia Ledger.
Its
It
It
It
as
It Is this new blood which people
talk so much about that causes the
runaways.
THE WAY TO SCHOOL
Its starting point, the old back stoop,
was gray with weather-wear,
But tribute of the freshest bloom a rose
bush offered there,
And white nnd scarlet hollyhocks shook
dew drops, silver-cool
Each morn, upon the straggling path that
led away to school.
It sauntered leisurely between the aisles
of vineyard bloom,
Then dipped, with arrow straightness,
through the orchard-woven gloom.
And trailing out where, mottled piuk, the
bergamot grew dense,
It struck the weedy angle of a stake-anJ
rider fence.
Small wonder that it loitered there,
where berry bushes grew—
The brier-roses were so pink, the spider
wort so blue!
The misty opals of the dawn—beguiling
youthful feet—
Lay stored away amidst the grass and
clover blossoms sweet.
But once beyond the fence's line, the
path ran, straight and prim,
Where locusts interlocked their boughs
and made the morning dim
With musky shade; then suddenly it took
a headlong turn
And scrambled down a hollow through a
snarl of brake and fern.
It led us to a lazy stream, and tempted
us to lag
And gather pungent peppermint and root
of fragrant Hag;
The mandrake lured with golden fruit;
the witch-elm wove a spell
That shattered at the echo of a loudly
pealing bell.
Then straight from Idle dallying the
pathway firmly sped,
And up the heights, at duty's call, un
swervingly it led;
And as with moist and scarlet cheeks our
daily seats we took,
Unwittingly we closed a page of Nature's
fairest book.
—Youth's Companion.
Robbing
w
mil
¥ EAR in a
years, 8
driven th
EAR in and year out. for thirty
Simon Merridew Had
the mail cart that plies
between Thetbridge Junction and the
outlying market town of Culverton.
Later, when the rural free delivery
was established, he was one of the
first men appointed as carrier.
A jolly, hail-fellow-well-met old man
as a rule, lie had no eyes for acquaint
ances this night, but with bent head
pursued his course till he came to the
big dry goods store of Royston & Son,
where he was finally permitted to see
"a figure stepped from the hedge."
the head of the firm, being ushered
into a glass counting house, where sat
two men. one old, one young.
"I made bold to call about my sick
daughter, sir, as works here," - Simon
began, addressing the elder of the two.
"She's mortal bad to-da.v—not as 1
think she's really worse, but she's wor
rying because the month you gave her
to get well is up and she's not fit to
come back. The doctor says it would
do her a power of good if you could
ease her mind by letting her know that
you'd kindly keep the place open for
her a bit longer."
The old driver delivered himself
nervously, for he had been warned by
his sick daughter that the appeal
would be useless. Mr. Boyston, Sr.,
was known as a hard man, devoid cf
compassion, except when he could
deftly twist it into an advertisement.
His answer showed that he was not
going hack on his reputation.
"I shall do nothing of the sort," he
said harshly. "Miss Merridew Is not
so valuable to the firm that I can af
ford to play pranks with my rules on
her behalf."
"It will kill my child, sir," answer
ed Simon with puckered brow.
"Nonsense," returned the merchant
"She's not the girl to die for lack of
work—always making eyes at the
men."
And for some reason best known to
himself Royston, Sr., made a very ug'y
eye at Royston. Jr., on the other side
of the table. Simon glancing at the
young man poring over his ledger put
him down as equally heartless—to
work so diligently while Margery Mer
ridew's life was at stake.
"If that is your last word, sir, it is
my Margery's death warrant," Simon
faltered, the tears coming into his
eyes.
"Oh, yes. it's my last word right
enough, and it may save your breath
and my time to tell you that I have
written by to-night's post to your
daughter dispensing with her ser
vices," Royston blustered, at the same
time pointing to the door of the count
ing house in a manner not to be mis
taken.
"It is terrible hard that I have to
be the one to carry that letter," he
as
on
It
to
in
mused, glancing askance at the Cul
verton mall bag, which lay at his feet,
as he drove out Into the country—a
giant among the lesser bags for sur
rounding villages—"and yet it seem
ingly gives me a chance I shouldn't
otherwise get. Gee-up, Polly!" this to
the mare. "It don't do to think."
But his thoughts possessed him.
"I might slit the bag up, take out
the letter and say Dd been attacked
and robbed," he reflected. "Margery
might take a turn for the better if she
didn't get the sack on the day she's
been expecting it. Maybe she'd be
more able to bear it a week or two
later on."
"No, I'll do no such thing," he told
himself. "Thirty years I've carried the
mails, and never a black mark to my
name, and—well, I respect myself too
much."
He drew the whip across the mare's
flanks to start her on again, but al
most Immediately his hand tightened
on the reins. A figure had stepped
from the hedge into the road. Tho
moonbeams glinted on the nickeled
barrel of a pistol nnd a pair of eyes
shone from the slits of a crape mask.
Simon could hardly believe his senses.
It seemed like a judgment on him for
thinking of his abandoned proiject—
to be confronted by a real robber just
then, the first he had ever encoun
tered.
"Pull up, my man, and chuck out
the mall bags," said he of the mask
in gruff tones, suggesting a feigned
voice. "You see I am armed; 1 shan't
hesitate to shoot if you disobey."
One by one Simon dropped the hags
into the rond, carefully letting them
fall close to the cart. They had hardly
touched the ground when the robber
singled out the hag stamped "Culver
ton," and ripping It open with his
knife, shook out a white shower on the
highway. By the light of the lantern
he began to eagerly scan the addresses
on the envelopes, keeping a wary eye
on Simon the while.
Simon, too, watched the aggressor
like a lynx and presently seized the
opportunity for which he had been
waiting. The robber had become sud
denly engrossed in the address of an
envelope, when with an agility won
derful for one of his years 'the old
driver leaped from the cart on to his
hack, hurling him to the ground and
sending the loosely held pistol ttying.
In a moment the two were struggling
for the mastery. Simon Merridew.
with the advantage of being upper
most—and advantage which he used
to pluck off his opponent's mask.
"Well, I'm blessed if it ain't the r
"Well, I'm blessed 17 it ain't tho
younger of the two Roystons," ho
panted as the light fell on the up
turned features. "I'm going to hang
on to you and get you seven years for
this."
"I suppose that would be the pen
alty," said the young man, calmly. "I
will do whatever you wish, Mr. Mer
ridew, If you will lot me get up and
hear wlmt I have to say."
Elated by his victor}', Simon per
mitted him to rise, hut not till he had
reached out nnd possessed himself of
the pistol. "Now spit It out and be
done with it before 1 drive you to Cul
verton police station," he said, stern
ly. But Edward Roystou's reply took
his breath away.
"We have had this rough-and-tum
ble, Mr. Merridew," said the captive,
"because 1 love your daughter and I
believe she loves me. I wanted to
stop that letter which my father posted
to her with his own hands, and I was
not aware that you drove the mail cart
till after I had ordered you to pull
up; then I thought I had better go
on with It. Believe me, I had no in
tention of doing the driver any harm
if he resisted; I hoped to carry the
play through by sheer bluff. That pis
tol isn't loaded."
Simon's tanned visage creased into
a hundred wrinkles, the upper half of
his face seemed to be frowning, but
round his mouth the lines curved and
twitched suspiciously like a grin. He
spoke not for nearly a minute, for he
was trying to reconcile the dictates of
duty with those of parental affection.
"Had you found the letter?" he asked
suddenly.
T had It In my hand when you
jumped and I didn't let go," said Roy
ston, disclosing a crumpled paper in
his palm.
"Then, my lad, I trust you to carry
out the rest of the program," said
Simon. "I'll forget I pulled your mask
off when I report the attack on tho
mall."—Indianapolis Sun.
Frequent Yawn Does Good.
To be told that physicians recom
mend yawning as a remedy for dis
ease would make some people smile
with incredulity, but it is a fact nev
ertheless.
They say that muscles are brought
Into play during a yawn that would
otherwise never get any exercise at all.
The muscles that move the lower jaw
and the breathing muscles of the chest
are the first that come into use in the
yawn. Then the tongue is rounded, the
palate tightly stretched and the uvula
raised.
Near the termination of the yawn
the eyes close, the ears are slightly
raised and the nostrils dilate. The
crack sometimes heard In the ear
shows that the aural membranes are
also stretched and exercised, some
thing that cannot be done by any other
process.
Nasal catarrh. Inflammation of the
palate, sore throat and earache may all
be helped toward a cure by the suffer
er's making a practice of yawning six
or seven times a day. But good form
requires it should be done In private,
of course.
If a man doesn't acquire the reform
ation germ when he is sick there isn't
much hope for him.

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