The St. Cloud journal. [volume] (St. Cloud, Minn.) 1866-1876, 1876-02-03
CENTENNIAL CORRESPONDENTS.
4 Description Of the Government Build.
Ing. sSa

4 Description Of the Government Build
Ing.
h. PH1LApE1PH1A, Jan. ~, 1876 !
j 'Ep1roR JoURNA1.-Having paid
q whit. to the Centennial Buildinks''
yesterday and CLEANED 4 few bits Of
information, Twill try in this letter
to give you a description Of one of
them. All the buildings are just
about what the wood.cuts and litho.
graphs scattered broadcast through
the land represent thom to be ~ re.
CARDS general appearance, yet these
pictures fail to in any way convey to
the mind Of the: oeholder ., correct
idea Of their vast immensely. (How's
that for size y "
Meeting Lieut.. Metcalfe, Of the
regular army, who has been detailed
here to supervise the structure and to
act a. executive officer on the part Of
the Government in the building put
up by the General Government for
the showing Of the workings Of the
various departments, I was invited
bv him to inspect what had already
been accomplished. The outside Of
the building in its general features
Is somewhat similar in appearance to
the Main Building and Machinery
Hall. Perhaps the most noticeable
feature Of the place on entering is
the wainscoting which extends around
the entire walls to tho height Of six
or eight feet. The groundwork is Of
q light color, bordering on Lavender,
and over this is stencil.painting, rep
resentipg squares, or more properly
lozenges, inside of which are shown,
through the entire space to be oocu-
pied by each department, an appro-
pirate device representing that de-
Partment. As one enters the build
ing he sees on his immediate right
the space to be occupied by the War
Department, represented in the loz-
enge by the lictor's rods and axe. Di.
rectly opposite is the space to be oo-
cupied by the Navy Department, as
shown in the lozenge by IN anchor,
the naval emblem.
Passing down the space allotted to
the Navy and turning into the left
wing, We have upon our left hand the
space allotted to the Post Office De-
partment, and shown in the lozenee
by a flying wheel, through which
rises telegraph pole, from the top
Of which branche out wires, right
and left, coming down the sides and
terminating at the bottom in a sealed
envelope. The opposite of this wing
is DEVOTED to the Department OF Az
riculture, the lozenge of which con-
tains a plow with crossed stalks Of
corn and wheat, all supposed to be
Illuminated by a new moon, which is
seen in the upper part of the design.
Continuing on down the main hall,
We zee on the left hand the portion
allotted to the Interior Department,
having in its panels a central group,
composed Of Ratchet, bow, and ar
rows, representing the Indian Bureau;
on their right oog-wheel, represent
ing the Patent Office, and on their
left a globe, emblematic Of the Bu-
reau Of Education. To the Smith
sonian Institute is assigned that part
of the main floor opposite to the In
terror Department, and the losenee
here shows = tigers head, illustrative
Of natural history.
Passing up the hall again and turn
ing the corner to the left, we come in
to the right wing, where on our left
is to be the department Of Foolish
Is, under the charge of Prof. Baird,
and shown on the wainscoting by a
lozenge, containing a trident and a
conundrum, which the uninitiated
are trying daily to solve; some say
it is q whale, others a catfish, while
some emphatically aver that it is a
speckled trout without the speckles.
The opposite space in this wing is
to be occupied by the Treasury De-
partment, and the lozenge here con-
tains what Lieut.. Metcalfe assured
me 1 would find 10 be a perfect fac
simik Of the seal Of the Treasury
Department, if I would refer to 4
dollar bill. I had to tell him then
and there that I hadn't one In
an engine-room on the right Of the
entrance two Baxter engines are to
be placed, and with these tho Lieu
tenant proposes to run several ma
chimes manufacturing the Springfield
rife and cartridges, illustrating each
and every process they 60 through
in their manufacture until in COM
plete state and ready for use. Out
side the building are some heavy
pieces Of ordnance which Lieut.. NJ.
will soon have properly mounted and
in working order; among them is .
twenty-inch Rodman gun, which car
ries a spherical shot weighing 1880
lbs, which it takes 200 lbs. of mann
moth powder to discharge.
The carriage which supports this
monster gun is made entirely of iron,
and to check the great recoil that
would naturally following the firing
ofsuch a charge, is fitted with q by
'draulic buffer, which consists of q
cylinder attached to q .ehasss, and a
nistOn faafonaH IN thu TN IS a .,o@,,>