The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1877-05-12
THE STATE HOUSE swINDLE.

In the resume of legislative proceedings In
last weeks FREE TRADER it was mentioned
that the committee to investigate the new state
house swindle had made semi.apologetlc,
whitewashing kind Of report. Since then the
newspapers, not satisfied with the report, are
publishing the evidence as taken by the COM
mittee, and this certainly puts upon the mat
ter much uglier phase than was given 1t by
the committees report This evidence not
only bears out the committee as to the Ia
mentable incompetence of the commissioners,
but seriously questions their integrity. Nu-
merous little transactions like this are retcrr.
cd to:
The evidence shows that Beveridgc, one OF
the commissioners, had been receiving $50
and $25 a month rent for building on the
state house grounds from August, 1913, till
date, and that he hal Eot accounted Tor a DOL.
lar on the books Of the commissioners, and
that Aid Sands had been for months drawing
1925 month as superintendent, and only had
two laborers and two carpenters under his Ill
rection, and himself plasterer.
There were a lot of columns and pilastcrs TO
be made for the senate chamber,and bids were
invited. Spurway aud Warren named price
for substantial stone work, but the commits.
sioncrs ordered the work TO be given to Paul
Badeau, who, instead of using substantial
material, made the columns the meTest sham,
of material that is already crumbling away,
but for which double was paid that the other
parties had asked.
The committee try TO lay all the blame for
the enormous cost above the estimates upon
the dead French architect Piquenard, and
doubtless he was largely instrumental in
bringing about the increase. He was hot
blooded Gaul, educated IN the Louis Quatorze
school of art, with about as much notion of
what was meant by the republican simplici-
ty of style" which the original state house
law enjOined, as q Hottentot would know Of
ancien. Greek art. Instead of durable,
substantial work, all his ideas seemed to run
into gaudy decoration and shams. Instead
of stone and iron, he preferred terra Gotta ard
| Portland cement; instead of marble he pre-.
ferred scagllola, or imitation marble. AS p
III. Decker, Chicago master-builder, stated
IN his testimony:
There are many defects in the building
| though the workmanship is better than the
material used. Upon ascending the grand
steps In front, the citizen cannot help seeing
"a mosaic OF roughly hewn stone and Portland
cement, the latter after only few months
wear exhibiting cracks seams, and scaled
surfaces. Inside the building the corridors
are wainscotted with beautiful varlegated mar
bles and then to make the contrast more dis
agreeable they are paneled, pilastered and
capped with material called scagliola, an
imitation Of nothing, of so poor quality that
! it Is already .crumbling and splitting away
! The wood and workmanship in the executive
chamber are cheap and imperfect, while the
tresco painting is gaudy and ont OF character.
But the supreme courtroom is the GROWING
feature of mlsapplled money, architectural
genius and painter S skill In chamber
where our simple constitution commands rev.
erence for the stern and blind goddess, J us
tice, thousands of dollars have been expend
cd IN carton pierre PLASTER and fresCo paint
ing, rendering the chamber gorgeous as the
audience-room OF Il monarch.
And so on, all through the building. All
this involved constant changes Of the original
Iplans-constant new estimates, new expendl
lures, and it is sheer dishonesty TO claim that
the commissioners did not make themselves
parties in such eXtravagant and unauthorized
waste Of money, The committee it is true,
propose mildly to punish the commissioners
by dischargng them, when there Is no more
money left for them to waste, but it is mani.
fest from the partial disclosures already made
by the the investigation, that more search.
ing inquiry, by less friendly committee to
conduct Il, would not have let the commits.
sIoners off SO little scaihed.