The Evening critic., 1884-10-08
THE ELECTRIC LIGHT
And How the Placing of 10 ON the
CapItoI will Affect Umcie SANS
POCketbOOE,

And How the Placing of ~ ON the
CapItol will Affect Uncie SANS
P0cketbOOE.
The electric lights which have shone 30 bril-.
llantly from the dome OF the Capitol during
the pact three months have proven dear lux
urica TO the Government. They wore put up
and tsaintaiped Un trial free gratls, but they
have cost the Government n great deal, all tho
came, indirectly.
AZ the close OF Congress Architect CLARK had
the exterior OF the Capitol cleaned from top 70
bottom. portion Of the building wos painted
the remainder Of It was washed. workmen
went over II carefully with buckets OF water,
spoDges, rags and pieces OF emory aud sand
stone, and made tho old structure fairly
This work was very tedious aud worry dan.
geroue. II occupied a large body OF men for
period extending over several weeks, aud It
cost n good many thousauds of dollars before
80 was finally completed.
While tho Capitol was being painted and
washed the electric lights wero put up Tho
company placing them In position asked no
pay for II, hoping that after thoy had been in
use awhile Congress could DO Induced ID enter
into a contract to maintain thom permanently.
ehoit time ago Il was discovered that the
building was assuming u very dark color. 1t
looked like 1t had been smoked above tho third
darker ay TSSe almost paeS
and an examination was made. 1t was found
that the lights had attracted myriads OF all
Kinds OF flies, gnats, mosquitoes, bugs and iu-
sects. The Potomac flats had emptied them
selves Of the insects and they swarmed toward
the lurid light
Many OF tho insects carried eggs which,
upon being deposited on the wiudow-sillS anu
In the crevicee, Matched millions OF spiders.
The spiders spun their webs everywhere,
Dust and insects gathered In the webs, aud
soon there was complete mating, thick as
compost or paint, all over the upper portion
of the building. The cornice was especially
densely covered.
Every morning II was noticed that the hall
ways and rooms In the Capitol on those upper
floors exposed by open windows were coz
red bugs, yellow huge; long, slender bugs, fat
bugs ana every kind OF bug-bugs and insects
mover heard OF before In this community
They were swept up by the peck.
professor at tho Smithsonian Institution
heard OF the colony in bugology and went ID
the Capitol one morning to got some spool
mons. He was delighted. He never saw so
many huge, gnata, &c. Aud there were several
new varieties OF mosquitoes. The latter were
20 numerous the watehmen were almost
frantic, and some OF tho men declared there
were mosquitoes large enough ID manipulate
hand-organ or control pollcemans beat In
South Washington.
This state of affairs soon became notorious
at the Capitol. The electric lights were OK.
tiDguished not many days ago. The people
believed II was voluntary with the Electric
Light Company. However that may be, they
will not be put In operation again.
There has again been squad or mon put at
work 10 clean OFF the insects aud their oGfal.
1t is tho same work over again, aud Will neces-
state another large outlay OF money.
The electric light has been seen on the Capt.
toll, and the Architect has raised 1t.