The new North-west. [volume] (Deer Lodge, Mont.) 1869-1897, 1888-02-17

Eight years ago the writer of these lines
visited the upper regions Of the capitol.
Over the assembly chamber dome were
noticed immense iron rods extending from
wall to wall. Alongside each rod lay steam
pipe.
'You see," said the guide, s.they didn't
build this thing just right, somehow. So
they had to put in these big rods to hold the
walls together-the weight of the dome has a
tendency to push them out.
''They say that iron contracts in cold
weather" he went OH, 'and so they put steam
pipe in with the rods to keep the temperature
even, and it ever those pipes get cold in the
winter time, or very much too hot, the play
house is sure to come down.
There were even then ominous bulgings
and cracks to bc seen over the dome, and the
capitol orderlies have daily expected catas-
trophe ever since then, but the law makers
have laughed at all warnings till now Now
they order the costly structure removed from
the building.
There is something amusing yet rather
saddening about the New York legislatures
experience with that ceiling, for its failure
now involves deal of money to the state. a
modification to the gentlemen responsible for
it and disappointment to the architect that
is almost heartbreaking. Yet the inexorable
fact remains that the many groined and
marvelously beautiful ceiling is ''spalling"
and "chipping," and giving unmistakable
signs that it may soon come down-hundreds
Of tons of stone-and probably do great in
jury to all that part of the entire structure.
The history of the New York state house
covers thousands of pages in the official rec
ords-accounts, plans, reports and .investi-
cations. 1t was started with the amazing
appropriation of 100000: it has already
cost near So, 600 900, and it doth not yet ap-
pear what it will cost when completed The
legislature of 1865 voted that the old capitol.
which had stood since 1909, was shabby;
and designs for new one were called for.
Those designs expanded SO enormously
that the corner stone was not laid till
1871. The construction then went
on under Architect Thomas Fuller till
1875, when, frightened at the expense, the
legislative committee put Mr.. Richardson, an
architect Of Boston, in charge, and the line
of demarcation between his work and that of
Mr.. Fuller is quite plain in the building. Mr..
Richardson, Leopold Eidlitz and Frederick
Law Olmstead were made board of super
vising architects, and 70 Mr.. Eidlitz was
given the interior finishing. In his rich
artistic imagination was evolved the design
of this wonderful ceiling.
The assembly room is nearly 100 feet long
by 80 feet wide; there are four columns of red
polished granite, four feet through, leaving
central nave Sc by Al 10 feet, with side bays
and numerous opportunities for groined
arches. Over the vast central nave of 1900
square feet extends the truly magnificent
groined arch. Mr.. Eidlitz declared there
should be no sham in it; he might have used
light stucco, which only the keenest eye
could have differentiated from stone, as seen
from below, but he had the real stone The
most careful calculations were made as to the
needed bearing surface and strength of the
walls; and as every calculation of every ex-
pert was satisfactory, the work was pushed
forward in time for the assembly OF 1881 to
QcCupY the chamber