Idaho news. (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1887-1891, 1888-08-25
OLD CAPITOL PRISON.
Vicissitudes of One of the Earliest of
Washington Buildings.


of Washington directly opposite the
capitol. is a building with a remarka-
BILE history. writes w. A. Croffut in
the Philadelphia Press. have known
something of it through many vicissi-
tudes for nearly thirty years. and dur
ing the war it was an object of mystic
rious interest to every body. for then
IT was jail for distinguished ''trai-
tors" ''copper-he heads" and prisoners
of State.
Irecollect a humorous incident con-
nected with it--in 1864 / should think.
One day Prof ID Almeda appeared at
the house where boarded bringing
letters of Introduction from France to
w. d. O'Connor, the author, who &C.
cupied the second floor. and Walt
Whitman, the poet who lived in the
hall bedroom. He was q teacher in
Paris college and was availing himself
of q short vacation to run over and see
our horrible war. He was a natty,
lively, witty, fascinating man. full of
fun and eager for the fray. Desiring
to go South across the lines, at once
he wrote to Secretary Seward. request
ing safe conduct and getting no early
reply he started impatientIy without
the pass for the lines.
We thought little more of our lively
acquaintance for couple of months
when his vacation had expired. One
day Mrs. O'ConRor remarked medita-
lively: Il wonder if ID Almeda ism { 10
the Old Capitol Prison?" 1t was a
bright idea. Search was made in that
dreaded repository of spies, deserters
and traitors, and sure enough, there in
a wretched cell the poor fellow Ian
guished. his volatility entirely gone
with it. Wasn't he disguested and in
dignante Did he not threaten that
the land of Lafayette would come over
and lombard New York and burn
Washington? At last he got back to
his classes, but the wound TO his amour
propre has never quite healed.
The building was erected just after
the capital was permanently located
here-about lS06--to serve as 'tav-
ern." For year or two it paid. Con-
gressmen came and boarded with him.
Then they sought other quarters. and
the proprietor became bankrupt and
closed the place when the war of 1912
broke out
The british came and drove Madison
off into the Virginia woods
and burned the new and I'M
finished capitol, but they spared the
adjacent tavern which now entered
upon a career of eminent usefulness.
Great was the CONSERVATION of
Westinghouse in 1914 VIII en- they
looked upon the heap of smouldering
ashes and asked each other: where
will Congress go nowa" For the
capital movers assembled with
alacrity and insisted that the site was
far too exposed, and that the Federal
Government ought henceforth to meet
at Philadelphia, at Germantown, at
Trenton. at Princeton. at New York,
at Peekskill, or at Newport, in Rhode
Island. Germantown again offered its
hall and Princeton its college building.
Terror prevailed locally. 1t was as
serted that the 'capitol movers" were
glad of the British devastation as an
excuse for their own more malignant
attack. Then the people got together.
raised money, bought the old tavern,
remodeled it into two halls with gal
leries, and formally offered it to the
committee representing the two Houses
of Congress. The offer was accepted
and the next Congress assembled at
the reconstructed tavern where the
members previously obtained their
convenient flip and stimulating cider
brandy.
Here for years, while the permanent
capitol was being reconstructed and
redecorated, both houses of congress
sat, and here from small balcony
over the front door. Monroe was twice
inaugurated to be be president of the
United States. John Quincy Adams
was inaugurated as his successor in
1895 Here, ] believe. Lafayette had
his grand reception in 1924, and the
ballroom must have been sadly over
crowded.
1t was most useful building. It's
walls re-echoed with the fervent orato-
ry of the statesmen of those exciting
years. There the quarrel over the
United States bank was waged. There
''the Monroe doctrine" was first used
as shibboleth. There the Missouri
compromise was adopted and two
states added to the Union. There
John Randolph uttered his phillipics.
and Tristan Burgess, of Rhode Island,
made the brutal allusion to Randolph's
clildishness:
"Sir. Providence takes care of its
own universe. Moral monsters cannot
propagate. II demon could beget demon
the universe might become pande-
monium, but | thank God that the
father of lies can never become the
father of liars"
There Clay presided over the house
as speaker for ten years, and there he
was thanked for negotiating the treaty
of Client. There Benton matured the
presumption laws. There Daniel Web
ster sat as representative from Boston.
and there he met young Hayne, Of
South Carolina. There Calhoun
brought into shape his mastery
measures
In 1927 the present capitol had
reached state of forwarduess which
was called Finished" and congress
transferred itself and all its belongings
thither.
Al. L n a 4. .