The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-03-30
CONGRESSIONAL CLEANLINESS.
Luxurious Bathing Facilities for Legis-
lators and Their Friends.
From the WASHINGTON Star.

From. the WASHINGTON Star
When Congressman wants to show es-
pecial attention to a visitor he asks him to
ia Ike bath.
This watery refreshment is much appreci-
ated by those who have once tried it, but
sometimes the kindness is misunderstood by
the uninitiated The bath accommodations
of the House are luxury that brings to the
mind of back county constituents fairy WIS.,
ions of oriental grandeur. Away down in
the depths of the Capitol, down still yet
below the basement, the marble tanks of
tempered water into which the members
plunge are located. When the elevator
bumps against the bottom and can go down
no farther there are three steps with brass
rail on each side, and then you are in little
square room, almost as warm as a steam
bakery. An old green velvet carpet that
used to be in the House covers the floor, and
photographs of some of the natural wonders
of the West hang on the wall. Just the
other side of a glass door a little toy of a
steam engine is breathing hard as it tugs
away at the elevator ropes, hauling load
of heavy weight legislators. 1t gives long
sigh as the elevator strikes bottom and the
members make for
THE BATHROOMS.
This room is the lobby or vestibule of the
to the vaulted passages that run down with
many turns and angles among the founda-
ton walls of the building, where are all the
organs of life-the engines that warm the
great marble monster, pumping the warmth
through its veins like a great heart, and
firing the electric nerves, and there are the
big fans that are the lungs to pump air
into its great body.
But that's not the way to the bathroom.
hare nr,t.tA not Loot fhnxy
proceeded by this route.
HOW TO GET THERE.
There is another door leading from the
little square room. This leads into short
passage between the heavy foundations.
Here the air is warmer than in the room.
Suddenly it turns at right angles into
another short passage, where the thermome-
ter registers still higher Another turn and
another thermometric jump and there are
the bath rooms. The plural applies to the
big walnut cabinets with blind doors which
stand in row along the wall. There are
nine of these, and in each is large tank or
bath tub, which can be filled with hot or
cold or tepid water in very few minutes.
These are all in a narrow L-shaped room,
which is presided over by big colored
man and his assistant. The cabinets, or
baths. are about the size of an ordinary
hotel bedroom, and the tubs are big enough
| for the larger-slzed statesmen TO wallow
ABOUT in with ease and comfort Tom Reed,
and Barnes, of Georgia, test their capacity
more than any other members, but they,
even, can roll over and founder about in
one of the marble tanks with as much ease
as they could perform the same evolutions
anywhere.
LEGISLATIVE BATH TUBS.
Some of the tubs are simply iron nicely
painted, but the newer ones are made Of
marble and each looks like great sarcopha-
gus. Three ordinary men might get in one
of them without much crowding. The
marble sides arc as slippery as glass and as
warm as the flesh that touches them. Their
mometers are hung in each bath and on the
walls in the passage The temperature is
kept always the same and member might
promenade for three hours in nothing but his
epider1nis without danger of cold. II was
here that Mr.. Reagan struggled with a
| tight undershirt on the occasion Of his
| famous bath while the vote on the" Morri-
son bill was being taken.