Lyon County times. [volume] (Silver City, Nev.) 1874-1907, 1889-10-19
TRIP TO WASHINGTON.
What There is to be Seen Mt the Capt.
tai Of the United states.
WAUKEsHA, Wis, Oct. Z, 1850.

easy matter to visit most of the public build.
ings Of Washington without a guide, it is
much better to employ one when making a
tour through the Capitol, as there are SO
many things that need explanation, and as
these men are here for that purpose what
they tell you can be relied upon. To make
sure Of my man tipped him literally, and
if was to judge from the way he kept up
the conversation in explaining things as we
went along, have no reason to feel sorry
about giving up the extra four bits.
To begin with, the Capitol stands on the
top Of hill, now known as "Capitol Hill, :"
and where from the west steps of the build
ing you get fine view Of the city. 1t is
here where the streets cross, dividing the
city into four parts. The streets are named
North and South Capitol and East and West
Capitol. The Capitol being situated in the
center of the city the four sections are known,
according to their locality, as North, East,
South and West, and the numbers begin at
this central point. The business and fash
ionable part Of the city, however, lies most.
ly to the West and North, so that while
there are two main entrances to the building,
the East and the West, the principal main
entrance is from the West, although it was
anticipated that the city would grow to the
East, Of the Capitol, and it is from this side
the best view is obtained. The Congress.
men nearly all reside in the Northwest Sec
ton and therefore really enter the building
by the "back way" But, judging from
what you hear of them in Washington, that
manner of ingress becomes quite natural to
them.
Standing some distance away;on the East
side, you are at once struck with the beauty
and grandeur Of the great building. A broad
marble walk leads to the steps in front,
while the Capitol Park, which contains Sc
acres, surrounds the building. 1t is on this
side, too, that Greenough's celebrated statue
of Washington is placed, of which we hear
SO much. Opinions differ, cannot see
where the "beauty" or "artistlc finish" of
the statue comes in. 1t represents Wash
ington in sitting position, with one hand
raised towards heaven. On the entire upper
portion Of the body the muscles stand out
so Prominently that one might easily imagine
that he was looking at the statue Of prfes.
sional slogger like John l.. Sullivan instead
of "the Father of Our Country" Now that
John L. has decided to run for Congress l
should not be at all surprised, if he "gets
there" if future guides do not point to this
statue as that of the great Boston slogger
and Statesman.
You can hardly have an idea what an i'm.
mense building the Capitol is until you look
at it from the East side. From the center
rises the huge dome with it statue OF Liber.
ty, to height of nearly $50 feet, while to
the right stretches the wing of the Senate,
and to the left that of the House of Repre-
sentatives, the entire distance from wing to
wing being ISL feet. On entering the ro-
large paintings from American history meet
the eyes Four of them, The Signing of the
Declaration Of independence, The Surren.
der Of Burgoyne, The Surrender of Corn.
wallis, and The Resignation of Washington's
Commission in the Army, represent the peri
cd Of the American Revolution, while the
other four, The Baptism Of Pocahantas,
The Discovery of the Mississippi, The Land
ing of Columbus, and The Embarkation OF
the Pilgrims, represents earlier American
history. These paintings are all by Ameri-
can artists, and are of themselves worth
going many miles to see. Underneath the
dome, directly over the rotunda, is the cele.
brated allegorical picture Of Burnside. In
the centre, sitting on a rainbow, is Wash
ington; on his right is seated the Goddess of
Liberty, and on his left two females repre-
senting Fame and Victory. Around this
group, in the form of a circle, are thirteen
female forms, representing the thirteen orig
inal colonies The other groups of pictures
which belong to this painting are those rep
resenting Agriculture, Commerce. Art, Sci
ence, Mechanics, and few others which
have forgotten.
Passing from The rotunda to the North
wing you are shown the Supreme Court
room, which used to be the Senate. A little
further on you come to the Senate reception
room, and then to the Senate Chamber itself.
stopped there long enough to see the seats
occupied by Senators Jones and Stewart as
well as those of Sherman and Spooner, and
General Logan's old seat. From here we
were taken to the Presidents room, the one
he uses on the last day Of the session Of
Congress, when he comes down to sign bills
which it would take too long to send to the
White House for the signature. We were
next taken to Statuary Hall, the old House
Of Representatives, where are seen statues