Lyon County times. [volume] (Silver City, Nev.) 1874-1907, 1889-10-26
A TRIP TO WASHINGTON.
What There Is to be Heen at the Capt.
tai OF the United states.
WAUKEsHA, Wis, Oct. 7, 1889.


tai Of the United states.
WAUKEsHA, Wis, Oct. 7, 1889.
ED. TIMEs:-On the Virginia side of the
Potomac, about two miles west Of Washing
ton is the National Arlington Cemetery.
Having received an invitation to take drive
there the next day, l gladly accepted the
offer. especially as was to have the compa-
ny Of pretty young lady. A fifteen min
ute drive brought US to the east front Of the
cemetery. Over the entrance to one gateway
an inscription told US there were 1855
Union soldiers buried in the enclosure, and
over the same gate were the following lines:
"On Fame's eternal camping ground,
Their silent tents are spread,
And glory guards with solemn sound,
The bivouac Of the dead"
A little further on we came to another
gateway with high arch resting on four
large white perpendicular columns with
another inscription saying the four columns
were taken from the portico Of the war de-
partment when that building was torn down
in 1879. On each column was cut = name,
the first having the name Of Scott, the sec.
ond Lincoln, the third Stanton and the fourth,
Grant. The driveways all through the
Cemetery are delightful, and at different
places are placed square iron plates having
written ON them a four line quotation from
the same poem that have already quoted.
We were not long in coming to the old
Lee mansion, the one used by General Lee
during the rebellion, and now used
by the officials Of the Cemetery. Not far
from the mansion, on little hill, is the
grave and monument Of that dashing and
brilliant calvary officer, Gen. P. H. Sheridan,
and little to the right Of that is another
monument with the following inscription:
"Beneath this stone repose the bones oil
two thousand one hundred and eleven un.
known soldiers gathered from the fields Of
Bull Run aud the route to the Rapphannock.
Their remains could not be identified, but
their names and deaths are recorded in the
archives Of the country, and its grateful cit.
liens honor them as of their noble army oil
martyrs. May they rest in peace"
From here we took drive to the Soldiers
Home, mile or so north Of the city. 1t is
a beautiful place, and the number Of soldiers
here is about eight hundred.
In the afternoon l visited the Treasury
department on fifteenth street. This build
ing is 400 feet long, 766 feet wide. and is
four stories high with two Easements. Here,
on the ground floor is the Big Vault where
eighty FIVE millions Of dollars are packed
away. 1t has sixteen compartments, each
one made Of heavy crossed steel plates, the
whole vault measuring 100 feet by 100 feet,
and I6 feet high. Two doors guard this
vault, the inner one weighing six tons and is
opened and closed by windlas, the outer by
heavy swinging door with both a time and
combination lock. Close by is another
vault, which contains $2s, SOC, 900 in gold
coin and SO, ooo, 900 more Of silver coin,
making in all over $I7o, 600 900 in the two
vaults. Besides this enormous amount there
are on the floor above IS, ooo, 900 in dimes,
quarters and halves. SIS, 600, 900 in National
currency, which makes total Of over $2oo,.
ooo, 900. also saw the room where mutt.
lated bank notes are destroyed-abou half
a million every day. They are not burnt, as
supposed, but are "mascerated" and made
into pulp which looks very much like oat.
meal mush, and the stuff is then sold to pa.
per manufacturers. was next taken to the
Redemption Room where clerks were busy
counting and identifying old, worn and torn
bank notes. Thousands of dollars. was
told, are here redeemed every day. "The
Rogue's Gallery" is the name Of a room on
the third floor. Here you can see the count
erfeit notes from one dollar to one thousand,
and on the walls hang the portraits of the
principal counterfeiters both men and women.
A case Of counterfeit coin of every denomi.
nation is also on exhibition.
In the Postoffice department, which was
the next place went to see. is a room, the
dead letter Office, which every one goes to
see. 1t is perfect "curiosity shop" for
here can be seen the thousand and one things
that are sent through the mails. Everything
is here, from a child's toy to an elephant.
Among some Of the curious things saw was
a lizard, frog and q snake. There were
firearms and ather murderous weapons, all
kinds Of cutlery. hardware, drygoods and in
fact everything possible and impossible to
imagine.
Opposite the P. o. department is the Pat.
ent Office. which is perfect museum in its
immense collection Of American patents.
Here can be seen the original of almost every
patant since 1896, fire having destroyed all
the models before that time. am told that
now, instead Of sending the original, speci6-
cations are sent in stead hadn't VERY much