Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1889-02-16
IN A SSOw-sTORM.



a LONESOME AND GLOOMY TRIP UP TIE sHArr-
EVIDENCES OF VANDALISM ALONG THE WAY
WHEELING SNOW AND CUTTING wISDs-FRoM
WINDOWS Five HUNDRED FEET ABOVE GROUND.
The monument shivered the other morning
~ cold. damp wind from the southeast struck
its white surface and dashed fine particles Of
snow against il. IL truly shivered. for il moved
httle-a very, very little-to the northwest
as II shrinking from the disagreeable contact
All else was disagreesble, too; the grounds
were hardly muddy. yet far from dry; the air
was cold. and even inside Of the shaft it was
chilly and unpleasant. Nevertheless Q STAR
reporter made his way to the elevator car, which
was loaded with two great marble memorial
tablets and half dozen workmen. The car
started up with a jerky motion. a sort of pro-
test against having 20 work in such a climate
The uneven motion. the reporter was quickly
assured by the conductor. who ALWAYS seems to
anticipate questions 70 the safety Of the
shaft and the elevator, was due to the fact that
the load was unevenly distributed. both stones
being on one side of the car. This caused
some difficulty with the spool" and the
dogs" which the reporter did not try to IN
derstand
The car stopped at the 250-foot level, where
the last series of memorial stones is being set
u
or four boards nailed together was showed out
over the railing to the car door. One of the
men in going across stepped too far along the
other end and went down, carrying with him
the whole bridge. He dropped to the floor,
feet below, and the bridge relieved of his
weight fell back into place. The incident,
however. caused the reporters heart to take
an elevated position, and it refused to change
Its lodging place until its owner had safely
crossed the planks and crawled around the
sba ~ atn L., L..
TOWARD THE TOP.
Then The STAR man and the top-hoorman
went on up, into the twilight of the shaft,
leaving the workmen TO get the great stones
over the frsil bridge to the landing. The air
was damp and cold, and the iron railing around
the black well was rough, here and there, with
frost. The north wall of the shaft sparkled in
the light from the electric lamps as though
diamond dust had been blown against it. This
was due to the fact that the north wall con-
tanned less heat than the others and the damp
ness had changed into a fne almost impalpa-
BILE frost dust. At frequent intervals the work
of the vandals appeared and marred the
monotony of granite and marble. One name,
that of a person known as Wilkinson, appeared
in at least a dozen places between the halfway
point and the top, and presumably as many
more times on the lower stretch. 1t was
scrawled in bold, black letters that attracted
the eye instantly.
Il wish that fellow could have been caught"
said the foOrman as he came across the fourth
or fifth repetition. 'He seems to be down.
right rascal There are a great many people
who start to write their names without think
ing, really, that 1t IL wrong. or course. il they
considered a minute. they would not do it, but
they see other names all around them and it is
the most natural thing in the world for them to
do the same thing. Why. I've caught them on
top. starting to scribble their names right be-
fore my eyes. One lady the other day even
asked me TO lend her a pencil There ought to
be signs with great big letters stuck on the
walls here and there and enough men to catch
. few of the people who violate the rules, and
think they would stop it."
IN A SNOW STORM.
A solitary electric lamp lit up the top plat
form. On each side faint lines Of light shone
through the cracks at the windows. and one of
the window-slabs gave a faint yellow ray, as the
daylight filtered through the stone. The floor
man went to one of the south windows un-
locked 1t and swung it back into its niche in the
wall. A gust of wind blew the snow over the
floor and nipped the ears Of the reporter as he
leaned out and blinked in the sudden light. 1t
was showing quite hard, the ground had per-
haps, half an inch Of 3 white mantle. and the
air was thick with fine fakes. The earth seemed
muffed the encumbered air prevented sight to
any distance, and one had feeling of oppres-
sion The ground, 500 feet below, presented
varying tones Of white, cream color yellow
red and black. The monument hill looked like
a huge pile of white, very white, sand, that had
run out 70 q distance, furrowed with little
bitches Inc river seemed stopped IN its flow
and the lakes in the fats were white. The
horizon looked to be encompassed, not very
Tar on, with wall, and above was a whirling,
driving, twisting, falling gray mass Of snow.
THE EASTERN OUTLOOK
was cheerless; the capitol was the limit of
vision, and it was but half visible, standing
with half-sullen air, draped in cloak Of OBJ
security. The parks between the monument
and the capitol were bleak and cold in appear
ance. The bare trees hid the white ground but
poorly and rather emphasized the coldness of
the landscape. One spot of color however
relieved the scene, q great red wall in the
northeast, the pension Office. The northern
windows opened to a beautiful outlook. The
White House. Treasury. and the great depart
ment building TO the west, nestled together in
the snow, diminished by the thick atmosphere.
Everything looked diminutive.
Inc white lot, or ellipse, was a beautiful
sight; the snow had fallen evenly over the half
sprouted grass and the whole surface was of
a light yellow color. with which the clumps of
trees and shrubs contrasted with a fine effect.
IL was subject worthy of a great artist a
theme from which Turner could have weayed
q color-poem-
COLD QUARTERS.
The winds were causing the atmosphere on
the landing to grow uncomfortable. and the
hoorman made haste to close the wooden sbut-
tiers that kept out the air, but let in the light.
Then he hoped around into one of the corner
aieoves, formed by the projection of two but
uesses, aud swung his arms to keep warm.
Il wish they would fix this place up az I
want them to-" he managed to enunciate
through his ehattering teeth ssThey couid
roor II. put wainscoting around it, and little
roof about twelve feet up, and doorway there
and II would make a frst-class room, that could
be kept comfortably warm by this thing, " and
he tapped With his foot a small oil stove in one
corner. No use trying to keep warm up here
now. The place is too damp, and the walls are
too full OF holes" pointing TO the skeleton-like
frame work where the buttresses Join the wallis
great many people come up here who don't
get chance to look out of the windows ON ac-
count of the crowd Well thew saw. we'll
wait until the elevator goes back But thew
have to stand around on this cold iron platforIn
for ten or fifteen minutes, and they prumble
and say that things aren't run right If there
was warm place in this corner il could easily
accommodate ten people; they could make
themselves comfortable until the windows were
clear. OF course, I'd have 10 watch to see that
no losfers got In there, and to keep it clear for
ladies'"
TO BE MARRIED on THE MONUMENT,
He was silent awhile, as he kicked his toes
against the buttress, and the reporter gazed
thoughtfully at the snow storm outside Finally
the foorman remarked, with q ghost of a
Ia in