St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1889-05-18
CURBsTONE COMMENT.

Day melt into sociability. When in
clined, he can grind out more interest
ing anecdotes about the first germs of
this great metropolis than any other
member of the court house commission.
He is very much like the prOverbial in
dividual of whom tits said: 'He's all
right when you know him, but you've
got to know him first" 1t will be re-
membered that DR.. Day is enlarged"
with drawing the first plans for the old
court house. away back in 1850. For
this service the county granted him $40
as compensation. The warrant was
drawn, but the doctor never drew the
money, and the records of the county
treasurer show, if they could be made tO,a
different disposition of the x. In
speaking of it yesterday. the Doctors
face beamed with pride as he sank back
in his chair and told small company of
friends, all of whom were living here in
the post-piOneer days, how the first
court house came to be built, and under
what peculiar circumstances. g. 1t was
about 1861" said the doctor, "when st.
Anthony was quite town and st. Paul
its worthy rival, that the project of
making St. Anthony the county seat
capitol and the court house, and we felt
sure that we wanted it id sight
worse. Well, 1 was keeping drug
store then, and was member of the
county commission. st. Anthony peo-
pie were working secretly for the court
house. and always thought that we
knew nothing of their efforts to estab-
lish it there. We were well aware,
however, of what was going on,
and also, cOvertly, pushed our
scheme. The county commissioners
soon found that delay meant death to
their scheme. so they called a meeting.
They were in fearful stew about the
matter, and discussed what would be
the best thing to do. Two of our COM
missiOners could neither read nor write.
and these in particular were greatly
agitated, and SwOre and kicked up
terrible fuss. Crackers, cheese and
beer were called in to cheer up the de-
pressed members, and soon the discus
sion waxed warm and furious. While
matchmaking our brethren up the
river the two Frenchmen, who thought
the art of architecture, drawing and
writing were one and the same thing.
jumped up and imposed upon me the
task of drafting design for the build
ing. which should cost $1,000. / kicked,
and told them that l was no architect;
but that availed me nothing,
and / was doomed to crack
my skull at the new profession.
Bill Murray was young man running
about town then, and it was he who
rushed in during one of those MEM
Orable meetings and said he had Sc
cured the deed for the block on which
this grand building now stands. This
was fortune indeed and Vetal Guerin's
health was drank-say fifty times. We
would build the court house or bust
and / at once set to work to do my
sheets of the best paper in the town, l
drew the front elevation of what l
thought would do for such an imposing
structure as we would have it be. l
pOndered awhile whether should make
it of Gothic, Doric or Corinthian
columns, and as l was thus musing
and thinking over what would be the
cheapest, most durable and at the same
time most startling pillars to the
natives, one of the commission came
into my store and, leaning over the
potato barrel, demanded to know what
1 hesitated for. l told him I was
puzzled about choosing between the
Doric and Gothic style of architecture
for the columns. The blankety blank,
blank, you sayv said he; add up your
columns and make them Irish. but go
ahead and get out your design Well,
l did go ahead and drew up my front
and rear elevation, put in some ribs
and left room inside the building for a
pair of winding stairs which could |
not draw. 1 made pencil marks indi-
eating where they were to go. These |
were afterWard added upOn an |
extra appropriation by the county. |
Our plans finished, we were in
a fix as to how we should raise the
s., 900. Bonds were issued in due form,
and how we did hustle to find some
credulous capitalist who would buy
them. A Mr.. Taylor, of Boston, was
induced to put up his eagles for them,
and we made them bear 10 per cent in |
terest. There wasn't happier lot of |
fellows on earth than we were on the
bonds had actually been sold. We broke |
everything was applied to the undis- |
and in very short time the standards
skyward. Ordinary straight steps
were first built; and then, when
matters grew a little less burdensome
for the settlers, we tore them out and
built the winding stairs which Judge |
Egan referred to in his farewell ad-
dress to the old court house. Yes: the |
st. Anthony boys have not got over it
yet"
ROTUNQITEs.