Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-05-07
SAVED TO THE CITY,
Mr.. Carnegie Easily Settles
the Library Muddle.
HIS TACT WELL SHOWN.
The Bedford Avenue Basin for the
Central Building.
EQUALITY In THE COMMISSION.
A Fund Of $4,000 Year to Encourage
American Artists.
EQUALITY In THE COMMISSION.
SOME RARE FOSSILS FOR THE MUSEUM

All threatened clashing over the control
of the Carnegie Library has been averted
and the Library Commission, at its meeting
to-day, will be able to settle down to busi.
ness with definite idea of its duties, re-
sponsibilities and power. Mr.. Andrew
Carnegie, the generous donor of the institu.
tion which, when built, is to be an object oi
such pride and satisfaction to the city and a
worthy monument to a worthy man, yester-
day met the Councilmanic contingent the
commission and unfolded plan to give an
equal voice in the management of the Ii
brary to Councils and citizens.
The proposition was such fair one, and
came so evidently from the heart of the man
who will do so much for the city, that it
was Immediately accepted on the part of
Councils by the members of the committee.
cARNEGIE's WONDERFUL TACT.
In settling the controversy Mr.. Carnegie
has shown great tact and an ability to man
age public affairs as successfully and salts
factorily as business matters. Instead of
finding fault with or criticising Mr. C. L.
Magee's views as to the library commission
question, as they appeared in THE DIS
EA1Oh eOLue blLuG anu bnS cuDSCHuCHb
discussion, Mr.. Carnegie calmly digested
the arguments pro and con, and acquiesced
in the popular clamor for equal representa-
tion on the commission.
The meeting yesterday was held in Mr..
Csrnegie's private Office on Fifth avenue.
All the members of the Councilmanic
Committee with one exception, R. B. Carn-
ahan, who is i'll. were present, in addition
to Mr.. Carnegie. Near the close of the
meeting James B. Scott dropped in and
gave the company his opinions in regard to
the modus operandi of getting down to solid
work. The meeting was in session just two
hours, and judging from the smiling faces
of the Councilmen as they emerged, it must
have been love feast.
THE DONORS NEW PLANS.
When the committee arrived Mr.. Carne-
gle greeted them smiling and cordial and
proceeded at once to the object of the meet
ing. He recalled his offer made to the city
in 1882 of free library, in which his propo-
sition included commission of 20 persons,
10 to be city officials and 10 citizens, the city
official end of the commission to consist Of
five members of Councils, the Presidents
- OF DObu DIdUCutS Ol OOuuCllS, the
Mayor, the President of the Gen.
tral Board of Education and the
Superintendent of the city schools. This
plan he had intended to propose in his last
offer, but he had forgotten the Superintend-
ent of Schools, and had in mind the II gen.
tlemen whom he named on the citizen end
of the board as gentlemen upon whom he
wished to confer the honor of membership.
He then unfolded his plan, which provides
for giving the city officials the same mem
bership on the Board of Trustees as the cit
izens, and requested that the details be not
made public until he submits them by let
Ter to Chairman Lambie to-day.
The committee was very much pleased
with Mr.. Carnegie's happy solution of the
difficulty, and was impressed with the re-
markable clearness with which he presented
ana conVersed on the entire matter The
committee unanimously approved of the
plan, and promised TO meet after his letter
was received and amend the library ordi-
nance for presentation at the meeting of
Councils on Monday.
THOUSANDS FOR AMERICAN ART.
Mr.. Carnegie began to warm up to the
subject, and as his small group of auditors
were eagerly drinking in every word he
unfolded his plans in regard to the library.
He said that if one of the branches or the
main library should be located in the
vicinity of SchenIey Park, where land was
not so high in price, where the people could
have easy access to it, he would add to his
original offer gallery Of American art He
said that when he dies he does not want a
monument erected to him. The gallery of
American art is to be his greatest monu-
ment. His idea is to erect an elegant hall
of large dimensions as part of the
library building to be used entirely
as a gallery for purely American art
works. To the maintenance and devel-
opment of this gallery be proposes to expend
not less than S50,000 annually in the pur-
chase of American art works during his life
time, and to provide in his will for an equal
amount per annum when he dies. He de-
sires the gallery for the encouragement and
exposition of the work of American artists.
He calculated that with an annual expendi
ture of $50 900 the contents of the art gallery
will grow SO that in the course of time the
gallery will need to be extended with wings
and additions. For this reason he desires
that the site be more extensive than for any
Of the other libraries.
TO APPROPRIATE THE BASIN.
1t is pretty nearly settled that the city
library proper will be located on the site of
the Bedford avenue basin. This was gath
cred yesterday from Mr.. Carnegie's talk by
the members of the Councilmanic commit
tee. La view of this Chairman Lambie will
present an ordinance in Councils Monday
authorizing the appropriation of that prop
ertv for library purposes. In talking of the
library for the old city Mr.. Carnegie said
he thought it should be an extensive refer
ence library and building of the best mod
ern design and finish throughout. The
first floor of this building should, he thought
be set aside for the library alone, while the
upper part should be music hall, capable
OF seating 5000 persons. To get hall of
that size would require large surface, and
the Bedford avenue site presented itself as
available. Mr.. Carnegie thought hall to
seat 8, 900 people was as large as it would be
practicable to build, as in his travels he had
found that halls larger than that could not
be arranged to carry the human voice salts
factorily.
The acoustic properties of this hall, Mr..
Carnegie thought, should be of the best that
science and experience could arrange and
the building throughout should be hand
some, enduring and modern in every partic-
ular. He thought that in this building al
coves should be arranged of liberal proper
tions for the various scientific societies to
use as their headquarters, and they should
have roUm enough so that they could have
places for displaying and preserving
their records, works of science and art, etc.
THE NUCLEUS FOR MUSEUM.
In his general conversation Mr.. Carnegie
was very pleasant, and among other things
remarked that when the buildings were
completed he had some rare fossils