The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1890-11-03
A GLANCE AT AFFAIRS AT AUGUSTA.
The Capitol Comfortable Building
II not ArchitecturalIy Beautiful.
Facts and Figures from the office
Of the Labor Commissions
Candidates for Positions In the leg.
IsIature This Winter.
Especial to the Press.l

lopcCidl W tuo IIcos.J
AUGUSTA, November 1.-The capital city
Is busy getting ready for the legislature. OF
course the busiest place is in the new capi-
tol extension. Here the furnishing work is
going on inside. OF the remodelled capitol
there is this to be said. 1t will be building
much more suitable to the wants Of the state
than the old building has been. As a house
for the transaction Of the states business 1t
will do very well. Its accommodation may
even be called palatial when compared with
the accommodations to be obtained In the
old building. But as thing Of beauty the
remodelled capitol will be what everyone
must have known it would be, failure.
The dome, always too low, now suggests an
ambitious swelling Of the roof timbers;
while the new wing, which was built at
cost of $l50,000 simply plays the part of an
expensive 81" to the already completed
building. Very likely the architect has
done as we'll as could be done under the cir
cumstances. His task was not to build an
edifice that would be pride to the state;
but merely to make an old, inconvenient and
badly designed building habitable for the
state government. This has been done; and
done well. Governor BurleIgh selected
commission of able and careful men and he
is to be congratulated upon the thorough
ness with which the designs of the legisla-
ture have been carried out. That Maine Is
not to have better capitol is due to the fact
that log rolling Legislature planned the af
fair.
The additions make very few changes in
the old part of the building. The incoming
legislature will find the senate chamber, the
apartments of the governor and council, the
rotunda and the state offices around 1t and
in the basement unchanged. The same old
wooden floors and crooked wooden stairways
are there and will continue, while beside
them will be the marble staircases, the tile
hoorings and the marble wainscoating CT the
addition.
1t il in the hall of the House of Repre-
sentatives where the first change will be
noticed; This hall has always been
with rough pine desks and no impressive
feature, whatever, unless the red damask
curtains behind the Speakers chair may
have been such. The addition. which joins
on to the main part on the side where the
Speakers chair formerly was has enabled
the building of an arched recess, into which
the Speakers desk and chair are to be built.
This will allow more floor room, something
much needed. for the seats Of the members.
The seats have not been put in yet, but they
will be great Improvement over the old
cane seated parlOr chairs which have sat be-
hind the grained pine desks for so many
years. The new desks will be elegant affairs
cushioned seats, revolving on pivot. Thus
the Maine legislator may cultivate a more
contented state of mind. while at the same
time he will have his horizon widened-at
least in one respect. The seats will prob
ably be arranged In semiclrcle, or nearly
so. With new carpets and bright tints for
the walls and arched ceiling, the new hall Of
Representatives will be really elegant
chamber, one the state need not be ashamed
Of
u;tharto tba rantilotion of thie holI hos
been very difficult; but device has been
employed similar to the one which keeps the
air in the National House at Washington so
pure. Steam radiators are to furnish the
heat as formerly. But in addition to this
there is in the basement a machine which
fans pure air from out of doors through a
maze of steam pipes until the chill is taken
off and then distributes it in pipes through
the building. Under every members
through Sr the floor for the distribution Of this
pure air in the hall of the House. In the
National House at Washington the ventila-
tion Is so good that puff Of cigar smoke
rises at oace to the top Of the hall and dis
appears. There is no reason why the venti-
lation Of the Maine House should not be as
good.
The great gain to come from th 9 addition
will be found in the better committee rooms,
offices and the room for the state library.
There will probably be ten new committee
rooms. some of them very fine. The lead
ing committees, like the judiciary. railroads,
ETC., will have at last accommodations suita-
BILE to the great hearings which occur before
them. The State Treasurer, the Secretary
of State and the Adjutant General will also
find in the new part such quarters as the
State of Maine should provide for its GOV
ernment. The library room will be another
great acquisition to the Capitol. Though
not large, it will probably accommodate the
state library for some years, and compared
with the attic where the library Is now kept,
Is like the book room of palace.
In general the new addition Is modern and
well designed for the purposes intended;
u some VII t@e Se' The The legislature e will be more
comfortable than 1t has ever been since the
organization of the state; the state officers
will have needed room, and the state arch
ives will be safer. This expresses 1t all.
Architecturally. there Is nothing about the
combination of old. and new to make the
people of Maine feel proud of their capitol:
But who expected that there would
be? This is saying nothing against
the commission, which has undoubted-
ly done faithful and good work, or against
the architect, who must be judged by the
the critics of his craft. The Legislature OF
1889 projected the job; and set the limit
attons under which 1t was done. Tn0se
who admire convenience and comfort alone
those who feel that Maine should have
capitol architecturally suitable to her dignity
as state, can blame only that Legislature.
The Labor Commissioners Report.
The most important report Of the year WILL
undoubtedly be that OF Labor Commissioner
Matthews. This years report promises to
Justify the interest which has been OCCASION
ed by all the other reports of this, the newest
department of the state government. Deputy