Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1891-11-07
THE CAPITOL Isrnn1oR.
Putting Il In Readiness for the Coming
Stateomen. a. -

| THE CAPITOL INTERIOR
Putting Il In Readiness for the Coming
| ststesmen. 40 -
looxs BEING xxcAnpKrrD AND TEE YunxrzulE
BEING NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. AND REPRfsESr-
ArIvEs TO BE GIVEN EVERY coMroRr--LuxullEy
THAT WILL suRPRIsH SOME xENBEns.
The sergeantat-arms Of the Senate and the
| chief clerk of the House are preparing sur
| prise for the hayseed statesmen who win ap-
pear in the next Congress-. Gentlemen who
have been in the habit of taking on their boots
when they walk on the now rag carpet in the
sittin' room will find themselves amid sur
roundings, to them, quite oriental when they
take the oath to defend the Constitution and
enter upon the duty at looking after their
''deestricts" and scheming for . renounination.i
Great preparations are being made for the
| reception Of the statesmen at the Capitol. The
dust is being gotten ont Of oil the dark corners.
fresh paint is being cut on the wallis which
have been stained by the finger prints and the
backs and elbows Of constituents and lobb visits,
| and new springs are being put in the chairs
| and sofas Of the waiting rooms, which have
boon sat out Of shape by lady callers. Every
thing 10 being made to look spiek-span and
clean. Even the base upon which the goddess
stands on the dome has been given . coat Of
white paint Workmen are after the tile floors
with scrnbbing brush and rag, the frescoed
ceilings in the committee rooms are being given
touch here and there and the furniture is all
being made shiny with varnish.
The carpets and upholstery in the Senate
chamber have been finished, and they are ready
now to put in the mahogany desks and the stiff
backed and hard-bottomed chairs. This cham
Der is going to appear to Mr.. PETER as a dream
in terra Gotta, old gold and crushed strawberry.
and he will find the carpet soft as the soil Of
an onion bed. 1t has long been the custom to
have the carpets for the House and Senate
made to order Of unique designs, which the
contractors are not permitted to duplicate
The new carpet selected for the Senate cham
Der this time is tumble of small figures. with
prevailing colors of old gold and crushed straw
berry. There are 800 yards of it for the chamber
and lobby and it cost 81. Is yard, price lower
than usual u
TERRA GOTTA INCHES.
The inches which indent the wallis all the
way around above the galleries, which may
some day be decorated with busts Of statesmen,
have been painted delicate terra Gotta to har-
monte with the general effect Of the carpet
The diplomatic gallery, which is the most con-
spicuous of the galleries and has heretofore
been glaring blue, has been upholstered in
crushed strawberry. The rest of the gallery is
upholstered in nondescript color, approach.
ing soapstone gray with a shade Of green in
it. This harmonizes with the walls generally
and the effect, when the rich old mahogany
desks are in, will be quite esthetic.
The furniture OF the Hobbies. the reception
| room or marble room, as it is called. and of
the Vice Presidents room is all Of leather up.
holstery, sitting soft upon the yielding springs.
That In the lobbies or cloak rooms suffered
more than the ordinary amount Of wear during
the last session, for during the fillibustering
over the force bill it was occupied more than
the seats within the chamber. During the all
night sessions the soft chairs and sofas suffered
At the end of the session the leather was soiled
and sagging and here and there loose spring
| showed through the bottoms The same was
true Of the furniture in the marble room, where
Senators receive their particular friends and
all ladies who call-if they see them at all.
That furniture was in particularly bad state
of dilapidation, for the lobby WAS active during
like new and viii! be q tempting invitation to
habits OF Incidence.
THE VICE PRESIDENTS ROOM.
Considerable attention has been paid to the
Vice Presidents room, in which Mr.. Morton
will probably spend q great deal Of his time
during the coming Congress All the furniture
has been reupholstered, the mirrors have been
regided and a new coat of varnish has been
put on all the mahogany in sight In fact there
is not bit of furniture in that end Of the Cap
itol building that has not beer either newly
upholstered or vanished. 1t is an awful lot of
work to repair the damage that two years OF
Congress will do to furniture. The Capitol
looks like junk shop at the close Of a Con-
gress. The cabinet maker starts in almost as
| soon as Congress adjourns to repair the damage
and he is usually rushed to get through and be
ready for the first Monday in December.
The press gallery of the Senate has been en-
larged and rearranged, 30 as to have the tele-
graph instruments all off in the lobby New
carpets are to be put there as elsewhere. The
executive clerks and the clerk of the Senate
have been given beautiful carpet to rest their
eyes and feet upon during their coming days Of
toll, and to prove that the western farmers are
not forgotten fine new carpet which cost $3.50
yard has been put on the floor Of Mr.. Plumbs
committee public lands, where he can sit
with his feet on the table and receive delega-
tons from Kansas. II they have no socks on
this carpet will keep their feet from getting
cold on the marble floors. Mr.. James Donald
Cameron while walking the floor OF his commit
tee room will tramp upon about hundred
yards of beautiful blue rug. Gen. Hawley may
tread upon as many yards Of terra Gotta rug
In the room Of the committee on military.
AN AWFUL LOT OF CARPET.
1t takes an awful lot Of carpet to protect the
feet of our statesmen from the cold of the
handsome tile floors Of the Capitol. Besides
the 800 yards necessary for the Senate chamber
and lobby it takes atRut hundred yards on
eight of the Senate committee rooms have been
furnished with new carpets this year. Prob
ably 1000 yards have been used in that wing Of
the building to replace carpets that have been
worn out Fourteen hundred yards of new
carpet is being put down in the House, and
with great judgment combination Of red ahd
brown has been selected, which, while quite
rich will defy tobacco stains. Probably 900
yards more have been used in other rooms on
the House side 90 that the American manu-
facturers have supplied the Capitol with some
1000 yards Of carpet for the benefit Of the
Fifty-second Congress.
IMPROVED vENTILATINa ARRANGEMENT.
An important work in the Senate chamber 10
the improvement OF the ventilating arrange
ment. About the same amount Of overhauling
Of old furniture which has been necessary in
the Senate has been going Oh in the House with
somewhat less regard for aesthetics and
elegance. What is puzzling them over there
is how the seats are to be divided between the
two parties SO that the small minority may be
found all together when needed. The dividing
line will probably be tine second aisle on the
republican side Of the House, instead Of the
aisle which divided the House in two equal
parts, and the minority will be grouped as we'll
rs possible.
The Farmers Alliance members in the next
House will feel like q man without country
since the sudden disappearance Of their con-