The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1894-04-13

work OF WOiiueflul @ft. us eAtcIlOF is
made Of drab granite cut in pieces SO
smooth that it looks like marble, and
ornamented here and there with fine
carvings. The building has about
eighteen hundred windows. and the
four sides Of the main gallery have
thirty-three great arches, the keystones
Of which are images representing the
heads Of all the races of the world
Every type Of man known to e:hnologY
has a place in one of these arches, and
The faces are marvellous in their eXecu-
ton and character. Over the mair. en-
trance are the types OF the highest or
der of men, such as the Greek, the
Latin, and the Saxon, while at the back
Of the building are the 'ypes, such as
you find in Africa aid in the South Sea
Islands.
The reading-roDm will be in the ro-
tunda in the centre Of the building
underneath the done. Ine room will
be as large as the r5:uuda of the Cap
itol and its area will pe about quarter
of an acre, 1t will have seats for three
hundred readers, and the desks run in
c0ncentric rows around the central
desk, in which the manager OF the
reading-room will sit, aud from which
he will have connections with all parts
Of the library by pneumatic tubes or
other modern inventions, which will
enable him to send Il message in the
twirkIing of an eye to any part Of this
great book place, and by the touching
of a button bring back the book he
wants. E.ec ricity and everything that
the modern mind can think Of has been
brought to aid in adding to the conye-
nicnces Of the library. and it is now
thought that an electric railroad will
be built to carry the hooks from the
old library Of Congress III TIE Capitol
over to this new building.
From this great central done run
out like arms massive buildings in
which are to be housed our national
library of the future. These are known
us book stacks, but the word conveys
no idea of their character. Imagine Il
great long warehouse with glass walls
rs high as one Of the largest New York
flats, and hundreds Of feet in length.
Let the sides Of these be walled with
glass set into square columns Of white
enameled brick, and have the plate
glass wedged into these columns with
out framework.
Make the interior to consist of one
mass Of iron network running from the
floor to the roof, 50 that when you stan,
within it you ses nothing but IRON
frames rising one above the other and
filling the whole vast high room. This
may give you some idea of the book
stack. The iron network consists of
book shelves, and these are reached by
stairs which run from one tier Of iron
to another and by walks of iron paved
with marble, which are suspended be-
tween the numerous tiers at regular in
| teryals from the floor to the root. There
| are several ofthtse vast book warehouses
| in the building. ] he one | have just
described d will contain 500, 600 books.
| or more than are now in the National
Library. The walls of glass give per-
| feet light, and the books are SO arrang-
that the greatest number can be pack.
ed into the smallest compass, making
every pamphlet accessible.
The acres Of floor in this great DO u
palace Will be Of marble. The walls
| of the rotunda are Of colored marbles
from ali paris OF the United States, ant
in the whole, vast, high, four acres OF
wonderful rooms, not splinter o
wood has been used. There will no
bc enough wood IN the bui' ding Whel
it is completed to make match. Th
building is to cost 56,000,000. Th
State. War and Navy cost $10,000,00C
and upon the Capitol has been cXpend