The morning times., 1895-08-25
@. n. DAWSON,
Jeweler.
HOS + Street N. w.

north. II was completed to the north side
ofNorth b street ana in the end abandoned.
II 5 now used as "a conduit for conveying
the electric wires for telegraphng tele-
phcnng, and of the electric plant for
lighting and ventilating purposes ofthe Cap
itol building.
The officials of both the Capitol and the
Printing Office were most anxious for the
success of the scheme, and the bond filed at
the Patent Office bears the signatures Of
Horace Greeley, of New York. and James
Mooney, of Buffalo, as suTetles.
The document is yellow with age and
smoked by the fire that occurred in the
Patent Office in 1878. The old engine
for forcing the air into the tube is i'll the
yard OF the work shops of the Capitol at
the corner of Delaware avenue and B street.
The workmen call il the White Elephant.
That the scheme was deemed feasible
and that the inventor was both honest
and sauguinc of success is evidenced by
the signatures of his boudsmen, and his
offers to complete the tunnel at his own
expense. Officials of both buildings re-
gret the failure of the eXpedient which
would have minmiZed the work OF several
departme nts.
The last of these subways is in process
of construction between the New Library
building and the Capitol. II lsnot intended
TO convey the contents Of the old Library
rooms into their rev quarters, but is an
expeditions mode of conveying parcels or
documents from one building TO the other.
The tunnel starts from directly under the
rotunda Of the New Library. building and
its terminal VIII be in small room on the
main floor. in the rear OF t,ie room now
occupied by the House Committee on En-
rolled Bills, which now opens into Stat
uary Hall ).
The tunnel will be about ! 100 feet
long, the flooring to be Of concrete, four
inches deep, the arch OF Grick,iand six feet
atits highest point aud four feet wide--oRly
large enough TO admit one MAN TO adjust
the machinery should any accident occur.
TO TRANsP ORTe hooks.
The plan proposes an automatic ap-
paratus for conveying books, phamplets,
etc, and win be SO adjusted as to take
up automatically any book or package left
at either terminal. 1t is u, novel contrl-
vance, suggested by an expert. engineer
and developed by an equally expert me-
chanfc a'r-.srot
The tunnel Will also convey the telephone
wires between the two halls of Congress
and the Library so that any call for any
book or document can be practically an
swered in a very few minutes. A pneu-
matte tube for small papers or written
messages will also be one of the features Of
the tunnel The whole VIII be operated by
electricity. generated from the new Library
is pnfh h ff1Crp on 10
of the cash and parcel carrying system al
ready adopted in many large mercantile
houses, but ii possesses novel features that
may be patentabe.
The transportation of books from the
old to the new Library is mooted ques-
ton. The tunnel referred to has no con-
nection with this, being only device more
especially intended 10 assist the memory
osthe statesmen in heated debates by fur
nishing authorities in support of any argu-
ment in hurry. Congress appropriated
$40, 900 for the construction of the tunnel,
stipulating that tubes or carriers should
deliver at either terminal i'll two minutes
The plans for transporting the immense
bulk now in the old Library quarters are
varied and unique. Among them, an ele-
waited railway built something on the style
of the Inter-Mural tramway of the Chicago
Worlds Fair, has been proposed and is
being seriously considered.
The plan suggests an endless railway
like the figure 8, 10 wind around the Capt.
tol building in one loop and the other TO
pass around the Library building, with
stations at the north and south of the
west front of the Capitol opening direct
into the rooms now occupied by the LII
brary, and four stations midway of each
front of the new Library building, the
who'd TO be operated by electricity from
the house plants of both buildings.
From four to six freight cars have been
proposed. The plan, If adopted, Will be
far more expeditions than horse power,
and in estimating the cost it has resulted
in calculations that favor the scheme,
not only from a labor-saving and eXpedi-
tious point of view, but also as the most
economic.