Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1896-05-30

but it is understood that the contract will
soon be made with the artist to finish the
work. y few days ago. on motion of Mr..
Hansbrough. chairman of the Joint COM
mittec on the library, the Senate passed a
bill appropriatng $4,000 for this purpose
and it is probable that before he close of
the session this legislation will be COM
pleted, and a contract will be signed with
Mr.. CoStaggiEi, who Is at pres Eat engaged
in a large work near Baltimore, but who Is
ready to begin his task in the rotunda
within a short time.
Describing the sketch representing the
driving OF the last spike, which in its sub
mission to the committee he marked p"
Mr. Costaggni writes: 1.-The object of the
sketch marked b is to commemorate the
driving of the last spike ana the completion
of the Union Pacific railroad. In the CEN
ter of the sketch is President Stanford in
the act of driving the last spike. To his
left is Vice President Durant. To the right
of President Stanford is Gen. Dodge, the
chief engineer of the road. To the right of
President Stanford, and next to Gen.
Dodge. is the Rev DR.. Todd. who read the
opening prayer on the occasion. To the
right of Rev. DIR. Todd is Gov. Sanford of
Arizona. To the right of Gov. Sanford is
Mr. s. =. Reed. the superintendent of con-
struction. To the rear of President Stan
ford is Chief Justice SanGerson. To the
left of Vice President Durant is Sherman
Haines. one of the government commits
sioners. The two ladies represent Mrs
Ryan. wife of President Stanford's super
intendent at Ogden, and Mrs. Strowbridge.
wife of the Superint. ndent for the c. p
There two workin%mcn, The one kneel-
ing holding the spike, and the other holds
the wire attached to the spike which sent
Geographic taps all over the country. The
rest of the figures represent Indians, labor
ers. including Chinese. and spectators gem
orally. There is no pretense that the por-
traits are correct likenesses of the persons
named In the fresco. of course. this would
be different The sketch merely represents
my idea of what the fresco should obtain
The frescc. of course. would be historically
correct
The News Received Here.
As the scene depicted Is one that was
witnessed by a comparatively few, and has
passed out of the minds of most of those
who read of it at the time, 4 cortem-
por&neous description of the incident which
meant so much to the commercial develop
ment of the nation will be read with in
terest In Frank Lesbos Illustrated News
paper of June ;, 1869, the following ac-
count of the incident was published:
'At about noon on the 10Th of May, the
announcement having been male in Wash
fngton that the driving of the spikes in the
last rail which would complete II line of
railroad between the Atlantic and Pa
cific oceans would be communicated to all
the telegraph offices in the country the in
slant the work was done, a large crowd
gathered in the main olIiC es of the Western
Union Telegraph Company to receive III.
welcome news. Mr.. Tinker, the manager
of the office there, placed a magnetic ball
in conspicuous place, whore all present
could witness the performance, and con-
nected the same with the main lines. At
about 2:2i pm. many of the Offices in diff
ferent parts OF the country began to make
all sorts Of inquiries of the Office at Omaha
from which point the circuit was to be
started. After some little troIble in the
Chicago Office and the closing of Il circuit
west of Buffalo the instrument was ad
jUsted.
90 For a moment the instrument
was silent, and then the hammer of the
magnet tapped the bell, one, two. three
the signal Another pause Of a few sec
Onds and the lightning came flashing east
ward, vibrating over 2,4O0 miles, between
the junction of the two reals and Wash
ington, and the blows Of the hammer upon
the spike were delivered instantly, in tele
graphing accents, on the bell in the capt.
tai. At 2:47 pm. PromOnotory Point gave
the signal: Done" the announcement that
the continent was spanned with iron.
by an Eyewitness.
'Our correspondent at Promontory Point
briefly relates as follows the incidents of
the occasion: We arrived on the ground
at $40 am. At $40 am the whistle of
the c. p. Is heard. and soon arrives. bring
ing a number of passengers Two addi-
tional trains arrive from the east At 1913
the Chinese workmen commenced leveling
the bed of the road, preparatory to placing
the ties. At 10 the government train ar
rived. The engines We're gayly decorated
with little flags and ribbons, the red, white
and blue. At Il M the rails were laid and
the iron spikes driven. The last tie that
was laid is eight feet long, eight inches
wide and six inches thick 1t is of Cali
fornia laurel, finely polished. and is orna-
mented with silver escutCheon bearing
the following inscription: The last tie
laid on the Pacific railroad. May TO- 1863"
Then follow the names of the directors and
off of ba
of the presenter of the tie.
THE point of contact is | .nGJ 40 miles
from Omaha, leaving 600 miles for the G.
p portion OF the work The engine Jupiter
of the c. P. and engine 119 of the IT, P r. r.
moved up within thirty feet of each other
A call was made for the people to fall back
in order to give all a better chance to see.
Prayer was then offered by Rev. DR.. Todd
Of Massachusetts. The remarks Of General
Dodge and Governor Stanford were brief
Three cheers were given for the govern
ment of the United States for the star
spangled banner, for the labOrcrs. and for
those who furnished the mcans respective
ly. The four sp!kes-two gold and two all
ver-were furnished by Montana Idaho
California and Nevada. They were about
seven inches long, and II little larger than
the Iron spike. DR.. Harkncss Of Hncrn-
mento on presenting TO Gov. Stanford ii
spike OF pure gold, delivered a short AMI
appropriate speech. The Hon. r. A. futile
of Nevada presented Dr. Durant with ii
spike Of silver. saying: To the iron N tho
east and the god of the west Nevada ndds
her link of silver to span the continent and
wed the oceans Gov. Spoford, present
ing another spike, said: Ribbed in iron.
clad in silver and crowned with gold, Arl-
IONA presents her Offering to the enterprise
that has banded the continent and wed the
oceans
DR. Durant stood on the north side of
the tie and Gov. Stanford on the south side
At given signal these gentlemen struck
the spikes, and at the same instant the
electric spark was sent through the wires
east and west. The two locomotives Jupi-
ter and 40. or Rogers then moved up until
they touched each other, and a bottle of
wine was poured as libation on the last
rail. Several ladies graced the ceremony
with their presence, and a 1 pm, under an
almost cloudless sky, and in the presence
of about l 100 people, the completion of the
greatest railroad on earth was announced
Worlds Fnir Panel.
The opening of the worlds fair is of more
modern interest, and its depletion in a his
torical panel is, therefore, much more diff
cult, as practically all the persons repre-
sented are living and have great promi-
hence in the nation. But 1t has been urged
that this frieze is not for the men of today.
but Tor posterity to witness, and that 1t