The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1896-01-19

ishlng. has vastly Increased. Nirslhia
has been the great colonizer OF the so"."
and the West, and persons who trace W
Virginia are found by millions throughou'
the whole length and breadth OF inc
country. Many OF them are anxious =
know something about their ancestors
and there are constant demands TOT cop
les and abstracts of land grants SUI
vcys. military certificates, etc.
In the frat and most important place.
The Land Once ought 10 be mace hio
proof All the other basement hhces nave
been removed TO the Library pnldil's
ard their contents are comparatively s@'
This office alone remains 70 .e,elNe "'
tertion. To make the Office hre-proo'
would require the most trifiinS eNpehui-
ture. 1t would be only nece ssa'V 10 SUP,
stitute iron for the wood in the doors ana
windows and to put Iown eranolithic
floor costing only 900 a square yard
The walls and ceiling OF the office are
made of brick and cement, ana are Sc
thick as TO withstand any fire ana any
Irt ssure
In the next place. the huge books in
the cflite are 20 heavy that they cannot
be used. as AZ present situated, without
great inconvenience and the constant FISK
OF tearing their covers off. The office
should be provided With roller files. Me-
tajllc files would be best, but wooden
files will do. che original papers of the
office ought 20 be placed IN roller boxes,
neatly labelled and convenient to get az.
some binding is necessary. as in addition
10 he usual wear and tear the land
books received roueh treatment from the
copysts employed by West Virginia under
the pei mission granted TO them by our
Legislature The expense for all these
purposes would probably not exceed $500
and the amount l repeat, is really irihing
I'm comparison with the value OF the
collection OF books and papers
THE CAPITOL SQUARE.
In regard to the improvements needed
I'm Capitol Square, Mr.. Epes in his report
makes tho following recommendations
AS Superintendent Of Public Buildings
and Grounds, II is my duty to call your
attention 10 the insufficient appropriation
made for the purpose Of keeping the
Capitol Square in proper condition. 1t
is generally admitted that the historic
old ground are the most be autfui, nat
urally. I'm the United States. The repu-
tation Of the Capitol Square Is second
only TO that Of Virginia herself. and is
visited and admired every year Boy thou
sands Of people from every section OF the
country. And yet only 5000 per year is
allowed 10 be expended on this maeni-
ncent park, ana out Of this sum many
Of the supplies Of the Land Office have
to be furnished
For years it has been an unsolved pro-
blem. as 10 the best material for its walks.
Carload after carload OF granite dust
have been put on the walkways, only
off lr~ ag
James River. leaving a coarse and rough
surface. which is disagreeablc TO pedesiri-
ans and difficult 10 keep clean of trash
accumulated from various sources. NJ
rnerous experiments have been made
with cement and other material, hut with
out success. / recently employed am eN-
perienced man from Petersburg and as
an experiment had pat down IN front
OF the Library building about 400 yards
Of concrete pavement. This proved 90 be
the long looked for material. 1t makes
smooth, hard. durable ana pleasant
walk, and can be laid for thirty cents
square yard, or at one-half Of the cost
of brick or any other hard walking
Seventeen miles Of this excellent pave
ment. has been put down on the streets
of Petersburg and, although much OF
this has been done for eight years. IL rs
in good condition to-day. ! would sug-
gest that this pavement be laid on all
the walks in the Square, as a matter or
economy If for no other reason. Ia ac-
cordance with measurements furnished by
Colonel Thomas u. Pollard, the elicienl
Capitol engineer, the walkWays in the
Square aggregate S.257 square yards. not
including those now laid with brick ana
concrete. and the main driveway from
9Th street 10 the Governors Mansion
which being level. can bee kept IN condi-
ton with granite ana other like material
Tire total cost of putting down this
pavement i'm the Square. would be not
more than $500
In regard TO the Library Building, Mr.
Fpes. makes the following recommends
ton:
81 respectfully call your attention. 10
the fact that at the Library Building
the storage-room for coal. is very measre,
only furnishing space-room for twenty
five tons of coal, while there are 800 tons
used during the year This necesslialea
the hauling of coal through the Square
every month, and the heavy carts ana
wagons I'm wet weather seriously damage
the driveways. | therefore suggest that
an erea be made on the north side of
the eastern wing. with sufficient capacity
TO store six or seven carloads Of coal
This would not only obviate the coal
difficulty. but would very materially add
to the durability of the building and
machinery by removing the dampness,
which now comes from the hillside. This
Improvement can be made al a very small