The morning times., 1896-10-18
GIANT HOUSE CLEANING
How the Capitol Is Scrubbed
and busted.
TAKES AN ARMY TO DO 1T
Painters, Carpenters, Scrubbers and
Host of others Go Over Every
Nook and Corner-Retouching the
Big Canvases nnd the Wall Deco
ratiOns.

The Capitol is a vast architectural maze
with seemingly endless niiIes OF corrldoIs,
acres of rooIns, and stairs past counting,
but it gets cleaned regularly from crypt
to dome. aud this is how it is done:
To begin with. the work, like the struc-
ture ITSELF is divided into sections. Mr..
Edward Clark. architect of the Capitol,
has charge OF all real estate OF the building
and his laborers, under the superlntendence
of Mr.. William L. Wood. foreman OF the
architects office. clean, daily, all corridors,
rooIns and stairways not covered by the
Senate and House, the chair work Ut
the wings being under the supervision, re-
specliveiy, of Sergeant-at-Arms Bright OF
the Senate. and Sergeant-at-Arms Russell
OF the House. The floors Of the rotunda
and the corridors leading from 1t, are
cleaned four Times a day.
Early in the niorning-in the neighbor-
hood of o'clock-they receive their ma
tutinal scrubbing and during the day are
nopped aud swept as occasion demands
The brass railihgs that guard the rotunda
paintings are rubbed daily and before the
dust has a chance to settle comfortably on
the groups and scroll work that are niched
high on the walls, up go the ladders and the
cleaners dust and scrub them Iresn again
with broonIs The scaffolding suspended
before the unfinished frieZe work seems to
be generally accepted by home visitors
with the resignation with which people
accept incurablc Ills. 1t is only the stranger
within our gates who feels called upon
to ask when the work will be finished.
Echo answers, When!
MARRIED THE FRIEZE.
Two of the completed designs by Brumidi
are just now temporarily marred by water
stains, and the accident nappenedin most
unusual way. During one OF the recent
wind storms a woman's macintosh was
blown to the dome and caught on one OF
tue water escape pipes, which, being so
clogged, sent tue water in tons to the floor
OF the rotunda, deiuging the frescoes in its
fan.
Mr. william II. Duckstein has charge OF
all tue art works Of the Capitol under the
supervision of the architects office, n
conjunction with the Library Committee,
OF which Senator HaDsbrough, who is
genuinely interested in the preservation
Of tue Capitol art treasures, Is chairman.
Mr.. DuckstcD personally cares for the
statuary and canvases and supervises the
clea ninr and renewing OF all the irescoes
and painting, both in the main body and
both wings.
The paintings in the rotunda are in a
marveiouSly good condition. considering
that the hlg tronZe doors are found opep
the greater part Of the year, which sub
Jects the canyases to accommodating layers
of dampness and dust. In restoring one of
them recently 1T was necessary to renew
a large square which had become bis
tered by the suns rays concentrated on the
canvas through one of the windows that
dadO the base Of the dome.
These windows are prosaically ordinary
and out of harmony with the ma jesty OF
the general architecture.
They should be of opalinc glass, or,
better still, bc panclcd with stained glass
heroes in cathedral effects of ruby, purple
and gold. True, the prismatic atmosphere
might mar the color scheme OF the paint
| ings, but even that would bc better than
allowing them to scorch into holes. though
| nothing SO bad as that is likely 10 ever
| happen.
MEMORIAL WINDOW SCHEME
Mr. Duckstein has a memorial window
! theory. He thinks it would be a good
| plan to dedicate each window to State,
| and so give TO the whole country an ind,-
yidual share in the dome.
In cleaning ehe Irescoes. the most beat
| tiful of which are i'll the corridors and COM
| mttee rooms of the Senate wing. it is
| the desire OF Architect Clark To retain.
| as far as possible, the original work de-
signed by Bruudi and executed by artists
| under his personal care. The work is
| distempcr freSc6Ine Pom peiia II inefrect and
eXquistely wrought in coloring and design.
| Brurnidi worked entinly from life. The
| almost countless American birds that il.
| lumine the corridors of the Senate side We're
| trapped or killed for his purpose, and bird
painters engaged to transfer them to the
| walls.
Iuterwoven in the masters models of
| flowers aud fruits are snakes, field mice
| squirrels, moies, aud butterflies, all of
4
| special artists to copy in life-like tones.
The portraiturc and allcgorical panels,
| ceilings and medailions were painted by
| the great master himself, and such re-
| stOration as is needed is done by Mr..
| DuCkstein, who is an expert in the art of
renewing old and niutilated paintings.
| While the frescoes are gorgeous in color
ing the effect, as whole, is too dusky for
| such long and high arcbed halls and
where the heat from the gas has blisterctl
| and cracked the plaster so ruthlessly as to
| uecessitate scraping, Mr.. DucksteH Is light
ening the backgrounds wherever he can do
| so, without infringing upon the harmony of
| the original tones.
| He is assisted in his work by several
| artists, chief of whom is Mr.. Emerich Cars
tens. who worked on the original frescoes
under Capt. Meigs. Mr.. Carstens has paint
! eiinthe Capitol since his appointment, nearly
1 forty years Il go, and works cleverly with
out aid Of glasses, though seventy-four
| years of age.
soFTENING COLD TONES.
| The Corinthian columns and walls through
| out the unfrescocd corridors of the Capitol
are being painted a lemon tint because OF
its harmonious blending with the Cold
tones of the electric lights, and the con
| trast between the delicate shade and the
| dead white OF the ceiling Is Startlingly
| effective to the artistic eye.
| Along one wall in which the paint is
| scarcely dry some vandal has scra wled a
seven yard pencil mark, and another struck
| n match in statuaryhall on base of granite
| that bears the statue Of one of the greatest
| statesmen America has ever known.
| The Library is cleaned by one man who
! sweeps and mops the tcssclated floor each
morning and spends the remainder OF the
| day cleaning the upper galleries and dust
| ing the endless shelves.
| There is nearly half a century's difference
between the main body OF the Capitol and
its wings; the latter having Eeen added
| under the supervision OF Mr. Clark, thirty
| five years ago The flooring OF the old
| building Is composed OF coarse brown stone
flagging that defics scrubbing with cloth
| or broom. For all these years the cleaners
| have workcd-and failed daily to erase
the stains made by grease and tobacco
| This past year the architect has adopted
the novel method OF holy-stoning the
ancient flags and the result has been u
| success.
The process is as simple as it is ef
fectivc, and consists merely of clamping d
/ slab of sandstone in a box. to which is at
taehed long handle. The floor is
sprinkled with water and sand and the
friction of stone against stone with tht
sand between rubs the surface clean.
| ALL DONE BY MEN.
There are no women cleaners in the Cap