The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-09-12

unaccountable. 1t was not the inten-
ton of the architect to make an echo
hall He was building a room in
which he presumed speech-making
would be easy and agreeable. Instead,
he builded a beautiful hall in which all
conversation was veritable jargon.
How the gentlemen ever managed to
make their speeches and continue their
debate no one now can ever imagine.
Yet Daniel Webster, Henry Clay, John
Z. Calhoun and Hayne, of South Caro-
lima, delivered some of their finest ora
tCrical efforts beneath this roof.
There is one block which is called
by the guide the central block" That
is because 1T does not carry It's echoes
to any other block in the room, bat
brings back to whoever stands upon
1t, his own voice. If you were to stand
upon the central block and utter your
own name, you would hear the voice
ringing in your ears, your own voice,
like the roaring of a thousand people
shouting in unison and calling you. 1t
seems that this block is the acoustic
center of the hall. and every sound .
made upon it is reflected back from
every Granny of the room What O.
terrible place ii would be for an ora
tor to stand and listen to his own
words as they come bounding back and
reverberating with thunderous mock
cry. 1t is stated, however by the old
est inhabitants" that when the floor
was carpeted the echoes were not so
pronounced, but that, nevertheless, the
members of the house constantly cons
planned of the bad acoustic properties
of the hall. The old copies of the Con-
gressional Globe contained numerous
Interruptions from representatives, ask
Ing their colleagues to repeat impOr-
tant utterances, because they We're not
distinctly heard.
At present the room is called Statu-
airy hall, because it has been given up
to the states for statues of local hel-
oes. The state of Vermont has con-
tributed a statue. heroic in size, of
Ethan Allan, the man who captured
Tlconderago and went over it like q
whirlwind. swearing like a trooper
that he was, but whom historians say
captured it 'in the name Of the Great
Jehovah and the Continental
the statute of Allan is one
recently contributed by Michigan,
and said to be an excellent likeness Of
Gen. Lewis Cass. Away over in the
corner near the natural telephone, is
a bronze statue of soldier. Upon
the marble pedestal we read the words
New jersey. The soldier thus COM
friends say that the artist has faith
fully reproduced the celebrated SOL
der, Gen. Phil Kearney, who fell at
the battle of Chantilly Va, Sept. s.
1852. He had made a great reputation
as an Indian fighter before the Civil
War commenced. and his loss was Sc
verely felt by the Union armies. One
of the most striking figures in the hall
is a marble statue heroic size, of James
A. Garfield. contributed by the state
of Ohio At the base of the artistic
representation of the famous soldier,
scholar and statesman is bronze
sword lying across the holsters. One
of the finest pieces of sculpture. how
ever, is contributed by the state of
New York, and represents Robert Full
ton IN sitting posture. with a model
of a steamboat in his hands. His
features seem to be intensely wrought
with thought concerning his great in
vention, and his eyes are riveted upon
the model before him.
The marble columns which surround
the room are made of Potomac marble,
and are contritutary to the wonderful
portion CT the edifice. The guides OF
the capitol have studied them and
discovered outlined upon them. by ma
ture, the faces of some of the dtstin-
guished men of cur country. The Won
derf,H thing about II is that these
faces are discovered in the natural
marble. and are as unacccuntable as
the peculiar echoes. Ell, the wateh-
man in the room. will show you a per-
feet image of Ben F. Butler in the
column back of the Fulton statue IN
another marble column. neaf Inc
statue of Garfield, there is semblance
of robed priest, joining man anu
woman in matrimony. There are also
in various portions Of the hall the
faces of blaine Lincoln, Conklins,
Banks and other celebrities.