The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-06-13
CAPITOL PICTURES.
hI 800 Amos Cummings Talks of Some of the More
Famous


Special to the Globe.
WASHINGTON, jane ia con
gresham went to the capitol recentl,
at S:45 in the morning. The sky was
almost Reckless. and the foliage was
bathed in sunshine. j A balmy sprine
breeze stirred the leaves of the trees
and the birds were singing in the lilaas
and acacias. A dozen wheelmen were
darling over the plaza like swallows on
the wing There was g. crowd at the
main entrance Of the great marble
structure.
Fancying that somebody had been
hurt. the congressman mounted the
steps and found that the crowd was
composed Of New England school
teachers, on their annual excursion
waiting for admission to the rotunda.
Nineteen out of twenty were women.
Some were old and some were Young
The faces were typical American faces.
intellectual and pretty. Having a curl
osity to know what interest they took
in tour through the building. the
congressman joined the party
All were strangers to him. The doors
were opened at 8:55, and a stream of
eager faces poured into the rotunda.
Another crowd Of teachers. who had
climbed the steps Of the marble terrace
and entered the building on the west.
joined the throng in the rotunda. Thew
were met there by the railway agent
who had accompanied the party from
Boston. Under his direction it was di-
Vlded among the capitol guides. Each
guide had charge of about thirty per-
sons One group went toward the SEN
ate chamber, and another toward the
hall of the house. A third visited the
library and fourth descended to the
lower floor. The party separated so
as to avoid confusion and give all an
opportunity to hear what was said by
the guides ..
A fifth group remained in the ro-
tunda. The congressman Joined this
group of young ladies' They were pert.
handsome and neatlyt attired A few
wore eyeglasses and one or two carried
lorgnettes. The principal of the state
normal school of Fitehburg, Mass. ac-
companied them. The guide who had
them in charge was one who had made
study of the capitol, and evidently
knew what he was talking about His
story was interesting He told how
the plans Of the building originated and
were accepted. Under the authority of
congress- then meeting in Philadelphia.
town lot and $500 were offered for the
best design. Out of eighty odd COM
petitors the committee selected two
plans. One was drawn by DR.. William
Thornton, an English physician, and
the other by Stephen Haliett, a French
architect. President Washington ia
Vored the plans Of the Englishman,
and Thomas Jefferson those drawn by
the Frenchm2n. Washington finally
convinced Jefferson that Thornton's
plans were the best, and they were
adopted. Before the corner stone was
laid it was discovered that the Eng
lishman was only an amateur drafts
man, and not an architect. The French
man was engaged to- superintend the
construction Of the building: according
to Thornton's drawings. p: &c. e
1t was interesting to note the atten-
ton given by. the young ladies to the
story of the guide. .stThey listened in
tently, and weresn Eager .te,aEhear
every word = The guide next de-
scribed the laying of the cor
ner stone. He added that the
senate wing was first constructed, and
finished in 1900. Work then began on
the house wing, which was finished, in
1911. The two buildings were con-
nected by a BRIDGE Thornton's plans
provided for a dome, but the dome was
not built until after. the destruction Of
q w n w no
Ross, in 1914. In 1917 the RECONSTRUCT
ton Of the building was begun, and it
was completed in ten years The capt.
tol remained thus until 1851. The house
and senate extensions were then built
and finished in 1857 and 1859. The i'm
mense iron dome was finished in 1863
The guide then turned his attention
to the paintings in the rotunda. He
began with the four TrumbuH pictures:
''The Declaration of independence, I"
"The Surrender Of Burgoyne," THE
Capture Of Corvallis and Washing
ton Resigning His Commission" All
have appeared repeatedly in school
books and historical works, and the
teachers gaZed at them in silent ad-
miration. The other four great pictures
were fully as famous and interesting.
They were: ''Embarkation of the Pill
grims," by Weir; 1.-The Landing of
Columbus" by Vanderlyn; 'The Dis
covery Of the Mississippi" by Powell,
and 1.-The Baptism of Pocahontas," by
Chapman. All were American artists.
The school teachers heard this with
mods of satisfaction. Then their atten-
ton was directed to the Brumidi friezes.
and his masterpiece, the canopy Of the
rotunda. The friezes are so artistic
that the teachers were slow to believe
that they were painted and not has
reliefs.
The guide next called attention to
the great bronze doors at the entrance.
They were cast in Munich, and cost
the government $2S,5oo. The visitors
examined them with great interest, but
they manifested much more interest
when they saw the bronze doors at the
outside entrance to the senate wing.