The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-09-01

visited a large lumber of quarrleS IN
Minnesota and elsewhere and secured
samples of stone turned out. On var
ieties of stone on which we had no
official government tests, 1 had thor
ough tests made by the geological de-
partment of the Massachusetts, insti-
tute of technology. These includes
tests of the crushing strength, resist
arce to freezing and fire, per centage
Of absorption, as we'll as chemical
analyses The result of these tests l
submitted to the board In my opin-
ion it was essential that the board
should adopt a stone which should
possess these qualities, resistance to
the action of the elements, minimum
OF absorption and ample strength.
After an exhaustive examination of
all of the materials offered, l reached
the conclusion that Georgia marble
more nearly filled all the requirements
than any other stone offered. 1t had
SO per cent of carbonate of lime; is
very dense in texture and shows an
absorption of about .02 of one per cent,
whereas some other stones offered alb
sorbed to 10 per cent of their weight
of water in twenty-four hours. It's
crushing strength is about $4,000
pounds where the other ones crushed
at 1000 to 10000 1t is crystalline in
character, and will reflect the light
brilliantly. 1t carves easily and freely
and can be obtained in blocks
of any desired size, free from dry
seams or quarry veins. 1t is susceptl-
BILE Of the highest finish, is durable
under all conditions. In short it is of
the same material as the Pentelic mar
BILE of Athens, which has been in use
over 1000 years.
Marble has for all time and thu ough-
out the civilized world been recognized
as the material most suited for great
public monuments, and in my judg-
ment is the most beautiful that could
be adopted. In selecting the style of
architecture for the building, it has
seemed to me wise to adopt the Renais-
sance, or classic as the highest form of
the expression of civilization in archi-
lecture. This style demands q COM
pletenesS of execution and degree OF
finish which cannot as we'll be express
ed in a coaTSer or darker material. Had
it been thought proper to adopt a de-
sign of picturesque or romantic style,
as we would call the Romanesque, it
would perpetuate passing fashion and
could not be considered as work OF
permanent beauty. The GRANTEES of
Minnesota, beautiful as they are in
some respects, are more suitable to rock
face work than to fine cutting. This
may be said, also, of other materials
found in other portions of the state.
At the same time in portions of the
building, such as those nearest the
ground, where the effect of great
strength and solidity would be appro-
pirate, these materials could properly
be adopted without detriment to the
design, although personally, from an
artistic standpoint, l preferred the use
of one material throughout the exterior.
The adoption of this marble in the Cor
cCran Art gallery in Washington. the
great new st. Luke'S hospital in New
York. and in the new Rhode Island
capitol at Providence, made me the
more assured Of it's adaptability for our
own work A parallel condition to ours
existed in Rhode Island, that state pro-
ducing some of the finest GRANTEES, the
Westerly having more than local rep
utation.
I'm some of the other stones there is
much of value. In the Winona lime
stone I found many admirable quail
ties, a high strength a comparatively
small percentage of absorption, and a
fine. close texture. But in the present
DEVELOPMENT of the quarry there, grave
doubts existed, not only in my mind,
but with the bidders and experts who
examined the property as to whether
the needed stone could be secured in the
required forms. In view Of the uncer-
tainty on this point, and without the