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

unaccountable. 1t was not the iuten-
ton of the architect to make an echo
hall. He was building room in
which he presumed speech making
would be easy and agreeable. Instead.
he builded 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-
INA, delivered some of their finest ora
tCrical efforts beneath this roof.
There is one block which is called
by the guide 1.-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 it would be for an ora
tor to stand and listen to his own
words as they come bounding back ana
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 com-
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 hail. because it has been given I'D
to the states for statues of local her
oes. The state of Vermont has con-
tributed statue. heroic in size, of
Ethan Allan, the man who captured
Ticonderago and went over it like a
whirlwind. swearing like a trooper
that he was. but whom historians say
captured it lin the name Of the Great
Jehovah and the Continental
Congress" To the right If
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 Chantiily, Va. Sept. s.
1862. He had made great reputation
as an Indian fighter before the Civil
War commenced, and his loss was Sc
yerely felt by the Union armies. One
of the most striking figures in the hall
is 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 a 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 contributary 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 dlstlnT
guished men of cur country. The Won
derful thing about IT is that these
faces are discovered in the natural
marble. and are as unacccuntable as
the peculiar echoes. Eli, the watch
man in the room. will show you per-
feet image of Ben F. Butler in the
column back of the Fulton statue. In
another marble column, neaf lhe
statue of Garfield, there is semblance'
of robed priest, joining man and
woman in matrimony. There are also
in various portions Of the hall the
faces of Blaine, Lincoln, Conkhns'
Banks and other celebrities.