davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1898-06-12

upon the wonderful productions of ar
tistic talent.
There are many corridors in addi-
ton to those already touched upon
that are exceedingly rich in mural dec
o~rations. The n running directly In
front of the entrance to the rotunda Is
particularly beautiful. Its mosaic cell
ing is wonderful in color and execu-
ton. 1t has been named the 'Evolu-
ton of the Book" Here under the
arches Is a series of paintings showing
the growth of the art OF recording
from the time of the Mound Builders.
who merely piled up stones to COM
memorate events. to the Egyptian
carver of hieroglyphics. the Soothsayer
in the market place. the Indian tattooer
of skin. the Monk writing on the scrolls
and manuscripts and finally to the dis
covery of printing-Guttenberg stand
ing by his crude but wonderful inven-
tion-the printing press.
Other corridors present other ideas
and all are worked out with exceeding
skill and beauty. At the corner OF the
building are large square rooms called
pavilions.
The richly decorated rooms set apart
for the special use of the members of
the senate and the house of represent
tatives are visited daily by great
throngs. No apartments in the library
are more sumptuously ornamented.
That of the representatives is an i'm
mems room. oblong in shape. and. like
the senator's room. which Is square in
form. affords a fine view of the capitol
and grounds which 1t faces. The floor
is of lark quartered oak and the walls
are OK heavy oak panels IL feet high.
Above this dado the walls are hung
with olive green silk and the ceiling is
beamed and paneled in golden colors
with painted decorations. Above the
doors are massive oak carvings. the
American eagle being the center fig
ure. The great glory of the room is
the m~antlepieces at the ends. They
are the most superb freplaces in the
world. Each is of magnificent Sienna
! marble and contains "A large mosaic
The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1898-06-12

panel by Frederick Dielman. One rep
resents law and the other history.
These mosaics are already famous. The
outlines are simple but the effect of the
shades and color afforded by thous-
ands of different delicate tints would
be impossible to reproduce with the
brush. They present. of course. a fiat
mosaic. but so great was the artists
talent that the figures seem to stand
out in bas-relief and the oud be-
hind to float miles away. No visitor
to Washington should fail to see these
mosaics. In fact a visit should be
least a week IL all Of it's beauties are
"a be seen.
Visitors to the new library In Ana
conda. of which its citizens may well
be proud. will be just as
welcome to the great ma
tional library in Washington
as they are to their home institution.
When they see the magnificent build
ing with its exquisite paintings and
sculptural decoration and glory in the
architecture of the noble pile they will
be excused IL they draw deep breaths
and murmur as do all citizens Of the
United States when they see this great
university. Thank God I am an Amer
lean" They will be told hat all these
paintings and decorations and ma
chinery and the building itself are the
fruit of American brains n Amer
ican hands. They will go away more
prepared than eve to enjoy and de-
velop the gift of Mrs. Hearst. for they
will have seen the proof Of American
talent and obtained an idea of the
scope and capabilities Of American art.
THOMAS GOLD ALvORD.
Superintendent OF Art. Library of on-
gress.
Washington. June 2. 1895.
The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1898-06-12

whom are students and come with
pads and pencils or manuscripts and
remain for hours. not merely reading.
but studying hard. Many students
conn here from abroad and from ev-
cry state and remain for months in
Washington to work every day in the
library. Every facility is given them
for research and study, and the library
is free to all who desire to make use
take away books except those desig-
mated by law. This includes the sena-
tors, representatives and certain other
officials. Perhaps in time there may
be a circulating department, but that
is far off. The library of congress is
If books were taken away it could not
fill that function.
Another value of the library to the
public will be greatly increased after
Oct. 1. when It is to be kept open until
10 O'Clock at night. 1t now closes at
Z o'clock i'm the afternoon and many
students of law. art. medicine. or kin
dred sciences as well as the thousands
of cultivated persons employed in the
government departments who love lit
erature, but who have not the oppor-
tunity nor the means to indulge their
taste, can then drink freely and deeply
of the well-spring of knowledge in the
big library. For the night-opening
has appropriated sufficient
money to pay for the services of 20
additional assistants, making the total
force of the library 12s. OF these As
are employed in the reading room SER
vice. 30 in the copyright bureau n
the balance in the various departments
connected with he reading room.
There are Is c~ataloguers. and in the
periodical. music. art. manuscripts,
maps and charts. and other depart
ments there are about four persons
each. One great feature of the library
is the pavilion for the blind. where the
latest publications in raised letters and
point are furnished for those unfortu-
nate people. who are Also read to sev-
eral times a week by distinguished au-
thors and gifted elo~cutionists.
The various departments mentioned
are really adjuncts Of the reading
The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1898-06-12
ABOUT HELENAS BOOK
written for the Standards Library

Written for the Standards Library
Edition.
In the year 1868 a company of pub
lie spirited people gathered some mon
ey by subscription and started a read
ing room and library. This was the
beginning of a library association
which continued through many vicissi-
tudes. among which were two destruc-
tive fires. until 1856. In that yea In
pursuance of a vote of the people a
public library was established and a
lax of one-half mill on the dollar was
voted for the supptrt of the insiitu-
tion. At that time the books, nearly
1000 in number. of the Helena library
association were turned over to the
public library. New and comfortable
quarters were engaged and from that
time on the use of the library In
creased rapidly and yea by year more
and more space was required for this
growing business.
In 1892 the institution was sadly in
need of larger and better quarters to
accommodate its work. A new build
ing was erected and in the autumn of
1892 the public library was established
in this new building. The room set
apart for library use at that lime had
a fioor space of abou, IS by 50 feet.
on OF rapid growth of library
use In these new quarters, within two
years the need for more space became
apparent. In the early par Of 1897 the
building was remodeled and all of two
stories fitted up for library use. thus
giving the institution double the space
that IL had had before. During the
last year the growth has been even
more rapid and the need for still more
room will very soon be pressing. The
library In conveniently and centrally
located and has become more and more
a popular place.
The management OF the institution
Is in the hands of seven trustees. These
trustees are appointed by the mayor
and confirmed by the council. The
term Of Office Is three years. Two
members of the board are appointed
each yea n n member of the
council serves ex-oficio.
The support OF the library was for
IL years the regular one-half mill tax.
BY a vote of the people this tax was
then increased to one mill OF the dol
lar. The revenue derived from this
tax Is now about SO. 900 a year. This
tax In the only source of revenue and
has to be used to meet all of the IL
brary expenses. including repairs and
alterations of the building.
The principal part OF the space in
the main story of the building Is de-
voted to a large reading room. In this
reading room the public have access
TO about 5000 reference books. This
valuable reference library consists
The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1898-06-12

mainly Of the following four classes Of
books:
1. Encyclopedias. dictionaries apd
other general reference books.
2. A considerable collection of bound
sets of magazines which are much used
In student work by means OF the in
valuable Poole's Index to Periodical
Literature.
3. A special collection of educational
literature.
4. Directories of the states and prin-
cipal cities of the country.
In the general reading room the
public also have access to a well Sc
lected collection of $50 current periodi-
Gals. These constitute a very valuable
collection of periodical literature. This
reading room. which is open 1914 hours
a day. has a large use and is often
crowded. In order to estimate the
number of readers a count Is kept for
a whole day now and then. These
counts indicate the use Of the room be.
over 10000 readers In the year of 1897.
To this pleasant reading room the
city freely welcomes any one. whether
a resident OF Helena or not. People
from other parts of the state tempor-
arily staying in the capital city fire.
quently come to the library to consult
the reference books. to read the maya
zines or to consult newspapers which
are received from all parts of the state
and from all parts Of the country. The
library management Is very glad to
see the increasing use of Ihe institu-
ton by the residents of other parts OF
the state of Montana.
The story below the one just de-
scribed. which Is mainly devoted to
the reading room. is used wholly to
accommodate the work of the loan de-
hartmann In this dana rfm ent the puh-
lie have access to about 10000 volume
of the best books OF the library. AT
present the library is trying the ex-
pertinent OF free access TO the shelves.
The people enjoy this privilege of 60
ing to the shelves to select for them
selves very much. and thus far do
not seem 10 abuse n privilege. For
the convenience of those who are spe-
cially interested in new books. a selec-
ton of about 300 volumes of such
looks is kept in a prominent and con-
venient place near the oar counter.
Many of the borrowers in making Sc
lection OF a book to take home like to
get IL from this collection Of new
books. The books are grouped on the
shelves in the natural order OF sub
jects. with plain subject guide-cards
at the top of the boo cases in order
that people may easily find their way
to the subjects of special interest to
them. In all cases a member of the Ii
brary stan may be freely called upon
for assistance. In case of some OF the
The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1898-06-12

the worlds intellectual advancement.
The crown Of the dome contains Blash-
fields pictures representing progress,
or the human understanding looking
upward
Beautiful as Is the reading room its
chief value to students is he rapidity
with which they can there draw from
the treasures of the library. A reader
fills out a card giving the title and au-
thor of h book desired and hands Il
to q librarian. He is assigned a desk
the number of which is put on the
card. The librarian. knowing in which
one Of the IS decks or floors in the two
great stacks the book wanted can be
found. places the card in a pneumatic
tube connected with hat deck. In an
instant the card Is shot to the attend
ant In the deck. The book is taken
from the shelf and with the card en-
closed is placed upon a platform of
metal fingers on carriers are constant
ly gliding. A button is pressed n
the mex basket combs out the book by
passing through the fingers of the
platform and the book is on its way to
the main reading room. There a sim
liar platform in turn combs out the
book and deposits 1t in a padded box
from whence it is taken by an attend
ant n delivered to the waiting read
err at his desk. The whole operation
takes about four minutes. These bas-
kets or carriers move on an endless
chain. They are regulated by cleo
tricity and are marvelouslv accurate
in their operation. One of h direc-
tons to attendants reads Keep your
hands of and let the machine attend
to it's own business This 1t will do
in accordance with a dial set in the
reading room. A book sent from the
reading room to the stacks will pass
all other decks or floors and be depos-
tied in the box In the deck where 1t
belongs. The machinery makes all
less and never makes a mistake. 1t is
so delicately adjusted that IL a basket
is loaded with a book 1t will pass by a
waiting volume which the next empty
basket will pick up. A similar system
operates through a tunnel connecting
the library with the capitol and car
ries books to senators and representa-
tives when wanted in debate.
The reading room is p~atronized by
abou $50 readers a day. although the
number sometimes reaches 500. That
it is of great value is shown by the
character of the readers, nearly all of
The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1898-06-12

Der of rare portraits and the educa-
tional influence they exert. Nearly the
entire south stack is devoted to the
bound and unbound newspapers and
periodicals. of which there are 1882
volumes. The weeklies and class and
trade journals as well as the dailies of
every important city in the union are
kept on file and are served to readers.
The Anaconda Standard is among
them. The volumes Of newspapers
alone number 1854 and the yearly adj
dition is 1880 volumes. The Oldest vol
ume is the only complete copy in the
United States Of the official London
Gazette, from 1866 to the present day.
The London Times is complete from
1896 and the Allegemeine Zeitung from
1898. The Journal des Debats and the
Paris Moniteur are here without a
break from 1883. These files give the
student of history the contemporaneous
report of the o%verthrowing OF the dy-
nasties of william III. Frederick and
Napoleon. the revolution In France and
in the United States. the battle of
Waterloo, Trafalgar. Austerlitz and Sc
dan. the execution Of Marie Antoinette
and other great events of the dim
past.
These important collections as we'll
as the main reading room are kept up
to date by purchase. gift and the oper-
ation of the copyright law. The last
source is by far the greatest. 1t brings
a perfect Mississippi of literature.
science and art into the library. and is
therefore OF great value to the people.
The fee charged for copyrighting a
book rarely exceeds SO cents or 81. yet
the department receives nearly $50. 900
a year and is more than self-support-
ing. But its greatest value Is the adj
ditions 1t brings to the library. The
author and publisher receive for a
mere ~pittance. protection in their pro-
prietary rights for IA years and the Ii
brary n the people obtain at no cost
literary and artistic treasures that as
time rolls on become priceless. II is
indeed a beneicent law. Such are the
workings and the advantages OF the IL
brary proper. There is still more to
delight the visitor who cares not to
read o to study but to feast his eye
The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1898-06-12

ROOM. The rudder of the ship is the
catalogue department. Without II the
library would not be worth much. as
it's contents would have to be searched
for the book desired. Building ND a
catalogue Of the vast collections in a
nss;onal library is an undertaking of
magnitude and requires technical
knowledge and constant work of
skilled and trained people. The books
are divided at present into "A chapters.
and the card catalogue is designed to
facilitate the speedy delivery of books
to congress and readers and to provide
a work OF reference to authors and
subjects. This catalogue is kept up to
date.
The department of music is a very
valuable feature. 1t receives copies of
all musical productions offered for
copyright. and il the most interesting
musical library in America. Taken
with the chapter of music in the gem
eral library 1t offers all that a student
of music can wish. The manuscript
department Is unique and contains the
Washington and other collections of
rare and valuable manuscripts and
publications in fac-simile. The law Ii
brary is a special department located
in the capitol for the convenience of
the supreme court. The maps inc
charts department has an interesting
collection of old and modern charts
and its treasures are constantly in
creased.
The most popular department is that
of graphic art. Here are over $4,000
examples representing every character
of illustration. The collection includes
all sorts of engravings. etchings. pho
togravures. fac-similes and .reproduc-
tons of paintings and sculpture. 1t is
a dictionary of modern art. Access
sions are at the rate of 26 pictures a
day. Its collection of portraits OF emf
nent Americans is very rich. One OF
the corridors furnished with elaborate
cabinets has been used to exhibit the
various portraits of the presidents OF
the United States. and the collection
is very popular on account of the num-
The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1898-06-12

The great advantage the European
libraries have over those in this
try is that they are governmental in
stitutions. and the local authorities OF
st. Petersburg. Paris n London have
the power To compel all publishers to
donate copies of everything they pub
iish. This OF itself is a great aid. and
the B~ibliotheque Rationale of Paris
gains at least SO.oOo volumes a year by
this method.
The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1898-06-12

best OF the current magazines ezcgD
copies are subscribed for and o1nODu
numbers are bound up to lend log
home use The plan II very popular.
The loan department 10 opeu In
hours a day. Except Sundays and b051-
days. and the appreciation Of the pub
lie is shown by a rapidly ~increaoin0
use. The loans for HON use some
times number 500 a day. The charac~
ter Of the use OF this department -
shown by the following table:
Loans for home use in 1857 Av.
The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1898-06-12

There has been a large increase from
year to yea in the use Of the books
in the first four classes above enumer-
ated. The percentage Of fiction loaneo
was 30 in 1894 and only SO in 1897.
OF the $500 volumes now owned BY
the library. somewhat over 5000 vol
umes have been gifts. During the yea
1897 there were somewhat fewer addi-
lions to the library than usual. The
number OF IA bought was 1.008
and the gifts numbered LBS. making
the total additions to the library 2,311
volumes.
The library management feels that
the most important part of its work
is that for the young n for several
years IL has taken special pains In fts
educational efforts for the children ana
young people. In all its work the IL
brary strives to cooperate fully with
all the efforts of the public schools.
II strives to accommodate the teachers
In every way and to assist them In
their work for the Improvement Of he
reading of the children under their
charge. While only about IL per cent
Of the books possessed by the library
are books suitable for children and
young people. yet these books set .
very much larger use han any others
in the library. In 1894 30 per cent. OF
all the loans for home use were loans
OF u peoples books. In 1897 this
percentage had increased to a. Tho
average use Of each volume In the
loan department was in that year 81
times. Take only hat portion Of m
books of the loan department suitable
for young people and the average uoe
for each volume VAS II times during
the same year. In the case of young
people the percentage Of fiction loans
was so in 1894 and only ~ in 1885, The
following will be Of interest as show
ing the character of loans to the young
people for home use:
Percentages of young peoples read
The San Francisco call., 1898-07-29
DEWEY REPUBLICAN CLUB
Beginning of a Strong Organ ization for the Coming
 Contest

There was a meeting of the executive committee of the Dewey Republican Club last evening in room 2S of the Columbian building. P. B. Gallagher was chosen as chairman of the committee. On motion of John Choice it was decided to hold d mass meeting in the near future, and that committee be appointed to draft a set of resolutions, embodying the ideas of d strong foreign policy and ali increase of the numerical force of the army and navy in proper prop rtion to the popula- tion of the country. F. M. Smith, D. w McNeill, Henry Meyers. John Choice and F. J. Joyce were appointed as a commit tee on hall, music and speakers for the proposed mass meeting.
 On behalf of the Donegal Social Club, P. B. Gallagher presented complimentary tickets to members of the Dewey Club for their picnic to be held at Wildwood Glen on Sunday next.
 It was decided that drill corps should be organized and uniformed as an auxil- iary to the Dewey Clubs central organi- zation. Adjourned until Thursday even ing next,
The San Francisco call., 1898-07-29
DESERTED THE "MOLL|E MACUIRES. !" Alameda County "StraightOut" PopuIsts Organize New
 County Committee.

@ AKLAND. July 28.-The Populists \ of Alameda County, or that fac tion that cast off their Populistic ' raiment at Sacramento and surren-
 dered themselves to the embraces
 of the Molly Magulres have found that they are unable to deliver the goods they bargained to the Democrats The County Central Committee met tonight, and after a long and exasperatingly te- iious wrangle, those members who have remained steadfast to their party prin- sfples abandoned the meeting and organ zed straight-out Populist County Com nittee.
 D. T. Fowler. the regular Populist nom- nee for Lieutenant Governor. called the first meeting together as temporary chairman and as soon as Secretary Cor aell had presented resolutions of respect Q the memory of Charles White, Gus Koch and C.. D. Cameron, who were Filled in the Melrose explosion, the trou- ole began.
 c. R. Reed sounded the first discordant aote by offering a resolution indorsing iefeated-16 to 10. Some of the fusionists wanted to have the meeting held behind iosed doors, but when several of the md ile-of-the-roadsters threatened then and there, to walk out the motion was de- ieated.
 Green Majors then got up and talked straight to the point. He called attention o the difference of opinion that prevailed Lmong the members and said they might IS well diviue then as later for 1t would De impossible for them to work in har- nony.
 Cielder attempted to speak, but was vas promptly called down by the chair nan.
 Oberg said he could not see that he .ould be of any use in the committee and walked out, being the first to bolt.
 The matter of permanent organization Ees then taken up, and the fusionists