Kansas City journal., 1899-03-10

No one can tell exactly what the matter is
with the present decorations. but It Is uni
versally agreed that the grandeur and
statelincss Of this noble building have been
sadly marrcd ny the work OF an incompc-
tent artist. In the first place the whole
color effect Is on. that could lie hest de-
scrihed ne bilious. There Is persistent oh
t'nsiv"'':;s in certain ton"s OF yellow which
suggests nothing so much cheap wall
paper. And then there is an irhnrmonious
minSinS OF colors-ysllows. blues. browns.
Stnrons. reds. c,c.-which seem to have
scheme. but hecause the artist had them
mandy. For a frieZe below the upper row
of pillars is round robin OF female figures
-;is dead. inane and characteries<s as SO
many doughnUt images. Anatomicaily these
women are freaks. for never in life was
there anything like them. In the whole
ensemble there are but two attractive fea-
turcs-thc bronze pillars and some flag and
eagle freScocs
There is hut one way this noble dome
can he made to look as il should look. and
that is 10 employ Il competent artist to
work out the scheme of decoration. The
work as It now stands appears TO have been
done by painting tradesmen who had lot
OF color, and figures and scrolls on hand.
and who thought they were playing fair
and honest when they gave their employers
everything they had in shop. There can he
doubt of tho work having g., n,
ly been performed. for there are parts of i,
which indicate that after the job had been
completed the painters discovered that they
had left out a color or two which they had
in their pots. and wont around and
daubed these colors in here and there just
for the sake Of good measure. There are
in the United States plenty of decorative
artists who could transform that dome from
its present condition of yellow jaund!ce into
u thing of joy and beauty forever but when
the authorities set out to have it done they
should remember that art does not DC
business on the theory that to the lowest
bidder belongs the spoils.
When the penitentiary twine factory is
in full operation it Will employ the labor
of seventy-fve convicts-a not Very large
proportion OF the 500 confined. 1t is no.
therefore. anything like complete solu-
tion OF the problem of how to keep the
prisoners at work without putting them in
competition with free labor. Indeed. when
it comes down 10 cold facts. every convi,,
employed in the twine factory will he in
competition with free Iaborer aomew here
and the taking up of this particular indus
try only transfers the competition from,
Kansas TO somewhere else. In th. economy
of existence this is all that Kansas is re-
Guired or expected 10 do-that is. to pro-
tect her own free labor-,but our Populist
friends with their exalted ideas OF the
grand brotherhood of man may have some
qualTs of conscience in reconci!ing the
creation Of prison industry that will take
the bread o"t of the mouths Of honest toll
ers anywhere. liowevar. II is safe TO sag
that no Popuist who pays taxes or buys
binding twine Will be found ready to take
the stump in opposition to this new Kansas
industry. MEsh is mush. scntimcntality i,
s'entmentality. and business IS business all
the world over.