The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1900-10-30
AWARDED

and has been furnished with opera chairs
for the accommodation Of three hundred
people. At the east end of this hall there
have been built a stage and commodious
dressing rooms. At the west end are q
ticket office and a reception room for
gentlemen. The hall will be used for
church entertainments, local charities,
amateur theatricals, lectures, and all
kindred purposes. The decoration of this
room is rich and tasteful, the natural
yellow pine used throughout the build
ing's interior blending beautifully witt
the coloring Of the walls and ceiling.
This hall has already been used on one
occasion. The State Literary and His
torical Society was permanently organic
ed there on last Tuesday night. and a
more appropriate occasion for the opening
Of the hall could not have been selected.
It was noticed at that meeting that the
lighting and vcntilating facilities were
perfect, and likewise the acoustic pro-
perties, a very vital feature. A complete
electric and gas system of lighting is
used, and both steam and tire-places will
furnish heat.
Every one on Tuesday night was struck
with the magnificent reproduction of the
famous Tai Mahal upon the curtain of
the stage. This decoration seems pecu-
liarly fitting in this memorial to a be
loved wife, picturing as it does that
grand mausoleum erected by the Indian
Emperor Shah Jehan, upon the death of
his peerless wife. Blu that great mau-
soleum, with all its matchless splendoT
Of white marble and precious stones. is
but an ornament after all. Mr.. Raney's
memorial library will he of practical bene-
fit to countless thousands, and they will
p;,o 80 o~l I1ocr ~ c,,Ior a~l en- ~
ject of his devotion for years to come in
Vulnerable.
1t has been said that a public library
is the peoples university, and indeed this
it is a university where all come of their
own accord and in their own way, and
none from compulsiOn, an ideal university
in which every known branch Of human
knowledge can be studied, and where the
most glorious gems of human thought in
all ages and chimes are gathered in
form to be beheld by those who wish TO
derive the benefit that comes from their
sparkling rays of light.
The people of Raleigh appreciate Mr..
Raney's magnificent gift all the more
from the fact that it is given to them
absolutely in fee simple, with no reserVa-
tiOns whatever. 1t is theirs to use as
they see fit, and to enjoy without re
Stralnt or the feeling that they are using
what is not their own. On the annals
Of the great deeds of Raleigh'S citizens.
no act will nave a more prominent place,
or be more gratefully recorded, than this
generous gift that will contribute SO much
toward the uplifting and cultivating OF
the people of North Cardinals capital. 1t
is one more page in Raleigh's glorious
civic history, and the people know it to
be one Of the greatest in the whole book.
In the charter granted by the General
Assembly, the following gentlemen are
named as constituting the body corporate
of the Olivia Raney Library: Richard II.
Battle, Joseph G.. Brown, Joseph B. Ches-
hire, Jr., Bryan G.. Cowper, Frank B.
Dancy, John c.. Drewry, William b.
Grimes, Frank P. Haywood, Jr,, Herbert
w. Jackson, Wesley n. Jones. Matthias
NJ. Marshall, Samuel f. Mordecai, Charles
tave Rosenthal.
The selection Of a librarian has been
a most happy one. Miss Jennie Coffin
will serve the public in this capacity.
Both her eminent fitness for the posi-
ton and the fact that she was a warm
personal friend Of her in whose memory
this library is established. makes the
appointment a peculiarly suitable one fol-
the interests of the public and the library
as we'll.