Oxford eagle. (Oxford, Lafayette Co., Miss.) 1876-current, 1901-03-07
GORGEOUS DECORATIONS.



The whole route of the parade was
gorgeously patriotic sight But it
was AT the Court of Honor. construct
ed on Pennsylvania avenue. between
/ Fifteenth and Seventeenth streets.
that the decorations fairly sur
passed in pretty and effective display
anything ever before seen here IN
street orna namentation on a large scale.
Here the scene rivaiied that of an
Italian carnival display in the era of
the Medici- Probably no other public
thcroughfarc in the world of equal
length ever lent itself more readily 70
artistic decoration than this stretch
from the treasury TO the state. war
and navy departments building. For
almost . quarter of n mile the mag
nifcent s'reteh of asphalt runs
straight a. an arrow due east ard
west. the lsn-foot roadway and par,f-
lei stone sidewalks almost half a. WIDE
again. shaded by many trees whose
planting antefateS the civil war. On
the south side of This court its length
Is shaded almost equally by the grey
old treasury building. massive and i'm
pressive in its severe simplicity: the
executive mansion. half hidden. Dus
gieaming. snow white. through the
surrounding trees, and the state. war
aud navy building. an artistic pile
Of granite with row upon row of cai-
comics and columns towering above
all the surrounding buildings On the
north side of tn. court. two-thirds ef
its length. Is occupied by Lafayette
square. with its equestrian statue OF
Jackson set as the central figure in .
mass OF shrubbcry and towering trees
Within this generous setting the dec
orators had wrought a transforrna-
ton Along each side from end TO end
were erected continuous line of epv-
cred stands with terraces of seats riS-
ing 20 feet above he level of the road
way and Transforming the court into
a great amphitheater through which
the procession was 90 move. The low
er sections of the stands presented an
unbrOken band of white. save that in
front Of the navy department.. which
was topped by friex- OF crossed
anchors and cannon - recognition of
the allied branches Of the service. The
roofs Of the stands were supported by
slender white columns. while in front
of the lower tier of seats ran a lat
tiee work railing Sf white backed Sy
old gold cloth that lent touch of col
or to the general effect The only
other color was |. dropping fringe of
holly falling from tae caves overhead
and looped in sections below the rail-
ing.
The setting os the court did not
stop with the stands. The roadway
was fanked on each side with a row of
columns between which the troops
were In move Eight massive piIons.
four on either side. marked Oft the
court in equal lengths These were
copies of the decorations of the Alex
andrian bridge At the Paris exposi-
tion, and consisted of n pedestal zen
| feet on the base and bearing a square
pillar, the whole 80 feet high. the top
of each surmouRted by a bronze urn
Vt each angle of the square pillar was
imposed a small Ionic column of the
same height. the whole topped By .
capital that carried the ornamental
urn Between the pilons ON the nor.a-
l -Atft NFEt ~ smaller
umns of Ionian design with Tuscan
lcapitals- \ similar row of columns
fanked the whole Of the Lunctte in
front of the White House About the
capitals of the pilons and the inter
secting pillars were set crowns of
frosted electric bulbs. while the
spheres that topped the pillars were
also outlined with incandescents to
aid in the illumination at night. Al
ter dark the bronze urns mentioned
will play an important part. for each
is to be filled with Greek fire which. in
burning. Will give of heavy columns
of white smoke. These smoke col
umns will be Illuminated by search
lights turned on them from the roofs
of .he surrounding buildings The adj
jaccnt government buildings were
ablaze with national colorS. except the
executive mansion. over whose white
eNpanse flOated only the usual flag At
full mast. On the other hand the
state, war and navy building was al
most hidden from view by the I'M
mense battIefass draped from each
of the successive tiers of balconies
/ -toOft tAAAChA at tht
east end of the court a great sheaf
of flags waved over the main portal
of the pediment. supported by its gi-
gantic monolithic columns. was filed
in with a solid facing of crimson
cloth, in the center of which rested a
great shield of green in whose center
the treasury emblem of the scales was
: wrought in electric bulbs
This same scheme of decoration was
carried around the east front the
. columns here also were draped IN
{ flags, and under the portico ran a 20-
: foot frieze of crimson stuff concealing
myriads of electric globes that at
night are to spring into light and
battle the whole side of the building
: in ruddy glow.
Down both sides of Fifteenth street.
on which the east front of the treas
, ury abutes. the same scheme of white
stands was continued. the railing, as
in the Court of Honor. being of uni
: form lattieework. but backed with
crimson instead of white and old gold.
At the south angle of the treasury.
where the procession wheeled north
into Fifteenth street. there was q
: large stand along the whole line
=, Nearly half an acre of seats arose at
: 4 gentle incline. covering the big pa ck-
y ing south of the department and ex-
tending in L-shape around the angle
= of the street where the wheel in the
; line of march was made.
| The stand from which the president
reviewed the procession was on the
: south side of the Court of Honor. two
J. thirds towards its western end. II
Z was a iag-shaped square enclosure
: capable of accommodating about ffty
oueSrS and axfeu1srr f1-,~-l -