New-York tribune., 1901-02-17
UNDER THE CAPITOL DOME.
WASHINGTON THRoNGED WITH WINTER
VISITORS.
THE POINTS OF GREATEST INTEREsT-How
GENERAL CASEY SAVED THE COST OF
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. OF AN
ELDERLY TOURIST

PAINT-RECOLLECTIoNs OF AN
ELDERLY TOURIST
Washington. Feb. ls (speciaD.-FOr two months
Washington has been full of visitors. People who
desiIe the best Of accommodations the leading
houses find IL necessary TO arrange days in
advance Of their arrival In consequence of this
condition the smaller hotels also filed to
flowing. The boarding houses long ago felt the In
fuence OF this unexpected tide.
There several theories advanced for this un-
looked-for inflow of pleasure seekers for undoubt-
e'ly the majority Of strangers now In the city
pleasure bent. The Ship Subsidy bill discus
sion is thought by some be the cause. The SEN
galleries have been well filled nearly every day
this week. The crowd of sightseers in the House
galleries and the various show places Of the capt.
tai would seem to disprove that theory. 1T must
be the climate satiricany remarked hotel
who shaking the rain from hts he
spoke.
If the fame Of Washlngton's climate is respon-
sible for the influx OF strangers then their dsap-
pOintment must be great. The last week has been
dreary. Perhaps II Is better not to dwell upon the
causes of this invasion OF tourists but to give
some idea OF how they pass their time. The Capt.
tol first claims their attention There are many
guides who make their headquarters In the rO-
prosperity which makes them feel kindly toward
all mankind. They are TO be found In all parts or
nn,,, the capitol % leading groups OF strangers TO the
Some Of the guides have extrava CANT tales 10
ground apartments. Many people away from
wa Win tnSrogsny erroneous Ideas OF
imagination than truthfulness II usually takes
Charges over the prescribed route. by which time
TN are willing 10 seek resting place and take
good deal for granted that IL told them by other
tourists. When remembers that the Capitol IL
nearly eight hundred feet long and that from the
many weary flights OF stairs. II can be seen
that the visitor walks many miles IA doing the
Mount Vernon. the National Cemetery at Arling-
Long Bridge. over which so many thousand sol
ders marched In 1861. never TO return; Cabin John
tonans are Included in the itinerary Of tourist
To inspect all these point. without undue fatigue
The people who make the rounds in two or three
days naturally depart with an imperfect idea OF the
ness
II is only natural that the stranger in Washing
ton should comment the gided dome Of the
Library Of Congress which Is one OF the three
conspicuous landmarks Of the city. the Washing
ton Monument and the dome Of the Capitol being
the other Few OF those who gaze upon this
wonderful creation know that in giving such at
tractive finish this superb building the idea Of
economy uppermOst. This gilded dome will
stand for years 10 illustration OF the
care and thoroughness OF the late General ca sey.
OF the Engineers. under whose supervision the
building constructed IL at first proposed
paint the dome and although no color was
named il assumed that II would be either
white gray General Casey decided that sild-
ing would not only outlast any paint. but would
ure
In pursuance Of this idea ne advertised for pro
pcsals for covering The dome and the pyramidal
structure underneath the lantern with gOldleaf.
The lowest bidder offered TO DO the work for 81 10
square foot IL required that the gOldieaf
should be - carats fine under assay. Discarding
General Casey purchased the gold. found work
men who knew how to beat Il and others TO apply
II. and succeeded Tn accomplishing the work in a
thoroughly satisfactory manner at cost of 80 1-S
cents square foot The entire cost OF gOIdeaf
$500. At the time General Casey estimated that
though II was applied more than hye years ago. 10
looks as bright as on the day when the last sheet
painting the dome would have equaned in fve
the cost OF gliding H. that goldieaf IL the
effect is beautiful in the extreme.
An elderly tourist who sat in the Senate gallery
a few days ago said that the last time he was here
five six years ago the flight of time
called In a marked manner by the appearance at
the Capitol OF Lyman Trumbun of Illinois. who
was a Senator from that State from 1855 to 1873
He was elected to succeed General James Shields
whose ef1Gy In bronze stands in Statuary Hall. in
the Capitol stephen A. Douglas was the other
Illinois Senator when Mr.. TrumbuIl took his
in the upper chamber Elihu b. Washburne. who
the American Minister to France in the days
Of the Paris Commune. a Representative from
Illinois in the XXXIVth Congress. John Slidell
ana. Lewis Cass represented Michigan in the SEN
ate and william Pitt Fessenden and Hannibal
HamlIn were there from Maine. Charles Summer
and Henry Wilson Senators from Massa-
chusetts. The New-York Senators In that far-oh
time Hamilton Fish and William IA. Seward
Ben Wade was then in the height of his useful
as a Senator from Ohio John Sherman had
seat in the House of Representatives. Galusha
Grow. of Pennsylvania. still noted figure in
the House. had even then won his spurs. James A.
Bayard. the father of the late Thomas F. Bayard,
In the Senate from Delaware. Justin s. Nor
rill. Of Vermont. who died "A short time ago.
then a Representative. Francis r. Spinner, whose
sigma Treasurer of the United States after
ward became a National curiosity. and the late
James s. T. Stranahan. the Brooklyn philanthrO-
pist, were Representatives from New-York
Not the least charm 10 visitors to the Capitol
who acquainted with the legislative history of
the Nation is found I'm visiting the old Hall OF Rep
resentatives and the Supreme Court Chamber
which was the Senate Chamber in former days
and where many OF the giants in American annals
took part in momentous deliberations Verify, the
capitol building Is a hall of memories
THE DAILY LENTEN LECTURES
Burton Holmes will begin his fourth annual
series OF I-enten lectures at Daly's Theatre on