Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1901-11-30

provements in the hall of the House the
most attractive. They will sit down in
mahogany chairs to mahogany desks. They
will be supplied with hot air in abundance
from a whited sepulcher beneath the floor.
1t will filter through the brass castings in
the legs of their desks and be drawn up
and out through the latticed ceiling. The
perforated wooden benches in the galleries
have given way to mahogany chairs hand
somely upholstered in green-black leather.
And while on the floor of the House expan-
sion has been the order, and the larger
Congress to be elected under the new CEN
sus has been provided for, the seating ca
pacity of the galleries has been reduced.
This has not been caused by a reduction in
the size of the galleries, but chairs afford
a less number of seats than benches, and
the House has thus become more exclusive
to the extent of 9ne-quarter of its public
seats.
Many Changes.
Il will be interesting to follow a member
Monday morning as he observes the maze
of changes After trying his seat, seeing
that his name is in the little name-plate on
the top of his desk, and that his key to it's
raising lid fits properly, he will doubtless
survey the hall from the higher altitude in
the rear, made necessary to accommodate
the additional row of desks. He will peep
through the glass opening into the white
tiled air chamber beneath the floor. His
first regret will come when he notes the
old leather lounges, where the stories were
told during tedious speeches. As he steps
through the door into what was the cloak
room, smoking and general jollifcation and
swearing quarters of his party, to say
"howdy'' to the colored gentleman who used
to shave him, he will receive another
shcck. The place is not the same.
The cigar smoke which had accumulated
on the walls and ceiling and gave the room
a hospitable atmosphere, has been washed
off and painted in. The barber chair in
the corner is there no more. The big, old
fireplaces where the oak logs cracked with
delight are gone. In their place, elegant
furniture, elegant carpets, fresh paint and
gold leaf-but, withall, just bit of a feel
Ing of inconsistencies.
Fine Committee Rooms.
The members lobby, which corresponds
to the marble room of the Senate, is over
towering in it's richness. The ceiling seems
heavy with the weight of gold, and the
eye is Toasted rather than entertained in
it's contemplation. The inspecting member.
as he turns from the lobby and catches
glimpse across the corridor into the rooms
of the appropriations committee. with its
new mahogany furniture and rich carpets,
will doubtless instinctively pause for an
instant. A twinkle will be seen in his eye,
and he will be an exception if he does not
remember several things in that instant
that Uncle Joe Cannon is the awed and
respected chairman of that committee, and
that this same Uncle Joe, under whose
singing rebuke- he has doubtless gone
way back and sat down." after asking a
small appropriation for home consumption
is also at the head of a commission of
three, who were charged at the last seS-
sion with the supervision of the improve
ments which have been made. Uncle Joe
viii at once receive call and an oppor-
tunity to display his wonderful ability at
repartee. However, this distinguished
statesman from Illinois has not laid him
self open to serious attack from any quar-
ter. If he has fine fixings for his commit
tee rooms, others have not been neglected.
The suite occupied by the great ways and
means committee on the opposite side of
the chamber Is just as elegant. Those COM
nlittees which have moved into the twenty
eight rooms constructed out Of the old
library quarters and divided between the
House and Senate, have also received their
quota of gold-leaf and mahogany.
While there is no denying that the i'm
provements and decorations which have
been wrought in the House end of the
Capitol are most gorgeous and elaborate,
there is far from being any criticism from
the members of either body of legislators.
1t has been a patent fact for many years
that there was a sad discrepancy between
| the housekeeping of the Senate and the
| housekeeping of the House 1t has seemed
| that the members of the popular branch
| of Congress have lacked the moral cour-
| age to make an appropriation Of sufficient
| size to carry out the most excellent archi-
| tectural designs which have long been pre-
/ pared for execution by Acting Architect
| Woods. With all the Improvement tie
| House has simply brought itself to par
! with the Senate in this respect.
| How the Senate Has Fared.
In the Senate very little has had to be
done. A new carpet for the chamber, a
! little goid-ieaf for the marble room. new
| mahogany chairs and Flemish oak tables
for the restaurant. and complete fittings OF
fire and dust-proof cases for the documen,
room comprises the sum of the repair work