The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1902-04-30
Changes at the Capitol.

The placing OF new roof and dome on
the chamber of the supreme court of the
United States recalls some interesting
history of that famous part OF the Capt.
toll
When the Capitol was built. in 1900.
the room in which the supreme court ID
now located was intended for the senate.
and was used as such until the wings
were built az an addition In 1851. When
the British. under Colonel Ross. entered
Washington. in 1914. and burned the Capt.
toll this portion was burned along with
the rest At that time there was no
supervising architect of the Capitol. and
the work of reconstruction was carried
on by Benjamin H. Latrobe. who was
appointed by Thomas Jefferson as super
visor of public buildings. and who served
from 1903 until 1877. Ii was under hU
direction that the old senate was rebuilt
I'm 1914. and. as the recent tearing down
has shown, he did his work we'll.
Considering the limited resources at his
command at that time. IL Is marvellous
that the work should have betn so substan-
tial The mass of timbers which were
then used for the ribs of the dome ara
now replaced by few iron girders OF
about one-fourth their size. The nails
then used were all hand made. and either
nails or large bolts had to be used for
fastening the huge wooden beams and
girders together I'm place OF the few rivets
Many of these handmade nails have been
found by the workmen who were em-
ployed on the repairs. as were also some
large iron bolts cut out by hand. and
used TO fasten some massive timbers.
In a crevice I'm the wall of the cast
front there was found a charred stump
OF wood which is supposed to have been
the end OF beam that was burned when
the Capitol was destroyed by fire. and
as "A new beam wa snot necessary In that
place during the rebuilding IL was left
I'm it's original socket
There Is nothing. perhaps, that could
bring home more forcibly 10 the ordinary
observer the growth of this nation than
q view Of the supreme court from the
opening ~ the top, over which the new
roof has now been put That this small
chamber could hold two representatives
from every state In the Union Is, OF
course. now impossible. but II IL not so
very long since IL did. and our growth
since then seems startling
When the recent work was first started
the workmen ripped off the copper roof
preparatory TO tearing up the ceiling.
and i'm so doing found relic II was In
the shape OF a heavy oblong piece OF
copper. about two by four feet with the
names OF tho workmen who had put on
the former roof written across Its face
I'm chalk Mr. Woods. now the architect
of the Capitol, stated that new roof was
put on the supreme courtt then the SEN
atel In 1895. and IN all probability tho
copper oboug was plnccd there by some
of the workmcn employed on that job.
Al the heal of the tablet was written
i'm a large scrawling hand. ~'rhc names
% fthuse who repaired copper roof"
Und.r this the names were given in the
following order
William Adams James Douglass.
Thomas Hurdle. Jeremiah HobsOn Rich
ard IL. lloar. Prindlc Height Andrew
Minitree George Berry. Robert Height.
Samuel Goldsmith. benjamin Bryan.
William Crook, Frederick Hefey. Besides
eight laborers. This was wrote by James
Douglass. June p, 1896"
This piece Of copper is now In the once
Of the supervising Washington
Times