The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1902-03-15
UNDER The DOME.
Fifty Men Now Working to Com
plete State House.
Onyx WainscOting and DecOrat-
ing is Nearly Finished.
AWARD WHEAT PRIZES
Business Mems Club of Yelling
ton Gets First.
Warden Jewett Has Confidence
in Penitentiary Irvine Plant.


pie that the building will some time be
completed may not be in vain after all.
There are fifty or more men employed
in different gangs about the building.
and it is possible to see the work pro-
gress from day to day, something that
has not always been the case heretofore.
In the north and south corridors and
the rotunda the four-foot onyx wains-
coting is nearly all in place and the
workmen are putting on the marble
Gaping in the corridors. Another four
feet is to be placed in the rotunda, max
ing the entire wainScoJing there eight
feet high. The inches for statues in the
walls of the rotunda are yet to be lined
with marble.
The work of laying the marble thing
is also progressing very rapidly and
another week will probably see nearly
all of the main floor properly tiled. The
thing is white and is laid in regular
octagonal blocks.
The decorators. too, are pushing their
work rapidly on the main floor. The
ceilings, which have heretofore been the
dingy- gray color of unfinished walls,
blackened by years of smoke and dust,
are receiving white coat, trimmed in
buff and gold. The corridors will pre-
sent a greatly improved appearance
when the decorating and thing is COM
pleted.
the center of the rotunda which will let
the light through to the ground floor,
was put in place yesterday, and the
bronze railing will be added the coming
week. People who have been accustom-
ed to stumbling over wooden walks and
planking in the corridors and rotunda
will hardly recognize the interior of the
state house in another week or two.
The decorating of the dome is not
progressing so rapidly because it is a
more particular job than the other fin
ishing, and only two or three men are
employed on it, but it will probably be
completed in the course of a few weeks.
The progress of the work on the
ground floor is also apparent,but not so
much so as that on the main floor.
Plasterers are now at work putting on
a finishing white coat and the north
corridor, where this work has been
completed, already is greatly i'm proved.
1t has been dingy and dark heretofore,
but the white plastering makes it seem
light and airy in comparison with what
it has been.
While the workmen were tearing up
the old wooden walks which have been
laid in the corridors for years. they
found an old silver medal yesterday. 1t
was a medal given to employees of the
United States minis by the exposition
how long it has been under the walk in
the state house is unknown.
Hiram Imboden. of Wichita, and Thos.
Page OF Topeka, the millers who were
two of the committee on judging the
samples of Kansas wheat submitted in
Kansas Worlds fair commission, COM
pleted their work late last evening, and
the CON mission made the awards as fol-
lows:
First prize, $40, }lard-Business Mems
club, Wellington, Sumner county, 64la
pounds.
First prize, $40, SOFT F. Hobbs, Sc
verance, Doniphan county, 6312 pounds.
Second prize, SIS, hard-John P. Elem
ing, Hillsboro, Marion county, 6SlA
pounds.
Second prize, SIS, soft. ]. Gray, Sc
verance, Doniphan county, 631a pounds.
Third prize, SIG, hard-P. P. Warken-
tin, Hillsboro, Marion county, 631s
pounds.
Third prize. SIG. soft-John Pardee.
Lawrence Douglas county, 6315 pounds.
Fourth prize, s14 hardEJohn W.
Blaine, Erie, Neosho county, 63 pounds.
Fourth prize, $14, soft-Business Mems
club, Wellington, Sumner county, 6S
pounds.
Fifth prize, s12. hard-F. G. Mckinney.
Great Bend, Barton county, 611z pounds.
Fifth prize, So. soft-E- o. Newman.
Muncie, Wyandotte county, So pounds.
Sixth prize, $40, hard-Peter A. Wiebe,
Lehigh. Marion county, 62 pounds.
Sixth prize, $40. sofia. NJ. Piper.
Monticello, Johnson county. 62 pounds
Seventh prize, IS, hard-Byron Hatar,
Larned, Pawnee county, 621a pounds.
Seventh prize. IS, soft-H. E. Trovillo.
Winfield. Cowley county. 60 pounds.
Eighth prize S. hard-L- G. Virgin,
n,
Eighth prize, IS. soft-Geo. L. Copeland,
Mt Hope, Sedgwick county, 6112 pounds
Ninth prize, 81, hard-D. w. Daily,
Lexington, Clark county. 6S pounds
Ninth prize, 81, soft-M. H. Gentry,
Leroy Coffey county, 6112 pounds.
Tenth prize, 81 hard-A M. Ward
Seward, Stafford county, 60 pounds.
Tenth prize, s., soft. G. Exhorn. Le-
roy Coffey county, 81 pounds.
There were over one hundred half
busheI samples entered in the contest,
and it was all very fine. The samples
are all stored in a room on the fourth
floor of the state house.
In cleaning out the state house base
ment several weeks ago, the workmen
came across a large number of immense
high glass jars, stored in boxes. On
investigation it was found that they
were jars which had been used for dis
plays of grain at the Centennial ex-
position in Philadelphia in 1876, more
than twenty-five years ago, and they
were turned over to the Kansas COM
mission for the St Louis exposition.
The wheat submitted in the contest yes
terday will be placed in these Jars,
properly labeled and sealed air tight,
so that it will keep in its present con-
dition until the st. Louis worlds fair
is held. Then it will be used to make
up the Kansas display and for decoraI-
ing purposes.
E. B. Jewett, warden of the state
penitentiary, was at the state house
| yesterday, calling on Governor Stanley.
| He says that the directors will probably
fixe the price at which the penitentiary
| binding Irvine plant will probably sell
| its product at their next meeting. He
| says that the price will necessarily be
| higher than last year because of the
| Increased price in sisal, the raw product
i from which the Irvine is made. The
penitentiary plant will turn out consid-
erably more Irvine this year than here
tofore.
Warden Jewett says that the next leg
q Wi tn mn "a n ~ n
| priation to enlarge the women's quart
| ers in the penitentiary, if women con-