The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1903-07-31
WASHINGTON LETTER
ISneclnl NNashinrlnn Letter

Especial Washington letter.
On the attic 1lCor of the capitol, be-
hind doors which open only to the
artists ami the knocks of Superintend-
cnt of tie Capitol Elliott Woods. is be-
ing constructed the first accurate model
of III" proposed enlarged capitol. For
several weeks Emile Garret. thu
French artist. said To be the finest
plaster mudHlcr in the United States,
has been 1T work on the model. 1t Ia
not for The qualification of personal
within. but for the coming congress,
that the artist and his four or five as
EiStants are laboring. When congress
convcnCS the work for which was ap-
prnpriatcd $1,000 will he ready to be
placed before it. and it will see for
the first time the ideas which Su-
perintendent Woods has had in mind
when he asked for the extension of the
main portion of the capitol.
For years the enlargement of the
capitol has been agitated. and. in fact,
the wings were constructed, it is said,
with the idea of extending the main
building. At present the stately dome
sits awkwardly on the eastern edge of
the structure, and not symmetrically in
the center as the new addition would
make it. Congress at its last session
authorized Mr. Woods to have con-
structod an exact model of the pro-
posed addition. 1t is this work that is
now being done by Emile Carrot. In
order to show off the improvement it
WAS necessary to make Il model of the
whole capitol The original drawings
and cuts OF the building were put at
the disposal of the artist and now line
the walls of his sanctum sanctorum.
From these with molds and chisels, by
the utmost preciseness a little capitol
has been fashioned.
Patrick Henry's Grandson.
An individual of some distinction
among the southern colony in Wash
ington is Mr.. Stanhope Henry, legal
man of prominence, who is the grand
son of Patrick Henry. Mr.. Henry Is
n very picturesque and distinguished
looking man, tall. with abundant hair
prematlIrcly gray and strong featured,
with many of the attributes of his H.
lustrious Grandparent. Moreover, he is
a bachelor and 4 ladies' man. lie is in
tercsted in the enterprise which has
been started in Richmond to move the
remains of Patrick Henry from the old
| family burial ground in Charlotte coun-
ty. Va, to old st. Johns churchyard in
Richmond and renter them as near as
| possible. under the church, to the spot
where the great orator proclaimed his
Give me liberty or give me death" SO
many years ago.
| Washington Summer Town.
In the warm July days the national
| capital is indeed like some banquet
! hall deserted The departure of the
! president and his family for the re-
mainder of the summer was the signal
| for all the smaller official fry to fol-
| low suit. and close upon their envied
| heels went the rest of society and the
| vast mob of their imitators and hang
ers on. The truest lovers of Washing
ton are those who know it best, and
| they one and all declare that it Is
never so beautiful and attractive as a
! place of residence as i'll summer time,
when comparatively deserted.
Dame Fashion has decrecd that ev-
| crybody lin the swim must go else
| where during the heated term, how
ever much he may prefer to remain in
! the coy comfort of home. Therefore,
not only the fashionable west end has
become Il desert of blank walls and
| boarded up windows, but whole streets
! Of houses are closed.
The Old Coach Restored.
The old Deadwood coach which Buff
falo Bill presented to the government
some time ago is being repaired and
will soon be returned to its old position
on the eastern porticO of the post office
building. A few months ago three
employees Of the bureau of engraving
and printing, thinking to have IL little
fun one night. rolled this historic
vehicle down the steps to the street.
The coach was badly wrecked. its body
being twisted and several pieces Of its
floor and siding torn off. Great in
dignatOn was aroused by this act Of
vandalism. but The young fellows We're
let off under bond pending the repair
of the coach and its restoration to its
former condition. They have agreed
TO pay the cost of this work, which will
amount to Il very pretty penny, and
their experience win probably be a
sure guard against the old vehicle
being nolrSted in the future.
\ Hall of Portraits Needed.
1t is becoming quite serious prob
lem to dispose of the portraits of men
who have served in high official capaci-
ties in Washington. There are por-
traits of every cabinet officer as
matter of course. This Is just and
proper. for it is well to have pictures
In each department of men who have
been at the head Of it, But now there
is IL system growing up of all the
assistant secretaries and the chiefs of
bureaus leaving behind them their
portraits TO adorn the walls of the Of
fees they have occupied. These pic
lures are getting numerous, and some
OF the old ones. it is feared, may have
been rclcGatad to attics and other out
of the way places. They have been
talking Of hall of records for years
and finally one has been authorized.
Wen soon need n hall OF portraits" in
order to relieve the congesicd condition
in some of the rooms.
Charge Treaty Violations.
Because Presbytcrans in the Eongo
Free State claim they do not eujoy all
the religious liberty coming to- them
under the provisions of the Berlin
treaty, Representative Livingston
Georgia and other representative E'res-
bytcrianS called ut the state depart.
iment the tlcr day and left a state
iIcnt of I e facts. with the request
that the " lshington government take
UP the matter with Belgium and cale
her attention to the reported violations
of the Berlin treaty.
CARL SCHOFIETn
How Climate Has Changed.
In Switzerland mean temperature
equal to that of north Africa at the
present time is shown by its fossil
flora to have prevailed during the mic
cen" or middle tertiary epoch. An
thr,Iaui,l apes lived in Germany and
France; liz and cinnamon trees -four
ishcd at Dantzic; in Greenland, up to
10 degrees of latitude, magnolias
doomed and vines ripcnEd their fruit,
while in SpitHhcrgcn and even in Grin
nell Land. within little more than &
degrees of the pole, swamp Expresses
and walnuts. ccdarS, lines, planes and
poplarS grew freely, water lilies COW
cred over standing pools and irises