The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1903-12-12
STONE PERFECT IN UNI
F0RMITY AND QUALITY
Barre White Granite Excellent
For Building PurpoSes-Ar-
chitects Declare Bethel Gran
ite Pr, ennenHy FitfOr Union
Station at Washington.
LsrEeIAL DE.FAreH 10 nNnE TInEs.

ESPECIAL DEsPATcH TO BARRE nMEsl
Washington, DC, Dec. y = BY the aual
decision that Bethel granite is to be the
material used In building the new a, ,OoO,-
600 union station 10 this city, the products
oi Yermonts quarrIes win receive gen
erous bit Of advertising that ought to be a
great stimulus to the industry Vermont
marble has been employed 70 a greater or
less extent in the construction Of the pub
Tic and other buildings 10 Washington, the
pure white aTimes building on PsRnsyl
yanla avenue being a notable and beauti-
ful example Of exterior construction, and
the ceiling Of the famous senate marble
room among other instances about the cap
itol, library and other government build-
ings showing its adaptabilitg for interior
work, but in spite OF all this the crowning
monument Of the states Qaarrles will be
the great depot which when completed
will be one OF the clty's most magnificent
structures
That Bethel granite would be used ID
hui ding the depot has for some tlme been
a fureg0ne conclusion, but 1t was not deiiu.
itely settled until the report Of Capt
Chester Harding, who recently visited
Vermont to inspect the quarTies, was laid
before the commissioners Of the District
Of Columbia and approved BY them. The
commissioners did not select the material
for the building, but under the act OF Con-
gress permitting the erection OF the stfuc-
ture the material employed must be APP
proved by the board, The railroad e0m-
panies selected Bethel white granite, aud
the commissioners, after the Inspections
by Captain Harding, were unanimous in
their approval.
The matter came before the board In
the form Of q report from Captain Hard
ing on his recent inspection, accompanied
by the general report Of Col. John Biddle,
the engineer commissioner In speaking
ot the Bethel granite the latter report
says: "The railroad company has sub
mitted a sample Of stone It desires to use
in the building. II is white granite,
hecked with dark spots, and is OF a very
handsome texture. The cost of the build
ing, II constructed Of this stone, would
probably be but little, II any, less tran II
constructed Of the grade Of marble ordina-
rIly used for such purposes. The arehi-
tect Of the building, Mr.. d. II. Burnham
OF Chicago states that he desires this
granite because In his opinion it Is supe-
rior for suUh parpose. Samples Of the
stone were submitted To the Washington
Chapter Of the American Institute OF
Architects and the Washington Architect
urat club, which bodies are believed to be
representative OF the architects OF the
city.
The samples were also shown to the SUI
pervislng architect Of the treasury and to
leading architects from New York and
Philadelphia. Il Is the unanimous opln-
ion that the material is pre-eminently tit
for such building as the proposed Union
station.
In the report submitted by Capt. Hard.
inc that etfieial tells OF his recent inspee,
tion of the granite deposit at Bethel and
OF the quarres at Barre He states that
the Bethel quarries are situated on a hill
side about three and one half miles from
Bethel and the Central Vermont railway.
AT the time of his visit the ground was
covered with several inches Of snow, and
II was impracticable TO verify by inspec-
tion the statements that granite outcr0p-
pinps could be seen over the entire depOs.
h hut he states that he did see the stone
outcropping at numerous points along the
billsides for distance of about half q
mile. A vertical face exposed by the quar-
ryine operations, says Capt. Harding,
gave good Indication of the uniformity
OF the stone IN quality and color, and alsG
of It's ability to resist atmospheric infu.
enees. AT about one-fourth inch or less
below the weathered surface Of the stone
no discoloration OF disiategration was dis
cernable. Continuing Capt Harding says
that while the quarry Is only slightly de-
veloped and the operations are now on 9
small scale, it is apparently only a ques
ton Of sufficiently multiplying the number
" derrieks In order to obtain any desired
rapidlty Of output from the quarry.
TIE report mentions the matter Of trans
portatlon to railroad as an important one
but states that it is understood a branca
Of the Central Vermont from Bethel !