Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-10-10
STORIES OF THE DOME
Everyday Visitors at the
Capitol Building.
ATTRACTS QUEER ONES
WAITING FOR WASHINGTON TO
TOSS A BALL TO COLUMBUS.
Other Unusual Expectations in Its
Tragedies, Romances and
Comedies.


building is a sort of central magnet of
great power which attracts many queer
people from all sections of this broad land
Captain j. p. Megrew, Union war vete-
ran, with a splendid record. is In command
of the Capitol police force. and the peculiar
people who flock to the big building come
under his observation.
Away back in the seventies before Cap
tain Megrew became chief of the Capitol
police the tragedy of the dome occurred.
A young Catholic priest, who had become
demented from overstudy, assembled to the
platform just below the Goddess of Lib
erty. more than 80 feet above terra firma.
He was observed to walk around the dizzy
heighted balcony and gaze at the capital
city spread out far below like a map. Sud-
denly he mounted the iron railing and
without uttering a sound the unfortunate
man plunged headlong into space. His
body went whirling downward and struck
the copper roofing over the rotunda.
lie then rebounded and went down to the
plaza below When picked up, in the Ian
gusge of an old Capitol employee the body
was as fiat as pancake" Every bone
In his frame had been broken and IL was
necessary to strap his remains to a broad
plank to convey them to the undertakers.
In striking the thick copper sheathing
roofing over the rotunda the body made a
deep indentation in the metal, which Is now
pointed out to visitors by the Capitol
guides
Romance and Comedy.
Next to the tragedy of the dome is a re-
cent occurrence which is designated
"the romance of the dome" A young
couple secured permission from Capt
Megrew to be married beneath the great
bronze Goddess of Liberty on the lofty
congressional steepIe. preacher tender
ed his services. and the novel ceremony was
performed in roid-air hpnaath ha
with two Capitol policemen and a sprin-
king OF visitors as witnesses.
Then comes 1.-THE comedy of the dome"
An eccentric fellow who had invented a
parachute made an Intellectual effort to test
his invention by sending down from the
dome several of his parachutes with cats
attached to them. He was evidently afraid
to risk his own precious life. so decided to
use felnes- His purpose was thwarted by
the Capitol police. reinforced by the Wash
frgton Humane Society.
An Interesting Spot
Statuary hall is one of the most interest,"
ing apartments in the Capitol. 1t contains
the stone and bronze statues of a number
of Americans, distinguished alike in war
and peace-famous generals. statesmen.
explorers and diplomats-contributed to
the general government by the several
states. each state selecting it's most illus
triouS sons.
Included among these statues are those
of George Washington and Thomas II. Ben
ton of Virginia, Daniel Webster and Gen
Starke of New Hampshire, Robert Fulton
inventor of the steamboat and H. H. Muh-
lenburg of Pennsylvania. Ethan Allen of
Vermont, Cass of Michigan. Gen. James A.
Garfield and Allen of Ohio, Roger Sherman
of Connecticut, John Jay of New York,
Richard Stockton and the dashing Gen
Phil kearney of New Jersey Abraham Lin
coin and Gen Shields of Missouri. Pierre
Marquette. the priest explorer of Wiscon-
SIM Senator Kenney, West Virginia and
Clinton of New York.
A Daily Visitor.
During recent sessions of Congress Stat
uary hall was visited daily by a queer little
man who spent several hours on each visit
addressing the statues He finally became
known to the Capitol policemen as the
little stature man." For instance ap-
preaching the figure of Gen Washington
and raising his hat politely, he would say:
Good morning, George. l hope you are
well today. The trusts are still making
trouble for the people. l wish you would
raise your voice against the giant evil"
Then, proceeding to the statue of Fulton
who Is represented as working on the model
of his first steamboat, the little fellow
would remark:
All. how dye do Robert? 1 see you are
sun hard at work on your invention. 1t Is
time. Robert. you were taking up flying
machines and automobiles. Steamboats,
are becoming obsolete
Next he would approach the handsome
bronze statue of Gen. J., nil Kearney and
say
TOO bad you were shot. general. You
are gallant fellow and made a noble fight
to uphold the honor of the flag
A Word With Each.
And so he would pass from one statue to
another, making a little speech to each
This queer fellow was harmless, and the
police never disturbed him, but curious
crowds would gather and listen to him as
he spoke with earnestness to the inanimate
figures of metal and stone
another queer visitor to the Capitol was a
well-dreSsed old woman who carried a
quart bottle filed with doubtful mixture
which she wanted Congress to buy from
her for the small consideration of $1,000
go. This stun she called her national
elixir. and claimed il would perform mir
acles. 1t would make politicians honest:
make the poor rich: give every congress-
broadcast over the country. The old lady
is now snugly ensconced In Uncle Sans
foolish house." as the government insane
asylum is sometimes termed.
A Cuban Widow.
natty little woman, who always dressed
In deep mourning. and who represented
herself to be the widow Of a Cuban patriot
who was killed during the struggle between
Cuba and Spain. was another frequenter of
NHc tdpitOi curing the sessions or Congress
She claimed to be in poverty. and succeeded
In securing cash from representatives and
senators until her true character became
known. II was finally learned that she
was an adventures from New York city.
where she had been engaged in sharp prac-
tees. She was then refused admittance to
the Capitol.
Col" Maurice Pinchover was still an
other queer visitor to the Capitol He
claimed that he had been elected ''inde-
pendent congressman" from Baltimore by
three millions majority" One day a wag
told Pinchover as joke that he was being
cheated out of his seat In Congress by ex-
Speaker Samuel ]. Randall The Joke came
near proving serious. for 1t enraged the
mildly demented man. who armed himself
with a butchers knife. and proceeding to
the Capitol announced his intention of
killing Randall on sight
He was promptly taken into custody and
sent to the insane asylum. where he died
some time later. Up 10 the very hour of
his death Pinchover maintained that he had
been elected independent congressman
from Baltimore by the biggest majority on
record and died in that belief
Wanted to See It.
There was a young man who visited the
east front of the Capitol daily to witness
a most marvellous performance which was
never enacted. On the central east portico
Is large statue of Columbus holding atoyt