Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1904-10-14

| poi LANCE VI Tue telephone IN rural life il
Iowa is shown by the enormous increase
in mileage reported during the pas
year. In 1903 the telephone mileage IL
Iowa was 14,043 miles and in 1904, &C.
cording to the reports made to the STATE
executive council for assessment pur.
poses, it was 4S.49l, or about 31k times
as much. The value Of all the telephone
and telegraph property in the state II
fixed at $S,80S, 126.76. Last year it was
$7797 ,487.16 This increase OF more than
a million dollars is almost entirely that
of rural telephone lines. The taxable
value is fixed by the executive council
as follows:
Telegraph companies. 1908 8 7so2Se 2.
CO mm ercial telephone
Rural telephone ss 5 sss & 3;
Total assessment. 1854 s2,2o2 ooo S
The Iowa building at the st. Louis ex-
position will be torn down and the ma
terials will be used in the construction
of the new institution for inebriates in
Knoxville. The board of control, which
had the disposition of the building, was
unable to sell it for more than ten per
cent of its cost. The furniture will be
distributed among the different state in
situations. The educational exhibit will
go to the educational institutions under
the direction of the board of control, that
Is, the school for the deaf, school for the
blind and the orphans home The horti-
cultural outfit will go to the State Hor-
ticultural society, and the grains used in
the agricultural exhibit will be sold and
part of the material will go to the state
agricultural department. Under the
contract with the st. Louis park, where
the fair is located, the ground must be
restored to the condition it was in be-
fore the building was erected. This will
cost a considerable amount.
Garnsey's Work Exploited.
The capitol commissioners filed a
complete answer in the Polk district
court to the application for an injunc-
ton restraining them from contracting
with Elmer E. Garnsey for the decora-
ton of the capitol. The answer shows
that the mural decoration, which the
contract with Mr.. Garnsey calls for, re-
quires special degree of artistic skill,
and that the value and merit of such
work depends upon the training, skill
and ability Of the artist who undertakes
1t. 1t is not mere mechanical labor, and
the commission shows that it is not usu-
ally opened to competitive bids. The
commission says in its answer: ut is
impracticable to make detailed plans and
specifications for mural decorations Of
the character proposed to be executed by
Mr.. Garnsey in the decoration Of the cap
ttol; such decorations and adornments
are necessarily the work Of an artist
who has made the subject life study,
and which must be executed in such man
ner as to make the entire decoration Of
the building, from the first floor to the
dome, a harmonious and complete work
OF art, and that to advertise for bids and
to let contract to the lowest bidder
therefor, as suggested by the plaintiff,
would defeat the entire purpose of the
legislature, and would prevent the peo-
pie Of the state from obtaining the high
class of mural decoration which the leg
tslature has authorized to be procured
by the commission. Mr.. Garnsey has
made a life study of mural decoration.
and has wide experience in that class Of
work, and there is probably no person in
the United States who is his superior in
point OF ability, reputation and artistic
skill, and that defendants regard it is
extremely fortunate, both for the capt.
tol commission and the state Of Iowa,
that they have been able to induce Mr..
Garnsey to undertake the work of the
mural decoration of the capitol, as the
people of the state are thereby assured
that the work will be of the highest ar
tistic character, Of good material and
skillful workmanship. and Of beauty
and pleasing result when completed.
Such result cannot be obtained by adj
vertisfng for competitive bids and letting
contract therefor to the lowest or other
bidder. The correlation of color in 80
important and complex q building re-
quires artistic skill of very high or
der, and to produce harmonious color
scheme for such a building requires q
thorough knowledge Of architectural de-
sign and detail, as well as a comprehen.
sive idea Of the art Of painting; and that
10 far as defendants have been able to
ascertain by diligent inquiry, no other
artist in this country has had an equal
amount of experience or training in this
special class Of work, or has produced
work of this character Of such promi-
hence as Mr.. Garnsey."
Building Credit to State.
ut was all right to refuse to allow the
people to eat In the Iowa building" said
John Cownie, Of the state board Of con-
troll, on his return from the worlds fair.
where he went to see how much could be
realized from the sale of the Iowa build
ing. "You see, It really is more hand
somely finished and decorated than the
capitol. The floors are double hard
wood and very elegant. Everything
about the structure is credit to the
state. And really It would have been out
Pf place to allow people to distribute
crumbs and the debris Of lunches about
the parlors. So an arrangement was
made by putting tables on one Of the big
;porches and arranging fine awning
20 the people were well taken care Of
The people down there eat out of doors
IN the cool anyway, so that the Iowa peo-
pie were not suffering any hardship. The
furniture Of the structure is worth 100
cents on the dollar. This, in part, is due
to Gov. Larrabee, who has remained
steadily at the Iowa building. andin part
to fireman Conway, the secretary of the
commission; to Mrs. Conaway, who
makes charming hostess. and to the
housekeeper, who has kept things in as