The Washington times., 1905-06-14


House chambers has been insufficient
for the use of the legislative bodies.
air. Woods hopes to remedy this defect
before the next session OF Congress-.
Bids and proposals VIII soon be in
vited to fit both sides OF the building
with new skylighting. The arrange
ment planned is to enlarge the skylight
on both sides by ten feet both ways.
The present arrangement has been in
use since the wings were built In 1883,
but many improvements have been
made. Five or six patented forms Of
-Sylights are in use now. and it is the
Intention of the superintendent to get
the best on the market.
Dark Chambers.
The House and Senate chambers are
SO arranged that no light comes into
shem except through the skyfight. and
on dark days the electric lights have
10 be turned on at full force. and the
result is not as satisfactory as 1t Is
hoped to make It,
Mr. Woods also intends to further
light the gallery corridors of both wings
for the furnishing of chandeliers for
use in these halls. They Will have TO
be in keepxA, and Of the same pattern
as those tSat have just been installed
1t is estimated that the fixtures des-
sired will cost about $500.
Renovating the Building.
While members of the Congress are
rccuperating at Northern summer re-
sorts. or engaged in the more arduous
task OF closing up the gaps in the po-
litical fences In their districts, an army
OF workrne11 Is engaged in making the
Capitol habitable for them when they
return here in December.
Like a swarm of black ants, they
scramble over the building. In the ex-
act center. and Just over the crypt,
Of the first President of the United
States, ard would be their resting place
now had it not been for the veto of
Martha Washington. they are painting
Committee rooms are being redecorat-
ed and refurnished TO "a certain extent.
Even a professional ratcatcher has
beer employed, and has been engaged
professional colorcd ratcatchers-thes Sc
latter operating entirely with their
hands and proving as valuable and sue
cessfal as their four-footed associates
! Heating and ventilating.
But It's really in connection with the
pverhauhng of the heating and ventiias-
Ing service of the great stone pile tha,
ihe most effective work IS being done.
There are nearly nine miles of tunnel
Ing IL the system. through most of
svin.csi man can walk erect, and the
marvel of 1t all is that no mart of the
system is visible to members or vfsitors.
1t is n system which every year brings
20 the Capital Cit scores Of engineers
and sanitation socialists anc is drawn
upon for features by the ventiiating ex-
ferts OF foreign landS.sEE4.sss
I'm Tort
ciples ard its development is the direct
result of mathematical calculations.
These are brought down to such a nicely
that ii dDpy sceni as though the system
takes into consideration the varying
3uslg capacity of each of the Justly
voiced members and the number of
respirations he has per minute. Then
Fer mechanical appliances 1t is modern
and perfect ID WONDERFUL degree.
Uses the Thernophone.
Suppose the superintendent wants to
Know the temperature out in the fresh
sair intake tower 800 feet away from
the building He does not send man
TO hold a thermometer down inside the
tower. nor does he walk more than
twelve feet. He steps in front of d
marble slab set against the wall On it's
surface ne sees a succession of dials
(which look like clock faces trimmed
with nickel rims.
There is little appliance that looks
like the ordinary telephone receiver
sEut it is o. nickel instead of hard rub
Der. and instead of rounding. out into a
bell shape to place against the ear. like
the familiar telephone receiver, 1t comes
down to fine point
As Seen on the Clock.
This point he .hrusts into an aperture
II. the marble slab and presses the but
ton. The hands on one of the clock
fdials begins to waver and swing back
and forth. Finally they settle down to
Indicate figure on the dial.
He gla1ces at the figures and remarks:
Its "A out there"
It makes no difference whether he
" ants the temperature out in the open
air, 500 feet from the building, or
whether far up in the vauIted ceiling Of
the hall of the House of Representa-
ltiyes or at a point behind the stand Of
the Speaker. or in the Democratic cloak
room. or ans other place, all he does Is
to touch a button and the machinery OF
the thermophone does the rest
He Can Prove It,
Suppose Representative Jones COM
plains that at a certain hour Of the day
the temperature was so low that he was
chilled to the bone" Perhaps on the
same day Representative Smith com
planned that the temperature was "a;
fever heat.
1t only takes a minute to convince
them that the trouble lay within them
selves and not in the heating and ven
tilating system of the House. for the
two are but one. Over on the wall. Just
at the left of the Speakers stand is
what they call maximum and mini
mum thermometer Each morning
when the Capitol is thrown open the
thermometer Is set at q given tenlpera-
ture. During the succeeding twenty
four hours one part of the instrument
urges an indicatoT TO the highest point
reached by the temperature during the
day.
Another part puts another indicator
at the lowest point There the indica-
tors are fixed. 1t is infallible.
To Regulate Temperature
It's primary purpose is to guide the
superintendent In the regulation of the
temperature each succeeding day, hut II
is a great scientific answer to the COM
plants. of members. There Is still an
other appliance which shows exactly
the amount of moisture in the air at any
time during the day. That instrument
depends for its perfection UPON hui
MON hofr daffcafofv odiuctod ulf,,to1 a.