Windham County reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1901-1906, 1905-01-06
VISITORS TO THE CAPITAL
THEIR WIDE AND VARIED FIELD
OF ENTERTAINMENT.
symptoms of the Bridal Couple -
Teachers Parties and Their Seized.
ule-consressional Library Build
ins-The Real Washinstonian Type.
(Snppiol IN Tho RafnrparN
Especial to The Reformer.)

Heterogeneous Library build
ins-The Real Washinstonian Typ,
4 Especial to The Reformer.)
Washington, ID. c., Jan, 2, l906.-
Wednesday of this week the oil
congressional mill begins to grim
again. From Wednesday TO the nee
| essary final adjournment March 1
exactly two months, and these min
weeks will be packed to the lid will
business. Many unforeseen matters
are likely to come up which will con
sumo time, but there Is apparent,
enough In sight to require dong work.
ing hours every week day
There is also the probability Of quite
n few long night sessions toward Tho
end. These are the dread of the EN-.
ployes as the whole city, unemployed
In the evening, come up to the capt.
toll to see and be seen, wander around
the corridors and enjoy the free show
The consequence Is big crowd which
requires constant attention and
watching. But then, allow that we
probably receive fully as much as we
really earn. take 1t the year around
Ordinarily. residents of the city never
go into the capitol except to accom-
pany a friend, and thousands who
have resided here 20 years have not
in that time been inside the building.
1t Is, however, the objective point of
tourists from every state i'm the I'M
ion and every country in the world.
All the great eastern railroads run
weekly excursions here, and from the
moment when the doors are open to
the public at nine until they are
closed at four, delegations in charge
of guide are seen coming and CO.
ing in every direction along the vast
corridors or gathered before some es-
pecial object of interest and listen
ing with close attention to the guides
machine-made and automatically re-
peated story.
| believe that there are about a
dozen official guides in the building,
duly licensed to pounce on unwary
visitors and point out the celebrities
and other objects of interest at fifty
cents a head by the hour. AS 1t is
an excellent graft, the jobs are
anxiously sought and strenuously
held onto. A particular and distinct
feature of the visitors are the bridal
couples, and these are coming con-
tinually and in shoals. Every first
class hotel in the city has bridal
chamber, always in use and engaged
ahead, and the overflow takes what
ever there is left excepting a cot in
the hall, which hardly fits the occa-
sion. In some years experience / can |
spot bridal couple at sight. They |
are always by themselves. have very |
little to say to each other or any !
body else when in sight and their APP
parel surely indicates that it was
procured for the occasion. The or
binary visitor chatters and butts in
everywhere, but the real bridal pair
Is very modest and retiring and at
tracts the least possible attention by
asking questions and getting in the
way. In that way the pair attract
attention and give them
selves dead away. There may be 4
lint in the above for you. dear read
,r. If so, bear it in mind when you
nit the capital.
Leaving out the unobtrusive but
numerous bridal couples, very I
arge per cent of the visitors from
he different states are teachers, COM
ng in parties of from five to a hun
red. large party of this class OBJ
ain very cheap excursion rates on !
he railroads, and are either in |
barge of an official of the road es- q
ecially delegated for the purpose or l
heir own superintendent of educa- a
ion, principal or clergyman. When h
hey strike the city a guide book Is a
t once consulted and an IRON clad
inerary laid out for every daylight
our of the few days stay here in
own. The capitol, the library, the S
apartments, the Smithsonian, the
ational museum, the monument, the
avy yard Arlington and Mount Ver-
on are regularly checked off and so
amy hours and fraction given to
nf hA r,,.t,r elnn
: has the collie and is detained an Il
our he is lost. He can never catch h
, with the procession. This is one m
ay to see the city and of course in II
lch limited time it is the only way, OF
1t it is very unsatisfactory. In or OF
II to satisfactorily inspect all of the pl
ore important points of interest one al
ould be here at. least three weeks, &c
Dirk around leisurely and avoid any
ing like time schedule. When you
t anywhere, you want to stay until
u get enough of it. Any one of the
storical places requires at least a
y and many of them cannot be gu
inspected in less than a 70
library of congress and the is
tional museum, for instance. In an
ch of these buildings can be found TIL
an inexhaustibe source of wi
The government ex- no
,ition at the Chicago, Buffalo and tin
Louis fairs was taken from the
ter building almost entirely and
, exhibits were an infinitesimal
It of the seemingly limitless treas
IS of the vast building.
The congressional library building, or
oss the capitol grounds from the og.
It front, is from an architectural ty
mt of view the finest edifice ever ly
red by the hand and brain of man. stu
ide and out it is marvel of be- still
deringly beautiful and delicate sit,
TX. Several years were required Prf
its construction, and nearly fifteen f
lions of Uncle Sans hard dollars Pra
re gone into it. With its commo- Pre-
US grounds 1t occupies block of Pra
und surface, AMI a careful and in n
igent inspection of the outside
lie would require a full day of
e. Inside all is white and vare-
ed marble, and the roofs and
ny other parts are of the most v
cate and brilliant mosaic work e
clmens OF every stone in the lnV'
ntry and possibly in the world was
worked into the effect 1t is all to l
work of expert artists, absolute
perfect. and one man has spent
this on surface two feet square.
eless statuary and works of art
vi every manu-, ana no cathedral
europe or any building of ancient q s,
times can compare with If well
and tasteful splendor. com
to imagine the effect of the COL left
marbles and endless mosaics proc
ar the rays of many electric time
is! Visitors for the first time war
gasp and remain silent Mag Dru
emily appointed rooms for the fact
use of senators and representa- agai
-