The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-11-24
CAPITOL IMPROVEMENT
LENGTHY MEETING.
Coutracts for Repairing Portico and Doinr Drainage Work Are Award ed-Gossip Az to the Pro-
 poseA Wimg.

The Capitol Building Commission l held a long meeting yesterday in the ofice of Governor Jelks, Chairman, at | which contracts were let for terra cot- | ta drainage work and portico improve ments on the Capitol. It was decided to spend s425 on resetting the stone
 steps to the front portico and to lay
 For laying of the terra cotta drain age sewerage, with all necessary con- | nections, 1t was determined to spend $37s.75. The contract for the portico work was let the Curbow- -Clapp Com pany of Montgomery, That for the drainage was secured by J.. A. Mur- ray and Company of Montgomery. The length of the session and other significant circumstances of the meet ing yesterday led to some little gossip in the Capitol as to the probability of positive action at an early date by the Building Commission on the proposi- tion of the south. wing. It is pretty we'll known that the executive mem bers of the Commission are very anx- ious to get prop to hold them safe in postponing the work on the Capitol wing.
 In July the Commission for the time composed of the executive members
 and the members of the Supreme Court, adopted plans for the south wing which
 was to provide new quarters for the
 court library, Justices and attaches.
 These plans were voted against solid
 ly by the regular Commissioners. or by
 the Governor, the State Treasurer, the
 State. Auditor, the Secretary of State
 and the Attorney General Still they were outvoted seven to five. The i've
 members were in favor of plans which
 carried three-story structure. The
 adopted plans called for a two-story fine nA IA ,.xf nf appealed to the Judges of the Supreme Court. The three-story idea met with the favor of the other members be- cause of the harmonious architectural features, 1t being claimed that the adopted plans were incongruous. The adoption of the plans was the last act of the Commission that per- tained to the wing unless the letting of the contract to i'll in the south half of the Capitol Square be considered connected with the matter. This fill- ing undertaking is now being carried out. But so far as executing the plans of Frank Lockwood of Montgomery, which were adopted for the wing. is concerned. there has been absolute in- action.
 Rumor had 1t yesterday that the law
 will be carefully looked Into with view of ascertaining the power of a Commission to rescind It's action. If
 this Is possible 1t Is understood that
 something will be doing soon. The executive officer of the Commission are known to be in favor of using the leg | islative appropriation in some sort of | extensive improvements. This atti- | tude seems to have been shown by their action at the spring meeting this | year when the Commission of five de- cided to erect a wing on the south side
 of the present building. The big lot Ia orsA nk . therefor, leaving the remainder of an appropriation of s150,000. It was de- cided that the bulk of this should be put Into the wing. Memoranda for the wing were adopted.
 Now that the proceeding resulted in
 a sharp division of the Commission on | the question of two-story or a three- l story wing and 1t appears no compro-
 mise is going to be reached. the exec
 utive members. or some of them, are believed to be In favor of resembling
 the action at the spring meeting. It is
 said that if the Comfllssion has the power to do this 1t willxAullify all sub | sequent proceedings based on it.
 At the meeting yesterday all mem
 bers of the Commission were present
 except State Auditor J. M. Carmichael, who. 1t Is understood, was unavoid- ably kept away. Those present were
 Governor Jelks, Secretary of State E. ~. McDaVfd, Attorney General Massey Wilson, State Treasurer J. Craig Smith
 and Secretary Thomas Nj. Owen, Direc-
 tor Of the State Department of Ar
 chives and History.
 It was stoutly maintained after the
 meeting yesterday that nothing was
 done in regard to the proposed wing. The members took walk around the Capitol and superficlally inspected
 the work of miscellaneous improve
 ments that are now going on. These are the roofing of the building and the painting of the same. This work will
 be completed in very short time.