Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-11-11
READY FOR CONGRESS
HOUSECLEANING AT THE CAPT.
toll AT LAST COMPLETED.

Star reporter went up to the Capitol
yesterday to get the annual story of paint.
putty and repairs" and incidentally to in.
quire into the truth or falsity of the report
that Superintendent Elliott Woods had de-
cided to pasture flock of Southdown NUT
ton on the grassy green lawns of the west
front. The mutton story proved to be a.
canard, but plenty of sure-enough improve
ments were noticeable. Mr.. Lynn of Super
intendent Woods Office, who has direct
charge of all the improvement work and
who calls the effigies in statuary hall by
their first names. went around with the re-
porter and explained things.
Pretty nearly everybody in Washington
is interested in the Capitol and what is done
each year to make it more comfortable to
the peoples candidate, be he from New
York or Bingvile. This year the annual
cleaning of the building has been in prog
ress for several months-practically all
through the recess-and everything is in
readiness for the gathering of the political
clans in December. And cleaning, painting,
repairing and improving building the size
of the Capitol is a mighty big annual job.
This year the plumbing throughout the
building was overhauled and much mod
ern Plumbing installed; everything in the
heating and ventilating departments has
Deef1 put III tuOTOuSN repair, IN the senate
post o. ce and the House folding room new
steel equipment is being put in, several new
chandeliers have been installed in the COM
mittee rooms and in the House press room;
the kitchens in the Senate and House res
taurants have been overhauled and recon-
structed. several artificial stone floors have
replaced wooden affairs in committee rooms
and an inconceivable amount of repair work
of various kinds has been done about the
whole big structure from cellar to- dome.
Over on the Senate side the public build
ings and grounds and immigratio commit
tee rooms have been painted, decorated and
refurnished and the same thing has been
done to the railways and canals, military
affairs, rivers and harbors and labor COM
mittee rooms and the sergeant-at-arms Of
flee and post Office on the House side. In
other committee rooms and corridors the
paint has been renewed, the Senate and
House chambers have been painted where
needed and the Supreme Court room was
painted throughout. oil supplanting most of
the kasomine work.
The Capitol 1t can now be announced, Is
no longer behind the times on the door
proposition. Mahogany revolving doors
have been installed at the Senate basement
entrance, the Senate north basement en-
trance, House basement entrance House
south basement entrance, the rotunda and
the west main entrance. The revolving
doors of the always-shut type have long
been needed. The basement of the Capitol
Is probably the most draughty place this
side Of Medicine Hat and for years has
been the happy hunting ground of the grip.
Influenza the sniffies and other kindred
complaints So everybody is happy with
the possible exception of one employe OF
the sergeant alarms Office. This employee
is a colored man and Just when he began
to work at the Capitol no man knoweth.
Some say he used to hold President Wash
ington's horse on the site of what Is now
the main Capitol building. but Of course
this story cannot be verified. But he is
very old. though about as willing worker
as can be found anywhere.
The Star reporter was looking at one of
the new ring-around-a-rosy doors when this
old fellow started to enter the, Capitol with
an armful OF something or other. 1t was
heavy and the old man kept his eyes on
the ground and grunted at every step. Con-
sequently he got inside the door. pushed It
around, a little too far and landed on the
outside of the building again. And without
a word he turned around in his tracks and
started for a door of the single-leaf kind.
fun half square away. From a distance
of twenty feet he stopped, turned his head
over around and gave the revolving door
parting glance.
"Umph! Lawseer" said the old fellow as
he shifted his load and made for the far
AWAY entrance of simpler pattern.