The river press. [volume] (Fort Benton, Mont.) 1880-current, 1906-06-13
WASHINGTON LETTER
Especial CORES. -.aeace.1

4NSAl0.AAs huSi...S.ou Is tG Ue VIC
most beautiful! capital IA the world. &C.
cOrdins to the Pisa G.. .Aose WHO are
promoting its Improvement. The
growth has been slow. and the big
scale on which the improvements are
planned will require many years for
fulfillment, but gradually there is de-
velopins q series OF public buildings In
which some degree Of national interest
may be taken.
An important addition to this group
Of structures Is the new house Of rep
resentatives' Office building. near the
capitol. the cornerstone Of which was
put in place recently.
The building occupies a square and
Is about a hundred yards distant from
the south wing of the capitol, with
which it Is to be connected by an un-
derground passageway through which
members Of congress may pass back
and forth from the legislative hall to
their offices.
Rooms Foe Future Growth.
There are 40 office rooms, which
provides a room for each representa-
tive In congress and delegate and
leaves vacant nineteen rooms for a fu-
ture growth in the membership Of the
house through a reapportionment Of
districts or the admission Of new
states.
The house annex ard the senate Of
hce building. which Is also under on
struction at the opposite end Of the
plaza, are being put UP to provide for
the members Of the national legisla-
ture quarters absolutely needed for the
efficient transaction Of public business.
Classic II Design.
In size and design they are identical.
They occupy positions balanced III
their relation to the capitol and are
planned to fit into Il general a-c:litec-
tural scheme. The height of the build
ings has been restricted that they may
not overtower the capitol, and they
have been kept simple in design with
out pediments, domes or other acccntu-
ated points to prevent their detracting
from the effect Of the capitol building.
There will be four places of interest
in the house Office building Of elabo-
rate architecture. These are the rotun-
da, the main stair and caucus o
: back of it and the dining room.
:. Rotunda With Columns.
The rotunda will extend from the
ground floor through the entire height
Of the building. terminating with a
dome under the roof. Alphabetically
the rotunda consists Of a circle of
eighteen columns standing or a circu-
To-. n~coJo on irO0ooo1 IN n o1ro,,1o r
wall or she'll. On the center line Of the
columns the rotunda has a diameter of
: ffty-seven feet four inches. The height
y of the rotunda from the first floor to
the crown or ''eye" Of the paneled
+ dome is sixty-eight feet.
., Home For the Fourth.
:. To get home in time for the Fourth
of July seems to have become the slo'
. !. gan Of the senate. Senator Warren OF
I Wyoming recently said: II do not think
e we will get away until the last Of
June, and we will have to work hard
and fast to do that. We will try to bf
!, home for the glorious Fourth. and that
. Is about the best we can expect" Sew
eral other senators are lookin. forward
to being home about that time.
Few Bills Vetoed.
' The president has not vetoed more
than hnlf a dozen bills at this session
e and most of these dealt with new jul
t dicial districts. created for the purpose
of getting new judges. district attor
Y neys and mnrslals. On the recon
mendation Of the department of justice
that not many Of these court bills WERE
, necessary to the transaction Of public
l business the president vetoed them
= No pension bills have been vetoed.
!, The New Railroad station.
The new Union railway station has
a frontage Of about 700 feet ON Massa
chusetts avenue, or will be about eigh'
e and a half feet longer than the cas-
front of the capitol. From the front
Of the building to the ncours Is 33(
feet, making the building cover about
! five acres. Northward Of the mair
= building is the head house. Get by o1(
e feet in size. About 1900 tons of stee
e will be needed in the construction Of
. these buildings.
Uncle SANS New Rife Range.
4 At Guantanamo, Cuba, the navy de
partment Is putting the finishing
touches on one of the finest rifle
ranges in the world. In some respect!
this range surpasses the famous Eng
i lish range at Bisley. where there art
200 targets. While the English have I
much larger number Of targets In com
mission. the ranges are so planned a