The Montana plaindealer. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1906-1911, 1906-04-20
GRAND CEREMONY
LAYING CORNERSTONE At The
NATIONAL CAPITAL.
President Roosevelt Took Prominent
Part as Well as Leading Citizens Of
the Natlon-President's Speech Very
Impressive-Mssonie Fraternity Act
i've Participants.

In the presence OF a distinguished
assemblage, with the president of the
United States taking a prominent part
with the supreme court and the senate
the house and diplomatic corps as
spectators, and before a large con
course of people, the cornerstone OF
the Office building for the representa-
| tiyes was laid with impressive cere
| monies Saturday afternoon. The ad
dress of the day was made by the
president, who spoke on The Man
With the Muck Rake
Today. with impressive ceremonial
the cornerstone of the largest Office
building in the world solemnly devoted
to the primary purposes c. Legislation
and the comfort Of its legislators, was
laid with the Masonic fraternity as the
active participants, assisted by Presi
dent Roosevelt, who, like Presidents
Washington and Fillmore, is a Mason
and who, following immemorial Gus.
tom, delivered the principal address
In cOmmemoration of today's event
the Masonic fraternity of the District
of Columbia had been ordered into
line. and, with the grand lodge of Ma.
sons, escorted by the several comman.
deries of knights Templars marched
to the building. In the northeast sec
ton of the building, according to Ma
sonic usage, the cornerstone was plac-
ed. Work on that section had been
held back pending the ceremonies, but
the construction of the outer part OF
the rest of the edifce has progressed
up to the second story. Previous to
the ceremonies a copper box two and
a half feet long and Is inches wide was
placed in the stone in the presence of
the grand treasurer of the grand
lodge The box contains many rare
and unusual articles, together with
the coins of the United States and the
series of postage stamps now in use.
Unlike other boxes used for similar
occasions, this box, which was made
by one of the employees of the capitol,
has a series of small compartments ar
ranged. so that envelopes containing
the articles many stand uprIsn. in
stead of living fat, as has been the
custom heretofore. This box was her
metically sealed and in position when
the grand master of Masons began the
ancient ceremony of placing the cor
nerstone in position.
The building dedicated will be elias
sic in design. 1t suggests in general
division, the Garde Heuble, on the
Place de la Concorde, in Paris, while
the pavilions are modelled on those of
the Colonna de Louvre. Architectur
ally, the front is divided into two
parts, the lower corresponding to the
first story of the building, constitut-
ing "a rusticated" base, on which, ex
tending through the second and third
stories. is the colonnade. surmounted
by its entablature and balustre. Some
idea of its size is given by the follow
ing f~rontages:
On B street, 476 feet; on New Jer-
sey avenue, 40 feet; on First street,
ASP feet. and c street, 34S feet. making
a total frontage of 174O feet. or ap-
p~roXimately one-third of a mile. The
building will contain 410 rooms for
members, together with a multiplicity
of caucu rooms, audience rooms, post
office, restaurant and other features of
a modern office building in any large
city. The long unbroken cornice of
the building leading up naturally to
the capitol building and thence to the
great dome. the browning and domin-
ating unit in the group of buildings
now on Capitol plaza, are calculated
by its designers to conduce to the de-
sired effect of the making the capitol
building nor imposing and effective.
Address by President.
No good whatever will come from
the warped and mock morality which
1-pnnnuppG the mfEIaa1C 90 -