The Logan Republican. [volume] (Logan, Utah) 1902-1924, 1907-09-11
ON TIE ZIG DOM
STRUCTURE net A PLEASANT
PLACE IN A STORM.
Workmcn Ahcve Roof Of Capitol In
i. ash;nston Have Their Own
Troubles When the Lightning
Plays About Them.

u is worth while glancing up Cap
i.ol Hill way just now at the big
come Gu the roof of the legislative
gas works, for 35 human flies are
Just winding up the Job of spreading
waterproof paint over its fancy.work
surface, says the Washington Star.
II has taken nine tons of paint and
| nearly two months steady labor to do
the trick, and they're glad-every one
of them-that tbs nearly quitting time.
For the Job doesn't look easy and isn't
| as easy as It looks.
Just think Of painting--with two
and three coats in places-about eight
city blocks! That's what this dcma
covering proposition about amounts
to- for the immense iron structure
that looms so large above the big pile
| Of the capitol has somewhere around
10000 square feet Of surface.
| This Is the first time In five or ak
years that the dome has been touched
up. and David Lynn. foreman Of the
superintendent once at the capitol.
who runs things around the gas house
while Superintendent Elliott Woods
Is making sure that for about the first
time In history a big piece Of govern
ment work gets done on time.
decided that 1t would be done to tho
were first sent aloft without their
paint buckets and told to look for
rust and all its Notwithstanding rela.
tives. They carried out instructions
and every time they noticed even o
thin spot In the old paint they scraped
clear down to the bright iron, bound
the suspicious spot In oil-soaked linen
paint over that. 1t doesn't pay to
take chances when there are 9.000,-
900 pounds of iron roof Of a building
that Is crowded to the doors half
dozen months in the year with pa
triots chosen Of the people.
1t Is for more reasons than one that
the human flies are happy that their
work on the dome Is nearly at an end
One Of the reasons-perhaps the great.
est one-has to do with thunder.
storms. Now, those human flies are
sensible men, with more than the
average share Of courage. Some Of
them have no nerves at all about
ordinary things. and there isn't one
who wouldn't enjoy sitting on his
covered front porch during a thunder.
storm and watching the lightning
knock bricks out Of his neighbor's
chimney But they are different PEG.
pie when working on the dome. and
every time thunderstorm comes
along and catches them up there they
scatter for terra flrma. shelter and
safety like bunch of Plymouth Rock
egg factories from in front Of pur.
ring. honking automobile.
When the human flies slipped down
their swaying ladders after recent
big storm was over--not feeling much
like any more work that day, you
can wager-they sat around and
chinned about their experience. and
finally one of them told the story to
Elliott Woods, the wizard of the cap.
itol. And after MI Woods had pom.
dered some, and scientific friends of
his had pondered some more, one Of
the human flies climbed up on the
shoulders of the Goddess of Freedom
to examine the platinum tirs OF the
lightning arresters. And a glance at
those tips explained things. They
were ripped, and torn, and frayed and
frazzled hut not melted or burned
even little bit.
There's fine scientific way of tell.
ing what this means, but it involves
the use of considerable brainproof
language. Reduced to first principles
however, II means that the dome OF
the capitol soaks up stray electricity
like poplar tree or storage bat
terry, and that instead of lightning
striking the platinum and travelling
down into the dome. II soaks into the
dome and travels out of the pits. back
up into the sky.
Freaky lightning wasn't the only
thing the human flies found up around
the dome. In the big gutter just be.
low the top bulge they discovered
four mems derbies, a lady's toque
nine ordinary straw lids, one medium
Panama, 13 cents in pennies, a nurs
ing bottle, two ham sandwiches In
poor repair and nest containing 3s
English sparrow eggs, This latter dis
covery is considered the most i'm
portant, as II bears out the theory OF
some bird fanciers that community
of sparrows. when settled in a thor
oughly safe and secure place, place
all their eggs in one nest and employ
larger bird of another species at sc
many worms an hour to do the hatch
ing
White Paint for the White House.
| Il. IL L.. LII 4.