Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-05-18

shaft and not extending to it's exterior.
In photographs of the tower at a greater
distance 1t appears more clearly-almost
like story. And 1t is CAT feet from the
ground
High Above the Ground.
The third platform-which looks like the
brim of a hat at the top-is Oil feet from
the ground. Niagara. with a suspension
bridge 100 feet high over it, could easily
fall between 1t and the intermediate plat
form-above the top of the Singer extern
sion; while the true top of the tower is still
"a feet higheri
Niagara Falls would have more than suf-
fcient room, In fact, to fall between any of
the sections of the Eiffef tower. Even the
squat-looking first platform. Immediately
above the four legs, is 191 feet high.
The ground space inclosed /by those four
legs exceeds two acres and half. Few
Parisians. even, realize that 1t has broad
and spacious stairways to the very top.
They can accommodate 2OO0 persons per
hour to the second platform: and SO on. in
proportion. This is without counting the
elevators. With the stairways, they can
take $500 persons per hour to the first
platform, and SO on in proportion.
The restaurants. theater and beer hall of
this first platform will hold LOCO persons at
one time: It's four exterior galleries will
contain 1000 persons; it's interior terraces
and galleries ct has really two stories) will
give accommodation to 400 more.
The second platform can hold 5000 per-
sons The intermediate platform and the
summit hold 1000 more. Add $500 per-
sons mounting and descending the stair
ways and elevators, and the total "satura-
ton" Of the tower becomes 13. zoo. people
more than the population Of a good-sized
little city!
The painting Of the tower Is q gigantic
job by reason of it's peculiarly open struc-
ture. The vast edifce weighs actually
under 5000 tons. This is by. reason Of its
perfect mechanical form-lacework in iron.
Its total surface being, however, enor-
mously greater than its mere exterior sur
face. over thirty tons Of liquid paint are
required to give 1t single coat!
Fifty painters, working continuously to-
gether. take three months to do single
coat. In 1889 three only fell; the tower had
already had its eighteen victims during the
construction. and every one went carefully
by habit; they had acquired q collective in
stinct of the danger of 1t.
Cost Seven Lives.
In the repainting of 1895 seven painters
fell. They were but few Of them the men
of 1889. They had no Eiffel tower expe-
rience. but they had all the French artisans
daring, born Of trade vanity and fear to
seem afraid. When. after five men had
been killed. the direction would have pro-
tected them with life-saving belts and rig
suit. two others fell before the job was
finished.
In 1900 the direction called for painters
who had worked upon the tower in 1885,
They responded in mass-and asked ex-
orbitant wages! When. however. 1t was
finally got Into their heads that the selec-
ton was being made. not for their skill as
painters or their personal good looks. but
as an act Of pure humanity, they went to
work at the old advance of 30 per cent
above the union scale-on condition Of not
being required to disgrace themselves with
lfesaving rigging!
Such Is the French building artisan-ma-
son, zinc roofer,- carpenter, painter-pig
headed set, unchanging and vain beyond