Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1907-09-25
From the Far West to the Far East

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mained over for a day and night Wis.
iting with a sister we hadn't seen
since we left South Dakota. We
spent the day taking in the sights
and surroundings of the twin cities
thief orenoon in Minneapolis and
! the afternoon at st. Paul-the beau
! the forenoon in Minneapolis and
much to the attractiveness of that
city. They are indeed lovely and are
| literally supplied with pleasure
boats, where. any citizen or. visitor
can enjoy sail on the calm ana
placid waters, or angle for fish as
long as he desires at very small cost
Few cities have so many pleasurable
resorts as Minneapolis, and the
great lakes of the state supply
breathing place for those who are
weary of the drudgery of the count
ing houses and other places of busi-
ness. And the city spares neither
time nor money in making them
pleasant and attractive.
Minneapolis is the center OF the
Touring interests of the state and
her grain elevators and mills are
both numerous and capacious. II
is also great lumber center. Some
OF the public buildings are the most
beautiful and costly ever saw, espe-
cially the county court house. the
law courts and city hall. Minneapo-
lis is destined to become one of the
greatest cities of the middle north
west.
In the afternoon we went over to
see st. Paul. Our first object was
to see the residence of the great rail-
way magnate-J. ]. HILL II is in
deed a most costly and capacious
home. 1t is located on a hill over
looking the great Father of
Waters" II is built of brown stone,
and a fence of the same material en-
closes the large lot on which the
mansion Is enclosed. IL is richly
adorned with flowers and shrubbery,
the whole presenting a picture OF re-
finement, culture and comfort which
cannot easily be . surpassed any
where. And still the great railway
king is not satisfied with e, as he
has given this TO his son, and is now
constructing a mansion on Fifth
avenue. New York, where he will re-
side In the future.
But the great attraction In st.
Paul is the state capitol. II Is claim
ed TO be the most beautiful build
Ing OF its kind in the United States,
and the claim Is undoubtedly just.
II is splendidly located on rising
ground, and the stone stairway from
the street to the building is OF itself
sight worth seeing. The cost of
the building including the grounds,
amounted TO $4,500,000, and unlike
the capitol OF Pennsylvania, II is
well worth the money. Our party
was shown through every part OF
the immense structure by the keeper
"a most obliging gentleman-who
informed us on everything We need
ed to know. Suffice II TO say we
were astounded at the grandeur and
beauty of everything-the paintings.
the designs, the workmanship. the
notwithstanding. The follow
ink facts will give the reader some
idea of the splendor of Minnesota's
state capitol. Its outside walls are
OF Georgia marble. The main ro-
tunda with its many stairs are COM
posed of Georgia, Tennessee, Illi-
nois. French. African and Italian
marble. The thirty-siX large col
umns above the main stairways are
three feet at the base and twenty
feet high and are OF Beeche Viol-
ette marble of Italy. The second
floor Is composed mainly of Tennes-
see, Illinois, African and Italian
marble-and all polished TO the
highest degree.
The four large granite columns
on the second floor are Orton, Min
nesota granite, and the four large
granite columns are gray granite
from st. Cloud, Mimi. The main
walls of the dome, Minnesota
moftled. cream colored, polished
limestone from Kasota and Mauko-
to. The large chandelier in the up
per part of the dome is composed OF
beaded glass over heavy frame
work of brass and steel. II is six
feet In diameter and seven and one
half feet high. There are 92 electric
lights on the inside OF this chande-
lier and is held in place by a cable
2S feet long. OF the paintings, dec
OFatiOns and designs IL is little use