The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1909-02-16
ruined Parthenon at Athens.

York. They proposed tearing down
our small but beautiful City Hall.
The artists and art lovers at once
raised a howl Then they proposed
to take it down stone by stone and
put it up in some more convenient
place IN build q larger city build
ing where the city hall now stands.
We only hoWled the more. The final
upshOt was that the city hall was not
only saved. but it was restored to its
original design and beauty in the in
terror. and no one Will again dare
to talk about touching it."
L belong to a circle of people in
this country who propose to do all
they can to spread q love for old
things-that have any real art in
them, to reverence them, to protect
them, to restore them to their orig
inal form when they nave been al
tered. This Will foster patriotism and
real pride n a consciousness that
there is something more important in
life than merely making machines or
piling up money"
But the building is also too
small" was interjected.
Well" replied Mr.. Ruckstuhl,
now fully warmed up, L would con-
slider it a piece of sacrilege to touch
the Old State House, except to re-
store and finish it, and a grave mis-
take to reduce the area of.your fine
square by one foot And the men who
do reduce twill | fear-be called
to account in the future-when your
people wake up. For n tendency
all over the nation and the world, is
to increase park areas instead of de-
creaSing them. In Paris n London
and other large European cities they
are fighting tooth and nail not to pre-
fserve park areas but to enlarge them.
And you-with cheap land about you
propose to reduce. NourS?'
What would YOU SuSSeSt4' was
asked.
well, if I had my way, here is
what [ would do: / would first Of all
take all the point Oft Of the copper
roof and dome of our State House,
and get the copper to show and shine,
and let it take on that fine green col
or that time alone gives to all OPP
per. Then l would repair the outside
of the building by washing away the
green moss from certain parts and by
pointing up the corners, &c, that
have been Clipped off. This can be
done. Then I would rip out all the
worn flag stones from the interior
and replace them by new ones, OF
the same design. I woul take all
the plaster off of the walls in the
public corridors and line them with
polished marble slabs. I would re-
pair and refurnish the chambers of
the Senate and the House Of Repre-
sentatiVes and decorate them with
first class n1StOf1caI paintings. lf1cre
is a lone bust Of Calhoun. IN mar
bic. by Powers, in the Senate, [ be-
lieve, placed in a neglectful and un-
respectful way on q mere mantle
piece, a very good bust, Which L
would properly place on q pedestal,
and set up o eleven more OF them,
Of distinguished men Of North Caro-
lima. Then / would properly line the
whole rotunda either with white pol
ished marble, or with imitation
marble, and fill the four inches with
marble statues OF great legislators
Scion, Lycurgus. Moses and Alfred
the Great, or any other great sym
bolic men. In short, repair and per
feet in the most complete and artistic
manner the whole building from top
to bottom. If possible put in q cou-
pie of elevators, and also electric
lights. Then / would put into some
other building every office not com
nected at once with the Legislative
Department and turn the whole build
ing over to the use of the Senators and
ASsemblymen for use for committee
rooms, &c. Then I would build a Sc
'ries of new buildings for the Admin
istration offices, courts, &c, &c, on
land facing the State House. BY this
arrangernet your State House would
be large cough for fifty years. BY that
time you WOULD be rich enough to af-
ford a new and noble State capitol
BETTING a rich noble State. But, il
you think you are rich enough now
and l am told you are-fiX up the
State House as / said, start a new
and grander State Capitol at once, and
the use the present State House Tor
the Supreme Court, Library, etc. BY
doing this you would preserve the
fine old State House and acquire a
new object of architectural beauty, and
so enoble our city to such an extent
that your descendants would some day
rise up and call you blessed! For, rest
,ssured, North Carolina Will not stand
sill in the march toward the love OF
beauty art. In the North this
religion of the Beautiful is spreading
with wonderful rapidity, n the South
will surely follow suit. Hence. the Day