The Morris County chronicle., 1909-03-16
WASHINGTON LETTER
Especial correspondence.l

behind the treasury?' asked the little
girl who was seeing Washington or
one OF the rubberneck wagons.
There was good reason for the ques,
tion. The oft quoted statement that
the capitol is at one end of Pennsyl.
yania avenue and the White House al
the other is only figuratively true
The treasury building shuts off the
view from the White House grounds.
Moreover, it is planted right in the
middle of the line that would be the
avenue IL it were straight street.
Location Of the TreNsury Building.
Old timers ia Washington say the
! reason for this was the impetuousness
of Old Hickory, General Andrew
Jackson. During his administration
the old treasury building was de-
stroyed by fire. The delay in finding
a location for a new building irritated
the president.
One day. he was out walking and
met Robert Mills, the architect OF the
building.
What location has been secured for
the new building?" said the president
''a'he department has not decided
on any place as YETI answered Mr.
Mills
The proerastination irritated the old
man, and be struck his cane on the
ground, declaring Put it herev'
There it stands today, one of the
finest examples of architecture in
Washington. despite the fact that it
is crowded right up to the street in
stead Of having spacious grounds sur
rounding il.
Capitol Statue Cracked.
Greenougn's famous statue OF George
Washington has been removed from
the capitol plaza to the basement Of
the Smithsonian institution
Charles D. Walcott, secretary of the
institution, described its recent trans
fer to place of protection from the
fierceness of the elements.
When they came to examine the
statue" said Mr.. Walcott, they found
1T cracked all the way through. It,
was very difficult job to get that
statue down there without breaking It,
but II is there now and is on its base
A jackson Tree Felled.
When the policeman who comes on
duty at the White House for the early
morning watch reached the executive
grounds the other day he found one of
its most beautiful shade trees, large
silver maple blown down by the ter
rife wind Near by the fallen maple
was found the body of little gray
squirrel, which was killed when the
tree containing its nest was destroyed.
The maple was one of the historic
trees in Washington; al least tradition
says 1t was planted in President Jack
sons occupancy of the White House.
Not twenty feet from the fallen maple
stands a fne oak planted by President
Mckinley at the close OF the Spanish
American war
Date OF Wasl,ineton's inaugural
Probably few casual readers OF
American history could tell offhand on
what day George Washington was in
augurated In 1889 if was not until
April 6 that q quorum of the senate
was secured and the vote for president
and vice president officially consoh-
dated and announced Then it took
eight days TO ger the news TO General
Washington at his home in Mount
Vernon, Va. Forty hours later he was
on his way north, receiving an ovation
all along the route. John Adams took
the oath OF Office on April 21, but it
was April 30 before General Washing
ton was inaugurated as the first presi-
dent.
Fine Rug For Uncle Sam.
A rug said to be worth more than
$4,000 was recently presented to the
United States 1t will be placed In
the White House.
The donor was Fl. n. Topakyan, a
rich Armenian OF New York city, who
has two decorations from the shah of
Persia, three from the sultan of Tur-
key and one from Venezuela.
The rug is declared to be the finest
in the world 1t is six and one-haIf
feet long and four and oDe-half feet
wide. 1t Is of imperial silk, heavily
Jeweled with rich pearls. tuEquofses
rubles and other oriental stones. 1t
is held in mahogany frame of beaui-
full appearance. The donor had the
rug made under bis own orders, and
several years were taken in getting
together the different parts.
Hawk Saved by Law.
The hawk that has had all Washing
ton rubbernecking for the past three
months as he dined on pigeons and
majestically scared around the post
office building tower is not an ordinary
hawk. He is a peregrine falcon,
known to ornithologists as a wander
ing falcon. His species is rare. His
value is great. His appetite Is large,
but it was declared by bird stadent
one night recently that one wandering
falcon is Of greater value than 500
pigeons. 1t was about to be shot when
Chief Of Police Sylvester put stop to
the slaughter.
1t is violation of law to shoot any
member of the hawk family, excepting
sharp Skinned hawk or a Cooper
hawk"
To the interference of the law and for
bis continued lease OF life the falcon
owes much TO Edward B. Clark, q
newspaper correspondent and an au-
thority on birds.
A Cosmopolitan Bird.
Nh Clark for the past six years has
been an admirer of the hawk. He said
the other night that it Is cosmopoli-
tan bird, although very rare, BY some.