The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1909-02-28
I|IuminatOns Will Be the Most
Brilliant In History
.RAINEYS CANAL CHARGES
Congressman From Illinois Took a
Trip to the lsthmus on His Own
Expense and Has Studied
Conditions Thoroughly.

It
The programme of the illumination for
the festivities attending the Inaugural
tion OF Taft and Sherman will be on a
more elaborate scale than ever before.
The programme includes the illumination
of Pennsylvania avenue, the main thor
oughfare of the city. from the Peace
monument to the White House by means
of festoons of electric lights. All the
public buildings. including the capitol,
treasury and munisical buildings will be
ablaze with electric lights. Each of tho
festoons of the avenue will be In quad
ruple. having three peaks. the middle
one about 30 feet above the pavement.
They will be about 30 in number hung
squarely across the avenue, therefore
parallel to each other and about $50 feet
apart Some 20 or 80 of the principal
buildings along the avenue will be priv
ately decorated with electric lights on the
solicitation of the committee by outlining
the architecture or festooning them, or
both. Much interest in such illumination
has been manifested by the occupants of
the buildings, and a number of espe-
cially beautiful and elaborate designs are
anticipated.
BY means of two so-inch powerful
search-ights, the dome OF the capitol
viii be steadily illuminated on its west
side. The illumination of the treasury
building will be such as TO strongly out
line the upper portion of the architec-
ture, including other pediments. all around
the building, in manner similar to its
| illumination on the occasion of previous
inaugurations.
| The municipal building will be illum-
| mated by six S-inch theatrical spot lights.
| so disposed and set as to beautifully re-
| veal its white marble architecture and
| 1t is understood that the commissioners
the front rooms. The peace monument
will be made fountain by means of Jets
of water which will show it in such
way to give beautiful, strong and
chaHsms coioreu lieht eHectS, produced
by three Pinch search lights symmetric-
ally located around it. 1t is expected
also that the fountain will be continued
through the days well as the nights
The plan that is being carried out under
contracts provides for the continuation
of the various illuminations described from
rlr 11rnfi iohf af of
nights from March 80 to March 6.
Rainey's Charges.
Whether or not Representative Rainey
of Illinois makes good in his charges
against the manner in which the Panama
canal was purchased. and is being oper-
ated, members of the House are agreed
that no man ever worked more faithfully
or conscientiously to procure facts with
which to win his case.
Mr.. Rainey has studiously refrained
from stating in any of his speeches how
he obtained his information regarding
the amount of work done in the big
ditch" how the men work, how much
dirt has been taken out, etc. 1t was
learned today that Mr. Rainey went to
Panama last summer and tramped from
one end of the canal to the other gather |
ing information here. there and every
where. He made no effort to go to the |
isthmus on any of the several congress
sional junkets but went there at his own |
expense and In the broiling heat of the !
summer months, and remained there until |
he Believed he had acquired sufficient |
facts to establish the case he is now |
attempting to make before the House.
Confederate Graves.
Representative Langley of Kentucky, |
republican member, said today that it |
was his purpose soon as the new |
Congress met to introduce bill providing |
that graves of Confederate soldiers should |
have monuments erected over them in |
the same manner as the law now directs
in the case of veterans of the Union army.
In view of the action of Congress two
years ago in making an appropriation for
marking the graves Of Confederates who |
died in northern prisons. Mr.. Langley
believes his bill will become law.
--e--