Omaha daily bee., 1910-09-16
Washin gton Life
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ana decorators-perched on trellised scat
ID Folding are at work removal ting Zoe interio
l. OF the national capitol Last year the ex
!. terror. including the dome. was gone owe
thoroughly. This seasons work is niue
l. more extensive, particularly in statusr
d hall where the ravsees Of time and damp
I: ness 'disintegrated the plaster. After thes
walls have been completely cleaned and re
stored the ceiling will be painted an
decorated very simply, under the direction
r OF a Washington man who Is eonsidere,
thoroughly competent in that line Of work
1t 10 In reality large piece Of work. re
: lates the Washington Star. On the dom.
e alone there was work which would hay,
o taken one man 1,50o days TO accomplish
. since July / ten laborers and thirty-fiv,
painters have been busy on il. and the,
have used up 1000 gallons OF paint How
J much they will use on the remainder oil
tho building where they are working may
be roughly estimated from this statement
In the entrance on the basement floor
near the air shaft. where the Justices OF
I the supreme court can, IL they wish, take
a private elevator to their quarters above
other famed columns-desiened, tradition
has it, by Thomas Jef1erson-wilI also be
restored to their original state. the paint of
ages scraped off and their pristine beau
ties allowed once more to shine without
apprehensions Of damage from the weather.
These columns are tribute TO agriculture,
IKE those on the floor above, but they
are representations of maize or Indian
corn, which are cunninEiy wrought to form
their capitals while the fiuted columns
might be imagined to suggest the stalks
/ The walls here also will be restored" and
succeed.
Every one who ever entered the western
portals viii remember the great stairway
win the massive sides of solid stone taking
the place Of the ordinary handraiI or balus-
trade-only one would hardly have thought
that they were stone. Like the greater
part of the rest Of the interior, these were
painted, and they might have been brick
ana stucco or concrete, for all one could
tell from their appearance. Now that the
paint has been carefully removed, it can be
seen that these architectural features are
solid sandstone, built OF mussiye blocks
and finely finished, but with chastened
severity like most of the great building
Dainty frippertes would seem out OF place
In this structure. Hereafter tho great
stairway win stand out as It's builders in
TENDED II should-s strLc'ure OF massive
stone
Even the sanctity OF the supreme court
where precedent is 30 dear to the hearts
OF the jurists that they hate almost TO
nave the venerable dust disturbed or the
ancient hAnBtngs renovated or renewed |
Inc furniture indeed, is much as II WAS
"hen the first court sat, but the improve
ers and renovators have MANAGED to pass
the stern guardians who watch over thesa
chambers, and these walls, too, have bean
scraped and cleaned and the old stone
walls laid bare. Perhaps 1t is well and
proper In the estimation OF the Justices
that this should be done, and the false
superstructpre removed, that the old orig
ma, honest walls OF stone may be seen
again. There will be some mahoranv Uork
done in the chambers but no great amount
and the furniture will remain undIsturbed
IL would seem like sacrtlese TO touch n.
II 10 estimated that this entire WORK will
COST ABOUT 100000 but II is being distributed
over series of years az there was too
much OF 1t TO make II feasible 10 do n ali
At once, even II congress had been willing a,
10 devote the necessary amount Of money |
In a lump sum to that purpose. The capitol
Is supposed to have cost about SIS 00ooOo I'm
aii' although II has been very difficult To |
aeep track Oh the expenditures The house
n~S us own set OF employees, and the senate
JOBS nave been done from time to time ana
no one could possibly tell now lust what
should be charged to maintenance. what
20 repair and what to new construction
FroDaoiy, however, the figure of SIS 600 600
% as close as any one cares to get IT, And
- long as II stands the capitol will con-
lnue to cost money. for there will he con-
''ant changes 10 be made in decorations
repairs. refurnishings and SO on without
INIT. "'u'
LUIS year ior instance, the superintendent '
httins up some fourteen suites of offices c
u tne basement of the senate office build
s. Some OF the senators have thought '
nat portion Of their S4,O00oOO office build b
hB could very well be SHARED m 49,,
he interstate commerce commission ~ q
ONE other body wanting a temnorarv
o"e' They thought there would never ha Q
ny heeo Tor all the space under the roof of O
neF paI~usl quarters. Now, however. as o
'a'eu fourteen new sets of offices are Il
eng ntted up with the finest mahosany a
urniture, and besides that there are roH NJ
ssemofy rooms being provided. Last vsar o,
mere were not enough meeting rooms 10 in
iee' the demand on the superintendent for ri
uoh piAces' This work-the offices ana as
Iooms-Wlll consume an approprIa- tr
On OF $4,000. Then over in the house ~ :,
! m
D. not quite 50 sumptuously. to be surs :,
Tor the senators, but sull quite hand, y,
omeiy and substantially, and the exnens. =,
III approximate $4,000. This sort OF vorIS A.
I'll be necessary to some extent everx
ear. ..... Every
secretary OF the Treasury McVeagb,s "a
teeier' OF the public pulse on the mo- Ar
osed reduction of the size Of currency
otes sets out seven reasons in favor q, 20
le change, as follows: n
Uniformity with United States no,e, tn
I'd certificates thus making ali Manor
irrency in circulation OF the same stvn an
lth the same portrait for Identical de. tn
'mInstions. "e
& reduction in the force of the con. fir
oler OF currency in receiving curranc,, str
ON the bureau of engraving and pr,nt- or
g in its shipments to the banks \
Reduction in vault space required h., a
e controller because Of the dlminutioD -
the size Of the notes, and the avoid
ice OF the necessity for the CONTROLLER 20
rry reserve supply for each bank a.
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