El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1910-09-03

adopted being to fasten a camera TO the
end of a piece of Scantling 10 feet long,
and. thrusting it out and away from
the scaffolding surrounding the goddess,
to Snapshots" her by pulling a strlng.
Of course, the camera was set IN adj
vance for the 10 foot focus. This de-
vice gave some striking pictures-tnc
viewpoint being changed from side. to
side by poking the scantllng out IN
different directions
The task of scrubbing the statue IS
merely incidental to that of painting the
dome of the capitol, which has to be
done every four wears. On each occasion
as during the last few weeks-the
dome receives only one coat; but. this
requires no less than 1000 gallons OF
paint. One man could do the job in Just
about two years. but 40 painters are
able to accomplish it IN not much more
than a fortnight, if rushed, with seven
laborers to help them by carrying up
the raw material Swinging stages are
used for the lower part of the dome,
while the upper portion is reached by
curved ladders. which are shifted along
sidewiSe as required.
Much Paint Required.
The paint used is of a tint called
Smoky white" TO match the marble OF
the great wings Of the capitol. As is
we'll known, the middle section of the
building (Which represents the original
structure, as it formerly wasl is OF
sandstone: and this also is paintet1
smoky white, to make it look like mar
bic. But it Is only question of time
when the middle part will be faced wfts
marble, to render the whole harmonious:
and it is more than possible that the
present iron dome may be reconstructed
out of the same material. this idea hav-
ing been strongly urged by many archi-
tects. The capitol is a patchwork, I'M
fortunately. Beautiful and impressive
as it undeniablv Is, it has grown by
series of additions and architectural AFT
erthoughts, and much remains yet TO
be done to it, in order to make it the
perfect thing it ought to be-
Honeymoon Walk.
Around the top OF the dome runs
little walk, protected by an iron railing
This Is a favorite resort for the honey
mooners who come To Washington IN
flocks at all seasons of the year. They
write their initials on the railip~ with
outlines of transfixed hearts and other
amatory designs. Above the walk rises
a sort of cupola, on the top of which IS
placed the base of the statue of the
Goddess OF Freedom. Mr.. MacnichOl
raises 80 foot ladder from the walk
railing to the statue base, and carries
UP it the scantlings and other stuff out
OF which he builds his scaffOlding.
The dome of the capitol was originally
of wood, covered with a sheathing OF
copper 1t was replaced by the present
one in 1S63-Which is to say that the
latter was finished in that year. its con-
structiOn having OccuDied nearly dec
ade Made of iron castings Dolted TO
gether, it cost 81 ,250,0 900. The iron con.
tanned in it weighs S,909,00O pounds. At
its base it Is 1876 feet IN diameter.
Cost of the Model.
Congress paid $4,000 for the plaster
model of the Goddess OF Freedom
model has stsod for many years in the
old National museum. Thomas Craw-
ford father of Marion Crawford. the
nOvelistl was the sculptor. The woman
was cast in bronze at Bladensburg, Mo-,
by Clark Mills, who got $500 for the
job. Labor and other expenses brought
the total cost OF the statue up TO about
$4,000. The original model, by the
way, had a liberty cap with cirelet
of stars, but this was chan0ed, against
the protest of the sculptor.
Mt Beyond Criticism.
The statue is far from being beyona
criticism. For one thing, the woman is
too fat-too bulky, that is to saw
whereas it is not TO be denied that ---occ
and a certain degree of slenderness 90
together. Again. it is beyond question
that a bronze figure placed at so great
a height should have free action, so as
to be seen to advantage the ia
nous Flying Mercury, for example, or
Diana on the Madison square tower in
New York. But the head of this Free
dom ON the capitol is incompatible. and
her face is unsurpassed in beauty by
that of any statue in existence, ancient
or modern. Rene Bache