El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1910-03-05

ing it has hitherto occupied covers
about two and a half acres, it is of
only one story. with galleries. and alto
gether too small TO afford accOmmOda-
tiOn to the ammense collections. which,
for this reason. have been largely hid
den away out of sight. no space being
available for their exhibition.
This, indeed. was the principal reason
for putting up the new building. which
will be kept open at night, affOrding to
the working people of all classes in
Washington an opportunity, not hitherto
enjoyed. of viewing the collections The
massive white granite structure stands
directly in front of the Smithsonian in
stitution. which it faces. Four stories i'll
height it has Il frontage of SCI feet, and
a depth of sos feet.
To Separate Exhibits
AS yet the collections are only partly
installed. 1t is planned TO separate
them into two great diviSiOns-one to
comprise all kinds of natural objects,
and the other TO embrace exhibits relat-
ing TO the arts and industries. The lat
ter are to be housed in the old museum
building and will include, among other
things, ceramics. metal work, jewelry
work. glass work. firearms. laces and
other textiles and a collection Of OBJ
jects illustrating the development of
transportati ton By land and water Also,
this division will embrace the govern
ment's collection of patent models, which
for many years. housed elsewhere, has
been a great attraction to people visit
ing Washington.
The new building will be devoted to
natural history in the broadest sense of
the term. including zoology, geology,
botany. ethnology, and archaeology All
the stuffed mammals and birds will be
there: likewise the groups illustrating
the manners and customs of primitive
peoples. and the marvellous assemblage
of giant reptiles which lived in this
country before the Rocky Mountains
existed-whep, in fact, that mighty
backbone of THE continent was repre-
scented only by scattered islands uplited
out of the sea.
Architectural Beauty
For the sake of architectural effect,
the new building has been provided
with a dome of no great height. which
covers a rotunda so feet in diameter
This enormous circular hall rising
through the middle of the structure is
surrounded by three galleries. each
representing a story. Every imaginable
in construction for exhibit /
tiOn purposes has been introduced
The interior walls are white. so that |
the illumination. thanks to the huge |
on all sides. is most brilliant |
On this account mainly. the national |
collection of paintings is to be placed, |
at least temporarily. in the new build |
ing, which will also contain the great !
historical collection including relics of |
George Washington, Abraham Lincoln. |
and other men who have contributed i'm |
portantly to the development and !
progress of the United States.
In earlier days the Smithsonian paid |
out of its own funds for the maintenance |
of the National museum Later on the |
government bore a share Of the expense, |
and during the last 80 years congress
has met all the bills For the people at !
large, the educational usefulness of the |
is enormous. 1t stands to-
day as one of the greatest monuments to |
American history and achievement
New objects and specimens flow into
Il from all parts Of the world at a rate I
Of something like 100000 per annUm.
and thus the collections are steadily and |
rapidly increasing in interest and value. /
If in the past the museum has been
instructive and a source of entertain
ment to the public will be vastly
more so from this time on. now that It
is provided with proper quarters for the
and exercise of its activities.
Rene Bache.