Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-12-02

Superintendent Of the Capitol begin an
annual spring cleaning. vast in its pro-
portions and interesting In its details.
The superintendent of the Capitol has
charge of the buildings of the Capitol
group with the exception Of the LII
brary, and he looks after their prepare
ton for the next session. The sergeant
alarms of the Senate and the chief clerk
of the House have charge of the furnish
ings of the two houses of Congress and
their respective Office buildings.
Last year Congress gave Supt. Woods
an appropriation of about $4,000, to be
expended in finishing the interior of the
Senate office building, and some $4,000
fer similar work in the House Office
building. With this he has been prose-
cutting his task all summer. In addition
he has all the buildings to clean and
dress up afresh. This means their eX-
teriors as well as their interiors. A fire
engine from the city fire department is
pressed into service, and for several days
the exterior walls. When this semi-an-
nual bath Is completed the Capitol and
it's associate buildings are as bright and
clean as new pins.
X X
ing and decorating to be done. Every
few years the
An Endless Amount of big steel dome
Painting to Be Done. TO, claims a
fresh white dress, and to furnish it Is
no small expense. 1t takes 700 gallons
of white lead to complete this dress of
white paint. Occasionally the Goddess of
Liberty needs new bonnet. The bon
net must be trimmed with platinum
points. These platinum points are good
conductors Of electricity, and the god
dess thus equipped is able to make a
plaything Of every thunderbolt that
comes her way. She breaks them up
into thousands of electrical splinters and
sends them to the ground.
1t is said there are four names chiseled
on the base on which the goddess stands.
The name of Abraham Lincoln was
placed there because he was President
at the time she assumed her high po-
sition. That of Crawford is there be-
cause he was the sculptor. Meigs' name
is there because he was superintendent
of construction when the dome was built.
These names were all put there in the
ordinary way Of sculptors But Rigger
Ports, who placed the goddess in po-
sition, and who was assigned the task
of adjusting her bonnet and otherwise
acting as her body-servant. chiseled his
name there too. Ports died only about
two weeks ago.
In each room of the Capitol and the
two Office buildings every piece of fur
niture must be newly polished, every
window examined, every door investi-
gated and thousand details looked
after SO as to insure perfect condition
when Congress arrives. The buildings
making up the Capitol group house a
population of some $500 souls, and it
will be realized that the task of pre-
pairing for the annual visitation is vast
one. Every autumn before Congress
comes a laboratory examination of the
air in the Senate and House chambers
is made The officials of the public
health and marine hospital service as
sist Supt. Woods in making these exam
nations.
The air in the two chambers often
works some unexplainable tricks. Re-
peated tests have shown that the purest
air In the Senate chamber finds Its
abiding place around the dias of the
Vice President. On the other hand, the
worst air in the whole House of Repre-
sentatives is down in the well around
the Speakers chair. 1t is thought that
the frequent swinging to and fro Of
the doors of the House may partially
account for this. and that the cross cur
rents caused thereby cause back-up
of contaminated air in the vicinity OF
the Speaker.
The sergeant-at-arms of the Senate,
Col. Dan Ransdell, who wears an arm
less sleeve in
Senate Clean as Pin testimony of
Weeks in Advance. his conntrv
begins his spring cleaning just as soon
as he says goodbye to the last depart
ing Senator. He plans to have the last
of his work done at least three weeks
before the Senate comes back, and his
men never fail him. Just as soon as
the Senate leaves he has every carpet
taken up and carried to the cleaners
After being thoroughly cleaned they are
put away in mothproof places to wait
for the time to relay them. Every four
years Col. Ransdell is confronted with
the job of buying new carpet for the
Senate floor. 1t takes go yards, and
every big carpet merchant in the coun-
try wants to furnish it. They send their
representatives to the Capitol, where they
study the color scheme and plan de-
sign which will harmonize with the
chamber in every way. After they have
mapped out their designs and submitted
them, Col. Ransdell calls upon his wife
and daughter and other women of good
taste who visit the Capitol. and gets
the consensus of opinion of womanly
opinion. Then he decides what carpet
he will take, and 1t always must be a
t1ve-frame Wilton. The carpet selected
Is usually a. green one. The House
requires more than double as much carpet
as the Senate and it does not wear so
long.
For years the sergeant-at-arms of the
Senate and the chief clerk of the House
have been working in the direction of
standardizing the furniture of the Capi-
toll OF course the furniture IN the two
chambers always has been of harmonious
design, but in the committee rooms the
constant changes that are taking place
have resulted in furniture of many kinds
and styles. Walnut. oak, maple, mahos-
any, rosewood and cherry all might be
found in the furniture of a single room
and most inharmonious effect was the
result. Many of the older senators be-
came greatly attached to some old piece,
and were loath to part with it, even for
harmonys sake. Now when new furni-
ture is added it is always of the best
mahogany
There is almost an endless amount of
furniture in the many hundred rooms of