The Holbrook news., 1911-01-27
PAINT THE CAPITOL
Old Coats Removed and Joh Is
 Costing $30o,O0o.
York of Restoration Reveals the Orig. lnal Sandstone-Statuary Hall Getting Big Share of the
 General Renovation.


 like Trojans to restore portion of the great edifce to the condition in which it's builders left it, and in which they supposed and intended that it should endure
 Magnificent statuary hall is filled with spidery trellis from floor to lofty ceiling, and workmen are climb ing on and over it with recklessness characteristic of artisans who toll on lofty places.
 Litter of plaster and paint removed from places which were never intend ed to be covered with those materials floors, but amid it all the irrepressible tourist strays as of yore.
 Many persons who have learned of the restoration work in progress know little of the causes which led up to it and made it necessary.
 According to Elliott Woods, the su- perintendent of the capitol building and grounds, the builders of the cap itol intended that it should be of stone, and efforts were made to secure an adequate supply. In those days  to encourage the opening of large quarries. but after some search a con siderable deposit of Potomac lime stone was found on Aquia Creek. about forty miles below the city of Washington.
 This quarry was opened, and from 1t came the stone used in the cap itol. Because of the difficulty in get ting enough men to quarry and cut the stone, however, it was impossible, apparently, to get out enough of it to make it possible to use no other ma terial in the construction of the cap itol, so considerable quantity of brick was used in the construction of interior walls.
 This brick was covered with plaster and colored to initiate the sandstone.
 Injury Caused by Dampness.
 Anyone who has looked at one of the old prints of the capitol will .recol- lect, doubtless, that it was surmount- ed by a cup-shaped wooden dome, open to the sky.
 After the lapse of some years it was lOQDQ lncl lAS SdnQ0lOAC Ol WnlCA lIC building was constructed was very susceptible to moisture, and that there was great danger of its disin- tegration from the dampness. which entered freely through the open dome
 The walls of the rotunda, ornament ed with paintings and decorations, sweated continually. and there was much discussion as to what ought to be done to effect remedy.
 At length it was decided to apply several coats of paint to the sand stone to protect it from the effects of the weather. This was done, as near ly as the oldest inhabitant can recol- lect, about eighty years ago.
 Later, as everyone knows, an iron dome was put on. but the paint was allowed to remain on the sandstone walls of the interior, and from time to time the walls were cleaned and fresh coats of paint were applied.
 The exterior, of course, had to be | treated in that manner because it | was even more exposed to the ele- ments than the walls, which were ex- posed because of the open dome
 The wings of the capital are more modern than the central portion, and | hey are constructed of marble, which | suffers comparatively little from mois- -ure, as they have been left in their | natural condition.
 Some day, if congress gets in lib sral mood. it may decree that the cen -ral portion of the building shall be aced with marble to match the new sr portions. As it is, the original might as well have been made of brick and stucco as far as appearances and durability are con ,erned.
 After considerable discussion, ex- pert and otherwise, extending over a period of several years, congress finally authorized the restoration of he interior of the building, and tart was made on it two years ago.
 Something was done last year also, md the exposure of the sandstone walls in their natural soft, buff tin5s eemed sufficient justification for the of the work
 This year the work is being car jed still further, and under the di- ection of the superintendent, with he advice of the consulting archi- ects, Washington artisans and ar- ists are busy removing some fifty oats of paint to get down to the original sandstone, and removing plaster which has been ir place for lmost one hundred years. revealing he original patchwork. which will be gain covered with a cement mortar ,r stucco finished in close imitation if sandstone.
 Didn't Know They Were Stone.
 Everyone who ever entered the western portals will remember the ,reat stairway with the massive sides if solid stone taking the place of the handrail or balustrade-on me would hardly have thought that hev were stone