The Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 188?-1913, 1911-03-09


s.na,e Chamber and It's Furnish
i,g---a Visit To the Navy Yard
uox the Zig Guns for the shir~
Are Made.
CONTINUED from last week.
~. then vent 10 the Senate Cham
hs~ The Senate Chamber is a spa
,,ous hall, 113 feet IN length. s. feet
z..de. and lighted By ceiling IS feet
.h,ye the floor. The seats of the
Senator's are arranged in concentric
rows. with the aisles radfating from
,te dias OF the Presidents desk on
the north side. On the right Of the
Presidents chair is that Of the Scar
gept-at-Arms, on the left that OF the
Assistant Door-keeper. and in front
arc the desks OF the clerks and off,
rfsl reporters. The room Is sur
-guuted by galleries, from which
one might watch the proceedings.
The walls are richly decorated in
cold arabesques on delicate tints.
uaacls; and the glass of the ceiling
Is filed with symbolisms OF War,
Peace, Union, Progress, the Arts.
Sciences and Industries. In wall
inches around the galleries are mar
bic busts OF the Vice Presidents.
presidents OF the Senate). and the
series is continued all around and in
various places in the halls. In the
main corridor are portraits by Stu
art. OF Washington and John Adams.
The mahogany hall clock has been in
the Capitol since 1902. It's seven
teen stars were for the seventeen
States then constituting the Union,
the last star being for Ohio, admit
ted in 1902.
The rooms connected with the
chamber are notable for richness of
material of construction and adorn-
ment. They are the Presidents room,
Vice Presidents room, Senators re-
ception room, public reception room,
and room of the Committee on the
District of Columbia.
The room of the President of the
United States is set apart for the use
of the President on his visits TO the
Capitol, and is one to which he comes
in the closing hour of each session
TO sign the last bills before the adj
jcurnment 1t is decorated with
portraits of President Washington
and his first Cabinet.
We next decided to go to the Navy
Yard. The Navy Yard is not ship
building establishment, but an ordi-
nance factory, we find when we pass
4 through the arched entrance of the
i Washington Navy Yard, and We are
likely TO be disappointed if we ex-
pect to find one of the armored ships
of the White Squadron at anchor in
the eastern branch. But there are
guns to study, ancient relics of the
of the old Navy, and new guns here
making for the equipment of the
new navy of to-day. The trophies
meet US at the entrance. Just with
in the gate We find two bronze can
Hons, which Capt. Stephen Decatur
took from the Tripolitans, August 3,
1904. Further down the avenue is
the famous Long Tom.
In the gun shop may be seen one
OF the most impressive exhibitions
on this continent of machinery in
operation. Here are the great lathes.
turning, boring, and rif1ing the steel
breech-loading rifles, ranging from
the finch caliber to that of 13-inch
caliber, which is SO feet, II inches
IN length, weighs 65 tons, and car
RES a projectile Of LOO pounds
with range of Is miles. The cali
bers are 4, 5, 6. 8, 10, II and La
inches; and their ranges correspond
4, 5, s, s. 10, IL and 13 miles.
The guns are forged at Beth1e
hem, Pa, and are brought here il
a rough state to be finished. Eacf
gun consists Of central steel tube
its jacket and hoops also of steel
The jacket and hoops are shrunl
upon the tube, i. e., are fitted on t.
it when expanded by heat, and thei
shrunk by cooling, just as the tire il
shrunk en- a wagon wheel. All tn
successive processes we witnessed
the boring OF the jacket cylinder
trimming down the tube to fit tn
jacket, sand fitting the heated JACKIE
upon he tube; boring the hoops
trimming the jacket to fit the hoops
and fitting the heated hoops upol
the jacket. As the jacket cools
shrinks upon the tube as compactl
as if the jacket and the tube wer
one solid piece, and the hoops il
turn becomes a part of the jacket
The gun, thus built up of separat
layers Of steel, is product which il
practice proves to possess create
strength than a gun forged. Tn
gun, Weighing so odd tons, is carrie
of by the powerful crane to the ban
rel-boring lathes, where the barre
and chamber ora horod ont. ON