Evening star., 1914-01-25

subject of many scientific discussions.
The Rambler recalls that in 1905-in Sep
ternber-the Scientific American published
an article in which 1t was said that the
famous and curious features Of the
whispering gallery Of the old House OF
Representatives, now Statuary Hall, have
been destroyed unintentionally" that the
old ceiling was replaced by a new one;
that the new was made as accurately as
possible from measurements Of the old
one. but that notwithstanding this care
the whispering gallery properties Of the
room almost disappeared, and this fact
was cited as another mystery Of acous-
tics and as proof of the possibility of pre-
dieting such phenomena.
The writer continued.
so far from being a mystery or a
disproof of the accuracy of the scientific
considerations in dealing with architec-
tural acoustics, this disappearance Of
the whispering gallery is exactly the op-
posite and was predicted by the writer
two years before in the American Die
tionary of Architecture. Whispering gal
leries are usually accidental, but may be
predetermined. One sound diverg1ng
from the source is received upon some
concave rejecting surface and concen-
trated again at the con3ugate focus.
Statudry Hail Is one OF the nOSI dCCoS-
sible and best examples of this type. The
ceiling is a considerable portion of the
surface of a sphere whose center is near
the floor. Standing at the center OF this
sphere one can hear his own whisper re-
turned to him. Standing at one side of
this point he can whisper If he turns his
face toward the ceiling to a person stand
ing at a great distance on the other side
OF the center. For any position of the
speaker there is corresponding point
.,l. y, 1ocf f<-
cussed. The ceiling was painted SO that
it appeared deeply paneled, and had 1t
been paneled the reflection would have
been irregular and the effect much re-
duced. The most accurate form for a
whispering gallery is that in which the
tion of the surface of an ellipsoid that has
for its foci the two points between which
there is communication
The new ceiling differed from the old in
it is of plaster with iron supports, and
part of the design in the old cei ing which
was but painted was copied in relief in
the new The result was that it deterio-
rated a whispering gallery.
1t might be possible to tell interesting
stories about every one of the statues in
Statuary Hall. Perhaps Mr.. Fairman Of
the Office of the superintendent, who
knows all about the art subjects OF the
Capitol. could do it. There is one statue,
interesting story. 1t is that Of the bronze
Jefferson. A guide book of Washington
published in 1s45 has this information:
In front of the Presidents house,
garden. elevated on pedestal.
is bronze statue of Jefferson. the same
that formerly occupied the center of the
rotunda of the Capitol"
1t was in 1884 that Uriah P. Levy. a
lieutenant in the United States Navy.
sought to present to the American peo-
pie through Congress "a colossal bronze
statue of Thomas Jefferson, author Of the
Declaration Of Independence" which. in
the words of the donor, was executed
under my eye in Paris by the celebrated
David and Honore Genon. and much ad-
mired for its likeness to the great orig
inal as well as for the plain republican
simplicity of the whole design"
In the same year-1S34-Representa
Asher Robbins reported from the joint
committee on the library that they had
received from Lieut. Levy the statue and
that 1t be placed in the cen
ter of the square on the eastern front OF
the Capitol"
Congress discussed the matter at length
and declined to accept the statue, hold
ing that the government could not accept
a gift from one of Its servants, Mr.. Levy
being an officer in the navy. Pending ac-
ton on the matter the statue had been
set up in the center of the rotunda-which
was before the present iron dome was
built; and when Congress refused to ac-
cept the statue 1t was set up In the 'front.'
yard of the White House, during the ad-
of President Pierce.
The matter was brought to the atten-
ton of Congress in 1874 by Senator justin
D. Morrill,. Jonas P. Levy, brother of
Uriah P. Levy, having asked that either
the statue BE accepted or returned. Con-
gress accepted the statue, and 1t was
removed from the White House grounds
and set up in Statuary Hall.