The news scimitar. (Memphis, Tenn.) 1907-1926, 1920-02-11
THEHASKINLETTER
THE CAPITALS ARTIST
BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN.

is the office of William Tyler Page,
clerk of the house, who is an old school
fellow of Moberly. and who began his
service in the, capitol as page many
years ago MOberly has made Page
room one of the most attractive and
artistic offices in the entire building
About 10 years ago he restored the
presidents room, back of the senate
chamber. Many of the other rooms III
the capitol have been almost entirely
redecorated by him.
Moberly can point out to you many
interesting things about the great
capitol building which no one else
knows. For example, opposite the en-
trance to the supreme court chamber,
there are two pipe holes in the sand
stone of which the walls are made.
Moberly discovered these when he had
the paint scraped off the walls to show
the stone a few years ago. He Won
dered what the holes had been made
for, and the question was at last an
swered by an old colored man, now
dead who had been about the capitol
ever since the days of Clay and Web
ster. The old darby said that years
ago an old-fashioned, big-bellied wood
stove had stood at that point, and that
the holes had been used for its CHM
ney. He said that Clay and Webster
and some of their colleagues used to
gather about this stove and tell stories
anu CHEW lObdCtt, anu SPIT llb juice
all over the stove 'Jes like anybody
else" He also said that directly under
this stove on the floor below there Was
another stove which was used by the
congressman and senators for culinary
purposes Lacking adequate restaurant
facilities in those days, the legislators
used to buy heefsteaf and pork chops
and broil them themselves between de-
bates.
The variety of the paintings on the
walls Of the old building is something
that few visitors, in their hasty sur
veys ever realize, Brumidi, of course,
is supposed to have done the work, but
as Il matter of fact, no one man in his
lifetime could have done more than
fraction of it. Brumidi had a number
of assistants, and they did about as
they pleased. Some of them were very
good artists and some were very bad
ones. Each apparently painted what
ever he liked to paint. Thus one of
tEese assistants was an enthusiast
about birds. He decided on his own
account that the capitol of the United
states ought to contain some good por-
traits of the native American birds So
ne went out with a shotgun and made
collection of the local aVifauna and
put the likenesses of the birds into his
designs, And he did it wonderfully
well, His basic designs consist of the
usual peculiar curlycews and things
but perching all over these are all sorts
of birds, painted to the very life. A
man who knows birds can identify ev-
cry one or them. And they do not look
hit 9Id fashioned; like so much Of the
capitol painting, They are so real YOU
almost EXPECT some Of them to open
/ their mouths and sing They include
not only a great variety of songsters
| but a lot Of game birds such as rails
woodcock and partridges When he
needed touch of bright color, this
long forgotten artist would throw in A
parrot or a cockatoo for good measure.
HIS paintings are among the most in
teresting in the building. and vet few
visitors ever stop to look at them.
Some other chap who shared in the
work had penchant for carnivorous
ANIMALS and he put in lot of little
nn lHHddureS OF coyotes foxes, wolves, and
WlIdcats But his pictures are aston
ishingly bad All of his creatures look
terociouS. but that Is about all you can
say for them.
| There was, still another artist whose
/ talent ran to smah and dreary land
| Scapes, so he thought At any rate,
| he did lot of them some when he
! was sober and others apparently when
! ne was drunk. In one he has cactus
! pants and spruce trees growing side
! by SIDE, as they never do in nature.
! near a large purple ocean which slopes
, sharply to the left
These are only a few Of the many in.
! teresting things that Moberly pointed
out, but they are all we have room for
MobeIly loves his work and his build
! ing. but he Confesses that sometimes
ne gets discouraged He had hoped 10
see the building decorated as he thinks
u should be decorated before he dies
But he has about given up this hope
| money,