Evening star., 1925-01-25
Capital Sidelights

Som metimes among the wives OF
members of Congress we find one
distinguished in her own right as
well as through the outstanding
ability of her husband elected by his
fellow citizens to represent them in
the Legislative counsels. Such one
Is Mrs. Mora l. Alderman. wife Of
Representative Ernest r. Ackerman
of New Jersey.
Mrs. Ackerman is a poet, and a
book of her verses has just been
published, and is being eagerly read
by the congressional circle.
Representative and Mrs. Alderman
were in Toxic just before the earth
quake and tidal wave wrecked that
city, but Mrs. Ackerman had a pre-
sentiment of impending calamity and
they hastened on their way and were
so miles distant when wild nature
struck. Mrs. Ackerman has written
a poem about this experience, entitled
Heavens Message"
Among other of her poems that
have attracted attention are: The
Soldiers Return" Childhood" Make
Believe" "Memory's Gallery of Pic
lures" THE Measures of Life,
Charm Versus Beauty" Give What
You Have to Some One" LAS Unto
Others" Happiness Makers" and
Sunset Picture"
Visitors at the Caption these days
are having a chance to Zee a very
difficult feat of art mechanics per-
formed Under the supervision OF
! Charles E. Fairman, curator of art
works in the Capitol for the last 16
years. one of the big historical paint
,ngs in the rotunda, THE Baptism OF
| Pocahontas," is being refined by
| Charles E. Moberly, painter and dec
| orator and designer, who has been
working on the decoration of the
Capitol Building for more than sc
years.
This great paintin e was ordered by
| the Congress in 1887, and was put in
place in 1912. 1t was refined in 1883
| by II. n. Barlow. Some months ago
| IT was discovered that the old canvas
back \on this picture was in a fiimsy
| condition and that soon there would
be nothing left but the painted sur
| face.
Acting under instruction from
| David Lynn, architect OF the Capitol
! Mr.. Fairman wrote all over the
| United States trying to procure a
| suitable canvas for refining, and was
| unable to do so. He had to send 10
| Brussels, where he got just what he
wanted-18 feet 4 inches by IL feet
| 4 inches. This was secured through
personal representative of the State
Department in Brussels.
| 1t will be cemented to the back OF
| the picture, this cement having been
| in use for many years in fastening
| paintings TO plaster walls and known
| to be effective.
THE Baptism OF Pocahontas" was
painted by John Gadsby Chapman, a
! native of Alexandria, Va, who was
| paid $4,000. John Trumbull, who
was an aide-de-camp to George
| Washington in the War of Indepen-
| 6ence, and who studied under Ben
| jamin West, painted the first four
| of the great historical pictures for
the rotunda Of the Capitol-"Si gnin 6
the Declaration Of independence, Sur
| render of Gen. Burgoyne," Surrender
| of CORVALLIS" and Washington Re-
| signing His Commission
| Congress was undecided for some
/ time as to how to fill in the other
| four inches, and finally decided to
| give commissions for the other four
Chapman studied art in Italy and
| later painted in New York. where he
|
| tury Club. He was elected a full mem
ber of the Academy of Design in 1895.
| He was interested in wood engrav-
! ing and became a teacher in this
| branch of art. He was also an etcher
! of note, and produced many etchings
! from original designs, among them
| being: Return From the Vontage' ''
"A Monk Asking Aims" italian Goat
herds" The Cleaner" "A View on
the Campagna" and "Maswaddox
| Creek, Eastern Shore. Md"
Mr.. Chapman furnished the illustra
| tions for the Harper's Bible, and was
| the author of a drawing book said to
be the best of its kind in the English
| language, and which passed through
many editions in this country and
Great Britain. Among his paintings
| are: Sunset on the Campagna,f
1 "Etruscan Girl" Vintage Scene
| Last Arrow" and Valley of Mexico
In 1S4s he went to Rome a second
time and resided in Rome until 1878
He died in Brooklyn, n. Y, July 6
1890
| Members of the House Distric
committee, having jurisdiction over
| Legislation affecting the Nationa
Capital had an opportunity during
! the week to listen in on an interest
| Ing debate between two former dis
| trict judges, Representative RALPH
Gilbert, Kentucky. and Representativ,
| Thomas l.. Blanton, Texas, on tn,
| legislative ethics of one man settins
up his own Judgment against hi!
| fellows after a fair hearing on tn,
| case in question had been had
When the secretary of the Ameri
can Society of Architects was befor,
the House committee on public build
ings and grounds urging that in tht
$150,000,0o0 public buildings program
| under consideration, the best archi
tectural talent OF the country shoulC
be employed so that this countr,
might build up for posterity suel
| noble examples of the esthetic sid
Of architecture as were left by ancie n
| Rome and Greece he ran plumb I'll
| against cold stone wall.
Members of the committee made i
plain that they were much more in
| terested in having a suitable work
shop for Uncle Sam than in givin,
an ambitious architect an opportunit,
to design memorial, and Repre-
sentative Miller said: when we ha,
a great post Office building erected il
Chicago and one of the great archi
tects of the country was engaged f
design 1t, we found, after the build
ing was almost finished, that tn
architect had been so much intereste,
! in designing beautiful structur
| that he had entirely overlooked pro
viding a. way to get the mail int,
the post office building"
X X
| Congress was treated to a wor,
picture of how lie travels the othe
day and the description has beel
preserved for posterity in the Con
gressiona1 Record. Representative
John N. Tillman of Arkansas i
author of the following:
l THE short and ugly word move