Evening star., 1934-07-22

this Capital of ours has cost us
since the beginning and l find
that the amount is over 500 ,00O.-
600. The subject was investigated
by Congress in 1876. The total at that
time was a cost of over $94 900 ,00C
and since then more than SIS 500 ,OOO
have been spent for public buildings
alone. The amount paid out for works
of art, park decoration and other
things will run the total far ahead
Of the amount above stated.
1t is interesting to look over the
items of permanent improvement IN
washington. These include the orig
inal cost of the buildings, and theil
repairs, furnishing and maintenance
The following estimate, though not
exactly correct, is approximately so.
1t is less rather than greater than the
actual cost, some of the minor ex-
penses during the past seven years
being omitted.
The Capitol has cost $17,672, 1913;
the Patent Office over $4,000, 900; the
Treasury about S7,2000o0; the Wash
ington streets more than $4,000 900;
the State Department about $1,000
900: the White House, two parks and
public grounds about $4,000 the
| Botanic Garden over 100000; the
Post Office Department over ST.
100000 and works of art, painting and
statuary $700, 900 and more.
Seven hundred thousand dollars for
works of art may seem good deal
to a Western Reserve farmer, but
there are many paintings in the gal
lerieS Of Europe which could not be
purchased for twice that sum. AL OF
this money, however, does not go for
works of art, in the true sense of the
word. One hundred and twenty five
thousand dollars of it was paid for
the Corcoran Art Gallery Building.
This money was given to Mr.. Corcoran
as rent for the use of his building
during the war. Corcoran had de-
signed it as an art gallery and it was
completed at the opening Of the war.
No works of art, however, had been
put in it, and so the Government
seized the building. Corcoran sued
for its rent and was granted $l25,000
on condition he should apply the
money to the endowment Of the gal
lery.
AS to other art expense, any one
who has visited the Capital knows
that the paintings and statues have
been chosen more because of the
efforts of lobbyists rather than be-
cause of the judgment Of competent
art critics. Buying the naked Wash
ington in front of the Capitol, at a
cost of $42,170, was worse than
throwing money away. The same may
be said of the parody on President
Lincoln tor which Winnie Ream per-
suaded Congress to pay her $4,000,
There are other statues. however,
which are better. The Scott Statue
in the Northwest is good. 1t cost
$1,000. Clark Mills statue of Jack
son opposite the White House cost
$28, ,422, while the groups of statuary
on the front of the Capitol cost more
than $4,000. 1t is said that these
last would not bring in the italian
market more than the cost of the
marble Of which they are made.
The historical paintings in the
rotunda of the Capitol by Trumbull
cost $4,000. They are not worth
much as works of art, but are valua-
BILE as being actual portraits of many
of the men represented. These port
traits now look fresh and new. A
Washington artist has just retouched
them and has transformed those
which were cracking with age to new
canvaSeS. I have an idea that they
look better now than they ever did
before
Each of these old pictures has a
history. The faces Of the women in
the older ones were taken from sit
tings of famous society bellies who
reigned in the days when they
/ were painted. This Summer several
Of the descendants Of the people thus
portrayed have been here looking at
their ancestors. and I know of one
case where a pretty girl came to see
how her young grandmother, once a
famous Philadelphia belle, looked in
her historical setting.
Many noted woman and many
not so noted have thus had them
selves preserved at the expense of the
Government and the generosity of
I the artist The head of Liberty on
the silver coin now used was, I am
( told, taken from the head Of a Phila-
I delphia maiden, and it was not long