Evening star., 1935-04-28
Housekeeping at the Capitol
BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN.

which are of heroic size-was begin
nlng TO threaten the tension Of the
floor. So a concurrent resolution,
passed by the 500 miStresses of the
Capitol housekeeper, directed that
other standing room be found for one
OF any two State heroes occupying
space in Statuary Hall.
II was quite job, especially as
some Of these gentlemen weigh a ton
or more, to shepherd them safely to
other quarters. And, net long after
the thing started, in came Hannibal
Hamlin from Maine and Caesar Rod
ney and John M. Clayton from Della
ware, looking for parking space from
now on. All of these arrangements
had to be carried out by the house.
keeper of the Capitol with tact and
diplomacy, due attention being given
as to which hero should be left in
Statuary Hall and which should be
led out to stand in a draughty cor
ridor
In addition TO the heroic statues Of
the State representatives, there are
a great many busts Of Presidents Of
the Senate. Speakers Of the House,
Presidents Of the United States, JUS
tices Of the Supreme Court and other
dignitaries which occupy inches in
the Capitol walls. These must be
tenderly cared for by the Capitol
housekeeper, busted and all that.
Duties and Cares Are Manifold.
A more important care probably is
that of the paintings. There are hun
dreds of paintings of high artistic
value and of higher historic worth
adorning the walls of the Capitol.
Every tourist to Washington stands
before the great canvases on the walls
Ct the rotunda and these huge paint
ings have become principal lares and
penates of the Capitol They must
be periodically washed and, OCCASION
ally, restored. This all comes under
the responsibility Of the architect
Powell's Discovery of the Mississippi"
Chapman's Baptism of Pocahontas"
and Weirs 'Embarkation Of the Pill
grims" were the last ones to be cleaned
and that was back in 1888. For the
last 10 years all of these great paint
lrgs have been undergoing cleaning
and restoration and the work Is due
10 be completed this year.
In addition to these matters, there
are thousand other details Of house
cleaning and maintenance. There
are the elevators, for instance, the
cables of which must be overhauled
frequently, lest one fall with some
portly statesman or become jamned
between floors containing the making
of a quorum. The elaborate heating
system of this vast rambling struc-
ture must be maintained. The win
COWS must be washed, the floors
cleaned, and. as a relatively new
worry, the conditioning system
kept in perfect shape 1t takes three
shifts Of men to keep the heating
and Ventilating systems going.
But the Capitol proper is but q
part of the responsibilities Of the
architect of the Capitol. He oversees
the Supreme Court Building, a struc-
tUre of enormous size; the Senate
and House Office Buildings. the
Library Of Congress. the Botanic
Gardens-now occupying a new ST.
100000 structure. the District OF CO.
lumbia Court House. the Columbia
Hospital and the Court Of Claims.
Mr.. Lynn. as housekeeper. has the
help of some 800 assistants from arch
itects, artists and engineers to porters
and charW omen and, during the ses-
SionS, utilizes the services Of some
300 temporary workers. He has an
expense account for all this work
of scores of thousands of dollars but,
With all of these advantages, his task
is not an enviable one.