Evening star., 1937-01-16

OF congress on CdlptOl hill WCuio
give the cautious Mr.. White todayl
Curbed, perhaps, by the criticism in
1900 that the White House and Capt.
tol were much too extravagant, more
so than any palace in Europe" that
they were built in "extravagant style
and that gentlemen blushed on ac-
count of the magnificence displayed"
Congress took no steps to accommo-
date the homeless court until, the
day following the mild suggestion Of
the District Commissioner, the Senate
resolved that 1.-THE Secretary be di-
rected to inform the Commissioners
of the City of Washington to use one
of the rooms on the first floor OF the
Capitol for holding the present ses-
sion of the Supreme Court OF the
United States"
THIS later led to some confusion in
l. the mind of the public attempting
to locate the first Supreme Court room.
for claims were made in some quarters
that the present law library in the
Capitol Building provided the courts
first quarters. This is not the case.
The law library occupies, as matter
of fact. the basement floor Of the Capt.
tol, and the first floor Of the structure
is directly above. The Senate cham
Der was located on the basement moor
on the east side, and this chamber, a
room 48 by 86 feet, was Al feet high,
its gallery occupying the same level
as the first floor of the Capitol and
opening from it. II was small room
on this same first floor that opened
into the Senate gallery that was the
first home of the Supreme Court in
Washington.
This room was then known as the
Senate clerks Office. Today it Is the
private Office of Chesley Jurney,
sergeant at arms Of the United States
Senate. The chamber Is small for
the accommodation of a court, being
only "a feet wide, 30 feet long and 81
feet high, but in these cramped quar-
ters the Supreme Court sat from 1901
to 1908.
1t is a very beautiful room today,
one semi-circular wall containing q
marble fireplace, and with a tall, wide
| window hung in. crimson brocade.
From its ceiling is suspended an
elaborate and magnificent crystal
chandelier.
After 1908, when it was decided to
make some structural changes in the
Senate chamber, the Supreme Court
had to find other quarters temporarily
and moved to q small room on the
west side Of the main floor, just across
the corridor. That room Is now used
as the disbursing Office Of the Senate.
Meanwhile alterations were under
way. A roof was put into the Senate
chamber, on the basement floor, and
q floor laid above that. This cut of
the galleries and formed smaller
chamber, opening from the flrst-door
corridor. The roof Of this upper
chamber was in turn raised and other
structural changes made, for this
chamber was being made ready to ac-
commodate the Senate. On July IS,
Aoeob 2ASo&sACAAt 4AOxlaS OCA oV4A AAc6
written to Latrobe, who was then
architect and surveyor Of public build
ings, suggesting that these alterations
be made, and that the Supreme Court
be accommodated in the lower cham
Der when the Senate moved upstairs
to the new chamber on the first floor.
Something of this sort had to be
done. As early as 1905, the small room
originally occupied by the court on
the first fioor-the present ofiice Of the
sergeant at arms-had become wholly
insufficient. LAtrobe reported. '"The
crowd Of citizens that sometimes at
tend the court and necessarily fill the
passages and vestibules, disturb the
legislative proceedings as we'll" It
was hs who nrst proposed the plan to