Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1939-09-17
Capital SideIights
Bu viii P. Kennedy


nary session Thursday will find the Cap
itol and the Senate and House Office
Buildings in "shipshape" despite the
short period in which the supervising
architects Office has had since adjourn
ment of the regular session in August to
give the buildings an annual overhauling.
Only the foresight of David Lynn, SUI
staff, has made this possible. Disturb
ing conditions in Europe at the time of
the adjournment of the regular session in
August, served as sufficient warning that
Congress might come back before the
next regular session in January So two
days after the last session ended, Mr.
Lynn turned his corps of carpenters,
painters and electricians loose in the
Capitol and Office buildings.
These men have been forced to accum-
ulate some overtime in the past few days,
but Mr.. Lynn said virtually every repair
and repainting job on his schedule will
be completed Tuesday with the exception
of the reconditioning of the exterior of
the central part of the Capitol and the
dome. This work. however will not in
any way interfere with activities of mem
bers of Congress
Chambers of both the House and Sem
ate have been reprinted as well as the
adjoining cloakrooms Offices of num-
Der of members also have been given
fresh coat of paint Even the walls and
ceilings in the Capitol itself have been
washed. Every elevator has been over
hauled and all dead electric bulbs have
been replaced.
The biggest job on Mr.. Lynn's recon-
ditioning program-painting of the Cap
itol dome and the exterior of the central
portion of the building-will not be COM
pleted for three weeks. This job is usu-
ally undertaken every four years, and
takes about 10 weeks. The cost. amount
ing to about $4,000. covers wages of the
painters and $500 gallons of paint.
No paint will be applied to the Goddess
OF Freedom atop the dome, but she is to
be given busting off" as part of her
beauty treatment. Formerly she got
soap-and-water bath. but that will not
be done this time because scrubbing does
not work so we'll with the verdigris de-
posts on the statue.
The platinum tips on the feathered
helmet of the goddess which serve as
part of lightning rod sytem, also will
be removed for checking and repairing.
These tips are the only points on the
Capitol ever struck by lightning and the
intense heat of the bolts from the heav-
ems often melt them.
Representative Cartwright, Democrat,
OF Oklahoma, in reminiscent mood, re-
Gently recalled the last time he saw alive
his old friend, Will Rogers, the cowboy
humorist and sage of Claremore.
I was going through Statuary Hall in
the Capitol on my way from the House
to the Senate chamber" he said, land I
espied Will Rogers wandering among the
statues
What are you doing here?" Mr.. Cart
wright asked.
WELL drawled the humorist II went
over to see the Vice President John
Nance Garner) and a clerk told me
could see him all right but he was asleep.
81 have orders not to wake him until
3 o'clock the clerk told me, so I said
I don't want to see him asleep. I'll come
back at g."
The most used and perhaps abused
place in the old House ONCE Building Is
Room 800.
Some years ago when Thomas L. Blan-
ton OF Texas was member of the House,
he used Room 800 as a private office-a
hideaway when he had important work
to do and didn't want to be disturbed.
Later, when Mr.. Blanton failed to come
back to Congress, Representative Howard
w. Smith of Virginia often used it for
the same purpose.
Last year Room 300 was assigned to
former Representative David Lewis of
Maryland as a headquarters during his
Inflated campaign for the seat of Senator
Tydings in the Senate.
And now it is being used as an impro-
vised press room for newspaper corre-
spondents covering" the investigation of
un-American activities by the Dies COM
mittee.