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diff --git a/old/52202-0.txt b/old/52202-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index e1f6d99..0000000 --- a/old/52202-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,6150 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Washington, its sights and insights 1909, by -Harriet Earhart Monroe - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: Washington, its sights and insights 1909 - -Author: Harriet Earhart Monroe - -Release Date: May 31, 2016 [EBook #52202] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WASHINGTON, SIGHTS AND INSIGHTS, 1909 *** - - - - -Produced by Richard Tonsing and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was -produced from images generously made available by The -Internet Archive) - - - - - - -[Illustration: - - Photo by Pach Bros., New York - - PRESIDENT TAFT -] - - - - - _Washington_ - _ITS SIGHTS AND INSIGHTS_ - - - BY - - MRS. HARRIET EARHART MONROE - - _Author of "The Art of Conversation," "The Heroine of the Mining - Camp," "Historical Lutheranism," etc._ - - _NEW AND REVISED EDITION_ - -[Illustration] - - FUNK & WAGNALLS COMPANY - NEW YORK AND LONDON - 1909 - - - - - COPYRIGHT, 1903 AND 1909, BY - HARRIET EARHART MONROE - [_Printed in the United States of America_] - Revised Edition Published September, 1909 - - - - - CONTENTS - - - PAGE - - I. The City of Washington 1 - - II. A Genius from France 4 - - III. The Capitol Building 12 - - IV. Interior of the Capitol 17 - - V. The Rotunda 21 - - VI. Concerning Some of the Art at the Capitol 26 - - VII. The Senate Chamber 33 - - VIII. The House of Representatives 40 - - IX. Concerning Representatives 46 - - X. The Supreme Court Room 53 - - XI. Incidents Concerning Members of the Supreme Court of the 58 - United States - - XII. Teaching Patriotism in the Capitol 67 - - XIII. People in the Departments 73 - - XIV. Incidents In and Out of the Departments 80 - - XV. Treasury Department 84 - - XVI. Secret Service Department of the Treasury of the United 92 - States - - XVII. Post-Office Department 100 - - XVIII. Department of Agriculture 105 - - XIX. Department of Chemistry on Pure Foods 109 - - XX. Department of the Interior 114 - - XXI. Branches of the Department of the Interior 121 - - XXII. Bureau of Indian Affairs 126 - - XXIII. The Library of Congress 131 - - - XXIV. The Pension Office 138 - - XXV. State, War, and Navy Departments 146 - - XXVI. State, War, and Navy Departments (_Cont'd_) 155 - - XXVII. Department of Commerce 161 - - XXVIII. The Executive Mansion 166 - - XXIX. Interests in Washington Which Can Not Here be Fully 179 - Described - - - - - ILLUSTRATIONS - - - PAGE - - President Taft _Frontispiece_ - - Bird's-eye View of Washington, Looking East _Between_ 4 _and_ 5 - from the Monument - - Bird's-eye View of Washington, Looking Down _Between_ 8 _and_ 9 - the Potomac from the Monument - - The Capitol _Between_ 12 _and_ 13 - - Plan of the Principal Floor of the Capitol 15 - - Brumidi Frieze in Rotunda 22 - - Brumidi Frieze in Rotunda 23 - - The First Reading of the Emancipation 27 - Proclamation - - The Mace 41 - - The Speaker's Room 42 - - GROUP I _Between_ 48 _and_ 49 - - Statuary Hall - - "Westward Ho!" - - Washington Declining Overtures from - Cornwallis - - The Senate Chamber - - Some Prominent Senators - - The House of Representatives in Session - - Some Prominent Representatives - - New House Office Building - - - Seating Plan of the Supreme Court Chamber 54 - - GROUP II _Between_ 80 _and_ 81 - - Justices of the Supreme Court - - The Supreme Court Room - - The Treasury Building - - New Municipal Building - - Government Printing Office - - New Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, Union - Station - - The Smithsonian Institution - - The New National Museum - - Macerating $10,000,000 of Money 88 - - The Patent Office 114 - - GROUP III _Between_ 128 _and_ 129 - - The Bureau of Indian Affairs - - The Congressional Library - - Grand Stairway of the Congressional - Library - - The Rotunda (Reading-room) of the - Congressional Library - - The Pension Office - - The State, War, and Navy Departments - - The German Embassy - - The British Embassy - - The New French Embassy - - The Russian Embassy - - One of the Bronze Doors of the Congressional 133 - Library - - The Declaration of Independence 148 - - - Fish Commission Building 163 - - Mrs William H. Taft 166 - - GROUP IV _Between_ 176 _and_ 177 - - The President and Cabinet - - Entrance to the White House - - New Wing of the White House - - South Front of the White House - - North Front of the White House - - Grand Corridor—White House - - State Dining-room—White House - - Mount Vernon—From South Lawn - - Tomb of Washington—Mount Vernon - - Home of General Lee - - Monument to the Unknown Dead, Arlington - National Cemetery - - The Washington Monument - - Charlotte Corday 181 - - - - - WASHINGTON - - _ITS SIGHTS AND INSIGHTS_ - - - - - I - THE CITY OF WASHINGTON - - -THE CITY OF WASHINGTON is the central point of interest of that stage on -which is being performed the second century act in the great drama of -self-government. - -The actors here are the representatives of 85,000,000 of people. The -spectators are all the peoples of the world, to be succeeded by those of -all future ages. - -If this experiment in self-government should fail, all other republics -will surely perish; but we believe that the Republic of the United -States of America has taken its place as a fixed star in the galaxy of -great nations, and that the stars on its flag will not be dimmed till -dimmed in the blaze of humanity's millennium. Therefore, the actors and -the buildings of this great city, which are parts of the _dramatis -personæ_ and the furniture of the stage, can not fail to be interesting -to any child of the republic. - - * * * * * - -Baron Humboldt, in 1804, when standing on the west balcony of the -Capitol building, said: "This point gives the most beautiful view of its -type in the world." - -Senator Sumner said: "The City of Washington is more beautiful than -ancient Rome." - -Besides what one can behold of the great city from that point, across -the Potomac can be seen the heights of Arlington, where sleep so many of -the sacred dead of the nation. - -The place is also famed as having been the home of Robert E. Lee, noted -in early days for a generous Southern hospitality. If walls could speak, -what thrilling stories of chivalrous men and fair women could be there -heard! - -On the south of Washington, in plain view, lies the quaint old town of -Alexandria, where Ellsworth was killed, while far to the north is Howard -University, used chiefly for the education of colored people—the one the -type of the departing past, the other the emblem of the possibilities of -a coming hopeful future. - -Washington is the only city in the world built exclusively to serve as a -capital. Just after the Revolution, Congress, sitting in Philadelphia, -was grossly insulted by the unpaid returning troops, against whom the -city offered no adequate protection. Congress then adjourned to the -collegiate halls of Princeton, where resolutions were offered to erect -buildings for the exclusive use of Congress, either on the Delaware -River or on the Potomac River. - -Several States were applicants for the permanent seat of government, but -diplomacy and a good dinner settled the question in favor of its present -site. - -We are apt to think everything was done in _that_ day on the high plane -of patriotism, but prejudice, provincialism, and avarice each played its -part. - -Hamilton was desirous of having his treasury policy adopted. The North -favored this policy, but the representatives from that section, -accustomed to the comforts of New York and Philadelphia, had no -inclination to establish the Capitol on a swampy Southern plantation, -away from the usual lines of travel. - -Washington was with the South. Jefferson gave a great dinner, where, -under the influence of rare old wine and the witching words of Hamilton, -Northern ease, in exchange for Southern consent to the treasury policy, -gave way to the Southern desire that the nation's Capitol should be -located in its present position. - -The land was purchased from four planters—Young, Carroll, Davidson, and -David Burns. Mr. Burns was not willing to part with his land at the -rates offered. When Washington remonstrated, the old Scotchman said: "I -suppose, Mr. Washington, you think that people are going to take every -grist that comes from you as pure grain; but who would you have been if -you had not married the widow Custis?" - -Posterity is apt to inquire, Who would ever have heard of the widow -Custis if she had not married George Washington? - -But government had ways, then as now, of bringing about conclusions when -property was wanted for public purposes. - - - - - II - A GENIUS FROM FRANCE - - -AMONG the pathetic figures of the early days of the Capitol City is that -of Major Pierre Charles L'Enfant, who was selected by Washington to -draft plans for the new city. - -L'Enfant was a skilful engineer who had come to America with Lafayette -in 1777. He did not go back to France with his countrymen in 1783, but -remained in this country, and was employed by Washington as an engineer -in several places. - -He devoted the summer of 1791 to planning, not the capital of a small -nation, but a city which could be sufficiently enlarged should this -continent be densely populated from the Atlantic to the Pacific. - -There was no other man in this country at that time who had such -knowledge of art and engineering as Major L'Enfant. Plans of -Frankfort-on-the-Main, Carlsruhe, Amsterdam, Paris, Orleans, Turin, -Milan, and other European cities were sent to him from Philadelphia by -Washington, who had obtained the plan of each of these cities by his own -personal effort. - -[Illustration: - - Photo by Clinedinst - - BIRD'S-EYE VIEW OF WASHINGTON, LOOKING EAST FROM THE MONUMENT -] - -Washington himself desired the new city planned somewhat like -Philadelphia, a plain checkerboard, but L'Enfant, while making the -checkerboard style the basis, diversified, beautified, and complicated -the whole by a system of avenues radiating from the Capitol as the -centre and starting-point of the whole system. The streets running east -and west are designated by letters. They are divided into two classes or -sets—those north of the Capitol and those south of it. Thus, the first -street north of the Capitol is A Street North, and the first street -south of it is A Street South, the next is B Street, North or South, as -the case may be, and so on. These distinctions of North, South, East, -and West are most important, as forgetfulness of them is apt to lead to -very great inconvenience. - -The streets are laid off at regular distances from each other, but for -convenience other thoroughfares not laid down in the original plan have -been cut through some of the blocks. These are called "half streets," as -they occur between, and are parallel with, the numbered streets. Thus, -Four-and-a-half Street is between Fourth and Fifth streets, and runs -parallel with them. - -The avenues run diagonally across the city. New Jersey, Pennsylvania, -Maryland, and Delaware avenues intersect at the Capitol, and -Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, and Connecticut avenues intersect at -the President's house. Pennsylvania Avenue is the main thoroughfare. It -is one hundred and sixty feet wide, and extends the entire length of the -city, from the Eastern Branch to Rock Creek, which latter stream -separates Washington from Georgetown. It was originally a swampy -thicket. The bushes were cut away to the desired width soon after the -city was laid off, but few persons cared to settle in the swamp. Through -the exertions of President Jefferson, it was planted with four rows of -fine Lombardy poplars—one on each side and two in the middle—with the -hope of making it equal to the famous Unter den Linden, in Berlin. The -poplars did not grow as well as was hoped, however, and when the avenue -was graded and paved by order of Congress in 1832 and 1833 these trees -were removed. Pennsylvania Avenue is handsomely built up, and contains -some buildings that would do credit to any city. The distance from the -Capitol to the President's house is one mile, and the view from either -point along the avenue is very fine. - -Every circle, triangle, and square dedicated to monuments bears -testimony to the taste of the original design. So little respect, -however, was held for Major L'Enfant's plans that Daniel Carroll, one of -the original owners of the land, was in the act of building a handsome -house right across New Jersey Avenue. L'Enfant ordered it torn down. -This was done, much to the disgust of Carroll and to the indignation of -the commissioners. The government rebuilt the house for Carroll, but was -careful to place it in a more suitable location. The old Duddington -House, on Capitol Hill, was long a landmark of the early Washington -architecture. - -There were some other acts of irritability on the part of L'Enfant, acts -which now show his just appreciation of his own great work. He was paid -$2,500 for his services and dismissed. He believed he should have been -pensioned, as would have been done in Europe. - -Afterward he saw the city expand as the nation grew strong, while he, a -disappointed, poverty-stricken man, wandered, a pathetic figure, about -the Capitol until 1825, when he died. He had lived for years on the -Diggs farm, about eight miles from Washington, and was buried in the -family cemetery in the Diggs garden, and when the dead of that family -were removed his dust was left in an unmarked grave. - -Mr. Corcoran, the great banker of Washington, who died in 1888, said he -remembered L'Enfant as "a rather seedy, stylish old man, with a long -green coat buttoned up to his throat, a bell-crowned hat, a little moody -and lonely, like one wronged." The heart of a stranger in a strange, -ungrateful land. - -The City of Washington is his monument. No one can now rob him of that -honor. Let us hope that he has awakened in His likeness and is -satisfied. - -Could the Colonial Dames or the Daughters of the Revolution do a more -beneficent and popular act than to mark the resting-place of Peter -Charles L'Enfant, who drew the original plans of that city which is to -become the most beautiful city in the world?[1] - -Footnote 1: - - On April 28, 1909, the body of Major L'Enfant was moved to the - National Cemetery, at Arlington, where a suitable memorial will soon - be erected. - -The letters of General Washington abound in references to the difficulty -of obtaining money to fit the new city for capital purposes. Virginia -made a donation of $120,000 and the State of Maryland gave $72,000. -Afterward the latter State was induced to loan $100,000 toward fitting -the city for a capital. - -The City of Washington was officially occupied in June, 1800. Since then -it has been the ward of Congress. Strangers, even at this late day, -often comment on the long distance between the Capitol building and the -Executive Mansion; but Washington strongly impressed upon the mind of -Major L'Enfant that the latter must be at a considerable distance, so -that members of Congress should not fall into the habit of coming too -frequently to call upon the President, and thus waste the time of the -executive head of the nation. - -It is not the purpose in these sketches to dwell too much on the history -of Washington, but rather to make a picture of the city as it is in the -first decade of the twentieth century. A glimpse of it, however, in the -summer of 1814 is really necessary to complete our references to the -early days of the nation's capital. - -In 1814 the city was captured by a small British force under General -Ross, and both wings of the Capitol building, with its library and -almost all the records of the government up to that date, were destroyed -by fire, also the White House, as the Executive Mansion was even then -called, and most of the departments, including the Navy-yard. - -Mrs. Madison, in a letter to her sister, gives a graphic picture of the -time: - - "DEAR SISTER,—My husband left me yesterday morning to join General - Winder. He inquired anxiously whether I had courage or firmness to - remain in the President's house until his return on the morrow or - succeeding day, and on my assurance that I had no fear but for him - and the success of our army, he left me, beseeching me to take care - of myself and of the Cabinet papers, public and private. I have - since received two despatches from him, written with a pencil; the - last is alarming, because he desires that I should be ready at a - moment's warning to enter my carriage and leave the city; that the - enemy seemed stronger than had been reported, and that it might - happen that they would reach the city with intention to destroy it. - -[Illustration: - - Photo by Clinedinst - - BIRD'S-EYE VIEW OF WASHINGTON LOOKING DOWN THE POTOMAC FROM THE - MONUMENT -] - - "... I am accordingly ready; I have pressed as many Cabinet papers - into trunks as to fill one carriage; our private property must be - sacrificed, as it is impossible to procure wagons for its - transportation. I am determined not to go myself until I see Mr. - Madison safe and he can accompany me, as I hear of much hostility - toward him.... Disaffection stalks around us.... My friends and - acquaintances are all gone, even Colonel C., with his hundred men, - who were stationed as a guard in this enclosure.... French John (a - faithful domestic), with his usual activity and resolution, offers - to spike the cannon at the gate and lay a train of powder which - would blow up the British should they enter the house. To the last - proposition I positively object, without being able, however, to - make him understand why all advantages in war may not be taken. - - "Wednesday morning (twelve o'clock).—Since sunrise I have been - turning my spyglass in every direction and watching with unwearied - anxiety, hoping to discover the approach of my dear husband and his - friends; but, alas! I can descry only groups of military wandering - in all directions, as if there was a lack of arms, or of spirit, to - fight for their own firesides. - - "Three o'clock.—Will you believe it, my sister? We have had a - battle, or skirmish, near Bladensburg, and I am still here within - sound of the cannon. Mr. Madison comes not—may God protect him! Two - messengers, covered with dust, come to bid me fly; but I wait for - him.... At this late hour a wagon has been procured; I have had it - filled with the plate and most valuable portable articles belonging - to the house; whether it will reach its destination, the Bank of - Maryland, or fall into the hands of British soldiery, events must - determine. Our kind friend, Mr. Carroll, has come to hasten my - departure, and is in a very bad humor with me because I insist on - waiting until the large picture of General Washington is secured, - and it requires to be unscrewed from the wall. This process was - found too tedious for these perilous moments. I have ordered the - frame to be broken and the canvas taken out; it is done, and the - precious portrait placed in the hands of two gentlemen of New York - for safe-keeping. And now, my dear sister, I must leave this house, - or the retreating army will make me a prisoner in it by filling up - the road I am directed to take. When I shall again write to you, or - where I shall be to-morrow, I can not tell." - -We all know the story of Mrs. Madison's flight, of her return in -disguise to a desolated, burned, ruined home. She would have been -without shelter except for the open door of Mrs. Cutts, her sister, who -lived in the city. From that point she visited the ruins of all the -public buildings while she awaited her husband's return. - -We are apt to think of the White House as a place of teas, receptions, -gayly dressed people, light, music, flowers, and laughter; but it, too, -has seen its tragedies. - -Fifty years after the burning of the city the famous Stuart picture of -Washington, referred to in Mrs. Madison's letter, was retouched and hung -in the East Room, and still constitutes one of the few ornaments of the -Executive Mansion. - -During Mr. Roosevelt's administration (1902-1903) extensive alterations -and additions were made to the Executive building. - -The conservatory, so long an object of enjoyment to the public, was -removed to give place for a long white esplanade on the west, forming -the approach to the Executive offices, while on the east side a white -colonnade now provides a most desirable entrance for large crowds on -public occasions. - -It has been a matter of regret to D. A. R. women, and to all the -patriotic women of the nation, that the portraits of the ladies of the -White House have been remanded to the basement corridors. Here are now -the portraits of Mrs. Van Buren, Mrs. Tyler, Mrs. Polk (presented by -ladies of Tennessee during Mr. Arthur's administration), Mrs. Hayes -(presented by the National Woman's Christian Temperance Union during Mr. -Hayes's term), and Mrs. Benjamin Harrison (presented by the D. A. R.), -and the portrait of Mrs. Roosevelt, by Chartran. - - - - - III - THE CAPITOL BUILDING - - -THE corner-stone of the old Capitol, which constitutes the central -portion of the new edifice, was laid the 18th of September, 1793, by -General Washington, in the presence of a great concourse of people and -with imposing ceremonies. - -The corner-stones of the wings were laid by President Fillmore, July 4, -1851. Webster delivered the oration of the occasion. - -The old building is of yellow sandstone, kept painted white to beautify -and preserve it; the wings are of white marble. On its central portico -all our Presidents, from Andrew Jackson to President McKinley, have -taken the oath of office. President Roosevelt took the oath of office at -Buffalo. This building, which fronts the east, was set in accordance -with the astronomical observations of Andrew Ellicott, an engineer from -Bucks County, Pennsylvania, who succeeded Major L'Enfant as general -surveyor and engineer in the new city. - -Ellicott is described as bearing a marked resemblance to Benjamin -Franklin, except that he was more of a Quaker in appearance, wearing a -long, fine gray broadcloth coat and a Quaker hat. He awaits the -resurrection in an unmarked grave at Ellicott City, Maryland. - -[Illustration: - - Photo by Clinedinst - - THE CAPITOL -] - -The original building was constructed from plans submitted by Stephen -Hallet, the work undergoing some modifications from the plans of Dr. -William Thornton. - -The great wings were added during Fillmore's administration from designs -submitted by Thomas N. Walter, architect, who not only superintended the -building of the additions, but also managed to harmonize them with the -original design. - -Years ago it was quite the fashion for Americans returning from Europe -to make disparaging remarks concerning the Capitol building, but that -spirit seems to have passed away, and the dignity, grace, and beauty of -its architecture now receive universal commendation. - -Prince Henry of Germany remarked of this noble structure: "For Capitol -purposes it surpasses every other building in the world. Its -architectural beauty is most impressive." - -It is not our purpose to give a minute description of the building. We -have said that it faces east, for the founders of the Capitol believed -the city would grow in that direction, but the landholders of early days -asked such high prices that the city began to stretch toward the -northwest, which is to this day the fashionable part for residences, -although Capitol Hill is much more beautiful as to situation. - -The base of the building is ninety-seven feet above the river. The -central structure is of Virginia yellow sandstone, which is kept painted -white. The wings are of Massachusetts marble, and the one hundred -columns of the extension porticoes are of Maryland marble. - -The building covers three and one-half acres. It is seven hundred and -fifty-one feet long and three hundred and fifty feet wide. - -The height of the dome above the rest of the building is two hundred and -fifty-seven feet, and its weight is eight million pounds. This dome is -surmounted by Crawford's statue of Freedom, nineteen and one-half feet -high, and weighing fifteen thousand pounds. The entire edifice -constitutes the highest public building in America not located on a -mountain, being sixty-eight feet higher than Bunker Hill monument, and -twenty-three feet higher than the steeple of Trinity Church, in New York -City. - -Thomas G. Walker resigned his place as architect in 1865, and was -succeeded by the late architect of the Capitol, Mr. Edward Clark, who -died early in 1902. His great work had been to finish the west front -facing the city, and to harmonize the conflicting and foreign tastes of -the many decorators of the building. - -Mr. Elliott Wood, the successor of Mr. Clark, had been the latter's -chief assistant. Mr. Wood had long been virtually in charge of the -Capitol. - -The architects had a candidate ready because Mr. Wood was practically an -engineer; to meet this and yet give a faithful man his due, the name of -the position was changed to that of Superintendent of the Capitol. He, -like his predecessor, has much to do in getting rid of the foreign -artists' effects and in Americanizing the whole. - -[Illustration: - - PLAN OF THE PRINCIPAL FLOOR OF THE CAPITOL - (Rooms numbered are for committees, etc.) -] - -Mrs. Mary Clemmer Ames says of the Capitol: "It not only borrowed its -face from the buildings of antiquity, but it was built by men strangers -in thought and spirit to the genius of the new republic, and to the -unwrought and unembodied poetry of its virgin soil. Its earlier -decorators, all Italians, overlaid its walls with their florid colors -and foreign symbols; within the American Capitol they have set the -Loggia of Raphael, the voluptuous anterooms of Pompeii, and the baths of -Titus. The American plants, birds, and animals, representing prodigal -nature at home, are buried in twilight passages, while mythological -barmaids, misnamed goddesses, dance in the most conspicuous and -preposterous places." - -An office building for the use of members of the House has been -constructed (1909) on the block on B Street, between New Jersey Avenue -and First Street, southeast of the Capitol. A similar building has been -erected northeast of the Capitol, for the use of Senators. The two -buildings are connected by an underground road, on which swift -automobile-like cars run for the convenience of legislators. The House -offices contain 410 rooms, the Senate offices 99 rooms. The -appropriation for each building was $2,500,000. There is a general -feeling in Washington that too much luxury pervades these buildings. - - - - - IV - INTERIOR OF THE CAPITOL - - -IN 1808 Jefferson made Benjamin Henry Latrobe supervising architect of -what we now call the old Capitol, being the central portion of the -present building. - -He constructed the original Senate Chamber, now the Supreme Court Room, -on the plan of the old Greek theater, the general outline of which it -yet retains. The House (now Statuary Hall) also had a decidedly Grecian -aspect. It was finished in 1811. Statuary Hall is semicircular in shape, -and has a vaulted roof. Its ornamentation is not yet completed. This is -right. It would not be well to occupy all the space in one generation. -We need the perspective of time to know that which will be of permanent -interest to the world. - -Here Clay presided, here Webster spoke, and here Adams stood for the -right of petition and for the abolition of human slavery. What pictures -these scenes would make! A plate in the floor southwest of the center -marks the spot in the House where John Quincy Adams fell stricken with -paralysis. In a room opening from the Hall is a memorial bust, whose -inscription reads: "John Quincy Adams, who, after fifty years of public -service, the last sixteen in yonder Hall, was summoned to die in this -room February 23 1848." - -The room has special acoustic qualities which in early days occasioned -much trouble. A whisper scarcely audible to the ear into which it is -breathed is distinctly heard in another part of the hall. It is one of -the most remarkable whispering galleries in the world, and its peculiar -properties, accidentally discovered, produced no end of disturbances -before they were fully understood. Their effect has been much modified -by a recent change in the ceiling. - -Each State is now permitted to place in Statuary Hall two statues of its -most renowned sons. - -Virginia has Washington and Jefferson. Think of that! New Hampshire has -Daniel Webster, who made these walls echo with his thrilling, patriotic -sentences, and John Stark, of Bunker Hill fame, who cried: "See those -men? They are the redcoats! Before night they are ours, or Molly Stark -will be a widow!" - -Pennsylvania has Robert Fulton, the inventor, and John Peter Gabriel -Muhlenberg, the preacher, Major-General in the Revolution. He was also -Senator and Member of Congress. New York has Robert R. Livingston, of -the Continental Congress, and Alexander Hamilton. The latter was -Washington's Secretary of the Treasury during both of his Presidential -terms. He had much to do with securing a good financial system for the -new government. His pathetic death enhanced his fame and ruined Burr; -but under the search-light of history one can not help wondering had -Burr been killed and Hamilton survived that duel, would the halo of the -latter have faded? The statue of Hamilton is one of the best in the -Hall. It was made in Rome by Horatio Stone. - -The Illinois memorial is the famous Vinnie Ream statue of Lincoln. I -wish, because it was done by a woman, that I could like it, but it is -weak and unworthy. In every line of his strong, patriotic face lived the -gospel of everlasting hope. This figure might well stand for one -vanquished in the race. (Was Jesus vanquished? Was Paul? Was Luther? Was -Lincoln?) - -There is a small bust of Lincoln, by Mrs. Ames, which approaches nearer -the true ideal of the great apostle of Liberty. - -Illinois is further represented by James Shields, Senator. It would seem -that men like Washington and Lincoln, who were the product of national -influences, should be venerated as representatives of the nation rather -than of individual States. - -Missouri is represented by Frank Blair and Thomas H. Benton; Vermont, by -Jacob Collamer and Ethan Allen, the hero of Ticonderoga; Oregon, by -Edward Dickinson Baker, whose fine statue is by Horatio Stone. - -Jacques Marquette (by G. Trentanore), in the garb of a Catholic priest, -represents Wisconsin. Ohio has President Garfield and William Allen. - -Roger Sherman and John Trumbull represent Connecticut, and Rhode Island -memorializes Roger Williams and General Nathanael Greene, of -Revolutionary fame—the former, in his quaint sixteenth century garb, -standing as well for religious freedom as for the State which he -founded. - -Massachusetts presents Samuel Adams's statue, by Annie Whitney, and John -Winthrop's, by R. S. Greenough. What a goodly company they are, those -New England heroes![2] - -Footnote 2: - - Since the above was written a statue of John James Ingalls, of Kansas, - has been placed in Statuary Hall; as well as a statue of Frances - Willard, of Illinois, who is the first woman in the United States to - be so honored. - -Will Kansas have the courage to place there the statue of John Brown, of -Osawatomie? He yet is a type of that unconventional State, which regards -no precedent, follows no pattern; that State which, in a blind way, is -striving to put the Ten Commandments on top and to uphold the principles -of the Sermon on the Mount, no difference what man or what party goes -down in the strife; that State of which Whittier truthfully said: - - We cross the prairie as of old - The pilgrims crossed the sea, - To make the West, as they the East, - The homestead of the free. - - Upbearing, like the ark of old, - The Bible in our van, - We go to test the truth of God - Against the fraud of man. - -A brave fight the State has made against fraud. The fight is yet on; but -who doubts that the truth of God "shall yet prevail," and who would -better stand for such a people than one who went down in that fight with -the "martyr's aureole" around his grizzled head? - -Much, of course, must be left untold here; but it is hoped that what has -been said will create a desire to see and learn more of those whom the -State and the nation has here honored. - - - - - V - THE ROTUNDA - - -IT is not the purpose in these sketches to go into any minute -descriptions of places or things in Washington. To do that volumes would -be needed, and then much left untold. - -The Rotunda is the central part of the old building of the Capitol, and -lies beneath the dome. It is circular in form, with a diameter of -ninety-five feet, and with a height to the canopy above of a little over -one hundred and eighty feet. - -The panels of the Rotunda are set with life-size pictures, illustrating -important scenes in American history. There are "The Surrender of -Burgoyne, October 17, 1777"; "The Surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown, -Virginia, October 19, 1781" and "The Resignation of Washington, December -23, 1783." These are by Trumbull. They may not be perfect, considered as -works of art, but they commemorate events whose memory should never die. - -The surrender of Burgoyne was the greatest triumph of American over -British arms up to that date (October 17, 1777). Had his twelve hundred -Hessians been English patriots the result might have been different. -When the British officer was sent to inquire their condition for a -fight, the answer of the British was, "We will fight to a man." But the -Hessians replied, "Nix the money, nix the rum, nix fighten." - -[Illustration: - - BRUMIDI FRIEZE IN ROTUNDA -] - -It was in a cold, drizzling rain that Lord Cornwallis made his -surrender. He sat on his horse with his head uncovered. General -Washington said, "Put on your hat, my lord; you will take cold." He -replied, "It matters not what happens to this head now." In our -exultation we are apt to forget his side. - -No writer that I know of praises the scene of Washington's resignation, -yet the faces are so clear-cut that you recognize every face which other -pictures have made familiar. The costumes are correct historical -studies, and I would not wish a line of them changed. - -Another picture of the Rotunda is "The Declaration of Independence." How -familiar, how dear each face has become, from Lee, Jefferson, Franklin, -John Adams, Roger Sherman, and Livingston, to the plain Quaker who -stands by the door! Adams afterward wrote: "Several signed with regret, -and several others with many doubts and much lukewarmness." That shows -in the picture, and contrasts with the enthusiasm of the few, who with -clear vision felt the dawn of a larger liberty for the race. - -We are so apt to enjoy the music and forget the singer, to enjoy the -painting and forget the artist, that we venture a reminder concerning -Colonel John Trumbull, the artist aide-de-camp of General Washington. He -studied art in this country and in Europe. In London he painted John -Adams, our first Minister to England, and, in Paris, Thomas Jefferson, -our Minister to France. General Washington gave him sittings, and he -traveled through the entire thirteen colonies securing portraits. It was -not until 1816, after thirty years of careful preparation, that Congress -gave him the commission to paint the four great historical paintings now -in the Rotunda. They are the best authentic likenesses now in existence -of the persons represented. - -[Illustration: - - BRUMIDI FRIEZE IN ROTUNDA -] - -"The Embarkation of the Pilgrims," by Wier, is considered the best -picture of the Rotunda. All the self-sacrifice of leaving country, home, -and friends is in the women's faces, "All for God" is in the men's -faces. It is the little leaven of Puritanism which yet keeps this -country sweet. - -It is amusing to see the bands of Indians who are sent here to meet the -"Great Father" stop before "The Baptism of Pocahontas," painted by -Chapman. Evidently neither the faces nor the costumes suit them, for -they hoot and laugh, while they grunt with evident approval at the -picture of Boone's conflict with the savages and that of William Penn's -conference with the Indians of Pennsylvania. - -At a height of sixty-five feet above the floor, and encircling the wall -at that point, about three hundred feet in circumference, runs a fresco, -by Brumidi and Castigni, in imitation high relief, which well depicts -periods of American history, illustrating from the days of barbarism to -civilization. It is incomplete at this time. - -Brumidi was, while yet a very young man, banished from Italy for -participating in an insurrection. He went to Mexico, and finally was -brought to Washington through the instrumentality of General Meigs. His -first work is in the room of the Committee of Agriculture of the House, -where he represented Cincinnatus leaving the plow to receive the -dictatorship of Rome; General Putnam, in a similar situation, receiving -the announcement of the outbreak of the Revolution, and other fine works -are scarcely appreciated by the clerks who daily work beneath them. For -eight dollars a day, the compensation he first received, Brumidi did -work which thousands of dollars could not now duplicate. Almost every -one knows that Brumidi began the decoration of the frieze around the -Rotunda of the Capitol. He had completed in charcoal the cartoons for -the remainder of the decoration, and these drawings he left to his son, -supposing that the designs would be purchased from him by the successor -selected to complete the work. This man, however, obtained in some -unknown way an idea of the sketches Brumidi had made, and attempted to -carry them out without the aid of the originals. - -At the east door of the Rotunda are the famous bronze doors designed by -Randolph Rogers at Rome in 1858, and cast at Munich. The high reliefs -illustrate leading events in the life of Columbus. - -From near the Rotunda one can ascend to the dome and overlook the entire -District of Columbia. - - - - - VI - CONCERNING SOME OF THE ART AT THE CAPITOL - - -AMONG the interesting pictures in the Capitol is Frank B. Carpenter's -picture, "The First Reading of the Emancipation Proclamation, September -22, 1862." Mr. Lincoln was accustomed to speak of the act which this -picture represents as the central act of his administration. Historians -have recorded it the leading event of the nineteenth century. - -It changed the policy of the war, and was received by the army and the -people as a necessary war measure. According to Mr. Carpenter, he takes -the moment when Mr. Lincoln has just said: "Gentlemen, I now propose to -issue this Emancipation Proclamation." - -Montgomery Blair said: "If you do, Mr. President, we shall lose the fall -elections." To this no one offered a reply. Mr. Seward, who sits in -front of the table, said: "Mr. President, should we not wait for a more -decisive victory, so that the rebels may know we are able to enforce the -Proclamation?" Mr. Lincoln leaned forward and said, in a low voice: "I -promised my God, if Lee were driven back from Maryland, to issue the -Proclamation." Mr. Seward said: "Mr. President, I withdraw every -objection." Chase, who stands back of the President in the picture, and -who was not always in sympathy with Mr. Lincoln, laid his hand -affectionately on Mr. Lincoln's shoulder, to show the President that in -_this_ matter they were in perfect accord. - -[Illustration: - - THE FIRST READING OF THE EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION -] - -The Proclamation came just after the battle of Antietam, which was far -from being a decisive victory. The Proclamation set forth that, unless -rebellion ceased by January 1, 1863, the slaves at that time would be -declared free. It was a case of "man's extremity is God's opportunity." - -Another picture which well merits a full description (which we have not -space to give) is W. H. Powell's spirited picture, "The Battle of Lake -Erie, September 13, 1813." It represents Commodore Perry transferring -his colors from the disabled flagship _Lawrence_ to the _Niagara_ in the -midst of a fire from the enemy. Perry deserved all the glory he so -richly won. - -Mary Clemmer Ames thus beautifully describes that great picture, -"Westward the Star of the Empire Takes its Way." The picture is in the -stairway of the south wing: - -"At the first glance it presents a scene of inextricable confusion. It -is an emigrant train caught and tangled in one of the highest passes of -the Rocky Mountains. Far backward spread the eastern plains, far onward -stretches the Beulah of promise, fading at last in the far horizon. The -great wagons struggling upward, tumbling downward from mountain -precipice into mountain gorge, hold under their shaking covers every -type of westward moving human life. Here is the mother sitting in the -wagon front, her blue eyes gazing outward, wistfully and far, the baby -lying on her lap; one wants to touch the baby's head, it looks so alive -and tender and shelterless in all that dust and turmoil of travel. A man -on horseback carries his wife, her head upon his shoulder. Who that has -ever seen it will forget her sick look and the mute appeal in the -suffering eyes? Here is the bold hunter with his raccoon cap, the -pioneer boy on horseback, a coffeepot and cup dangling at his saddle, -and oxen—such oxen! it seems as if their friendly noses must touch us; -they seem to be feeling out for our hand as we pass up the gallery. Here -is the young man, the old man, and far aloft stands the advance-guard -fastening on the highest and farthest pinnacle the flag of the United -States. - -"Confusing—disappointing, perhaps—at first glance, this painting asserts -itself more and more in the soul the oftener and the longer you gaze. -Already the swift, smooth wheels of the railway, the shriek of the -whistle, and the rush of the engine have made its story history. But it -is the history of our past—the story of the heroic West." - -There are pictures and busts, or full-length statues, of almost every -great man of our nation. Some of them, within one hundred years, will be -turned over to the man's native State or town, with complimentary notes -and speeches the inner meaning of which is: "We need the room for bigger -men." - -Before leaving the Capitol plaza a word must be said of Horatio -Greenough's statue of Washington, which sits in lonely grandeur before -the Capitol. Greenough was much in Rome, and the antique became his -model. The statue represents Washington sitting in a large chair, -holding aloft a Roman sword, the upper part of his body naked, the lower -part draped as Jupiter Tonans.[3] - -Footnote 3: - - On May 27, 1908, Congress appropriated $5,000 to move Greenough's - statue of Washington to the Smithsonian Institute. The removal was - made November 21, 1908. - -This conception brings out the majestic benignity of the face of -Washington, and shows to the life every muscle and vein of his -magnificent form. Greenough said of his own work: "It is the birth of my -thoughts; I have sacrificed to it the flower of my days and the -freshness of my strength; its every lineament has been moistened with -the sweat of my toil and the tears of my exile. I would not barter its -association with my name for the proudest fortune that avarice ever -dreamed of." - -The work, however, has met with more of criticism than of praise. A -statue should represent a man in the costume of his time. Washington -should have been shown either in the knee-breeches or in the full -military costume of his period. We want no foreign effects in our -statues. Washington had no aspiration to be either Jupiter or Mars, but -he earnestly desired to be a good and useful man. - -In this connection a few words in relation to the character of future -paintings that shall be selected for the adornment of the Capitol may -not be amiss. - -In Paris, at the Exposition in 1900, the writer was greatly impressed by -the manner in which France perpetuates historic events. The best picture -of the commission which settled the Spanish-American War was painted by -a Frenchman, the best picture of the Peace Commission at the Hague was -also French. One picture, which will ever be valuable, represented -President Carnot and his Cabinet in the Exposition of 1889 receiving the -representatives of all the colonies of France. - -Our country should have pictures of the inauguration of the President, -with his leading men about him; also of the receptions on New-year's -day, showing faces of foreign Ministers, the Cabinet, Members of the -Supreme Court, and our naval and military commanders. - -I remember one brilliant company at Secretary Endicott's, during the -first Cleveland administration. The Ministers of various foreign -nations, in court costumes and with all their decorations, were present. -General Sheridan, full of life and repartee, was there. General Sherman -had come over from New York to grace with his presence the reception -given by the Secretary of War. General Greely, of Arctic fame, wore for -the first time the uniform of a brigadier-general. All the leading army -officers, in brilliant uniforms, were present. Senators Edmonds, -Sherman, Logan, Evarts, Ingalls, Wade Hampton, Leland Stanford, Vance, -Voorhees, Allison, with many others, were part of that memorable -company. Mrs. Stanford wore the famous Isabella diamonds. Among the -guests were Secretaries Vilas, Whitney, Bayard, and their accomplished -wives; Mr. Carlisle, then Speaker of the House, and his stately, genial -wife; and President and Miss Cleveland, who made an exception to the -Presidential rule of non-attendance at such functions, and by their -presence added to the pleasure of the occasion. Chief Justice Waite and -Justices Field, Miller, Blatchford, Gray, and Strong were present. - -What a picture for history that representative company would now be! We -need an art fund—perhaps the Carnegie University beneficence may provide -it. Concerning the Capitol building, Charles Sumner said: "Surely this -edifice, so beautiful, should not be open to the rude experiment of -untried talent." - -The Commission of Artists said: "The erection of a great National -Capitol occurs but once in the life of a nation. The opportunity such an -event affords is an important one for the expression of patriotic -elevation, and the perpetuation, through the arts of painting and -sculpture, of that which is high and noble and held in reverence by the -people; and it becomes them as patriots to see to it that no taint of -falsity is suffered to be transmitted to the future upon the escutcheon -of our national honor in its artistic record. A theme so noble and -worthy should interest the heart of the whole country, and whether -patriot, statesman, or artist, one impulse should govern the whole in -dedicating these buildings and grounds to the national honor." - - - - - VII - THE SENATE CHAMBER - - -IN visiting the Capitol building most people desire first to see the -Senate Chamber, possibly from the fact that the names of the Senators -are more familiar, because, as a usual thing, men have been long in -public life before they have become Senators. - -The Senate Chamber is 112 feet in length, 82 feet wide, and 30 feet -high. The floor rises like that of an amphitheater; the walls are white, -buff, and gold in color, and the ceiling consists of panels of glass, -each one bearing the coat of arms of a State. Opposite the main -entrance, on a platform of dark mahogany, are the desk and chair of the -President of the Senate, who is the Vice-President of the United States, -or, as in the present administration, a Senator elected by his -colleagues to preside over them when the office of Vice-President has -become vacant. Below the President is a larger desk for the use of the -Secretary of the Senate and his assistants. - -The heating and ventilating of the Senate Chamber is said to be very -good. In winter, however, the room seems to be too warm. After an -absence of fifteen years, I find men who have been in the Senate during -that time have aged much more in appearance than their contemporaries -outside. - -The mahogany desks of the Senators stand on a moss green carpet, making -a good color combination. The room is surrounded by a gallery which -seats about a thousand persons. This gallery is divided. There is a -private gallery for Senators' families and friends, one part of which is -set apart for the family of the President. It is seldom occupied by the -dwellers in the White House, but often by visiting friends. The -reporters' gallery is over the Vice-President's desk. There sit those -busy, bright men who keep you informed of what the Senate is doing. The -gallery opposite is for the diplomats. It is always interesting to watch -the faces of these distinguished foreigners as they scan this body of -lawmakers. Besides these there are the gallery for ladies, or for -gentlemen accompanied by ladies, and the public gallery for men. - -The Senate is the citadel of American liberty. Its great debates have -defined our constitutional rights and duties, and prevented many -violations of fundamental law. Here Clay, Calhoun, Webster, Benton, -Chase, Sumner, Seward, Harrison, Edmunds, Evarts, Ingalls, Logan, and -Wade Hampton, with hundreds of others equally eloquent and equally -patriotic, have stood for the right as they saw it, or sold their souls -for the mess of pottage. - -The Republicans sit on the Vice-President's left and the Democrats on -the right. Although differing in ideas of governmental policy, we must -believe both sides are actuated by a love of country. - -The world is beginning to expect the United States to be the final court -of appeals in behalf of the lesser nations, especially the other -American republics. It is the Senate's natural destiny, because of its -treaty-making power, to facilitate a better understanding between -nations, to prevent wrongs, to increase commerce, to secure -international peace, and thus to improve the governmental powers of the -world. So will our republic be the bridge over which the nations of the -earth will enter on a period of universal education and modified -self-government. - -In my youth, on a visit to Washington, I saw Schuyler Colfax preside -over the Senate. He was a nervous, restless man, who gave no attention -to the Senator speaking, and while he was in the chair the Senate became -a noisy, turbulent body. At another time, for a few hours, I saw Henry -Wilson, who was Vice-President under Grant's second term, preside over -the Senate. Quiet, self-contained, serene, watchful, attentive, he was -an ideal presiding officer. Every battle of life had left its mark on -his strong, rugged face. - -In December, 1885, I came to Washington and remained three years. -Vice-President Hendricks had died, and the Senate, which was Republican, -was presided over by John Sherman. He was in public life from 1848 to -the time of his death, and his name was identified with almost every -public measure from that time to the end of the century. He was a man of -great wisdom and good judgment, but cold and without any of those -qualities which tend to personal popularity. Later, John James Ingalls, -of Kansas, was elected President _pro tempore_. Tall, stately, -dignified, scholarly, thoughtful, a skilled parliamentarian, it is -probable the Senate never had a better presiding officer. When Senator -Ingalls occupied the chair the business of the Senate was put through -with such celerity and dispatch that a visit to that usually prosy body -became interesting. - -Later, I saw Levi P. Morton, of New York, preside as Vice-President. He -was a fine business man who had served his country with honor abroad, -but had no training as a presiding officer. He was regarded as fair in -his rulings. - -The Senate was later presided over by Senator Frye, of Maine, who has -had a long experience in legislative bodies, having served six terms as -representative from Maine, and having been elected to the Senate in -1881, to fill the vacancy left by Blaine when he became Secretary of -State under Garfield. He was also a member of the Peace Commission which -met in Paris, September, 1898, to settle the terms of peace between the -United States and Spain. The Senate is now presided over by -Vice-President Sherman, who has served twenty years as Representative -from New York. He presided over the Republican Convention in 1895, 1900 -and 1908. - -When I take friends to the Senate now I notice they ask first for Mr. -Aldrich, of Rhode Island; Bailey and Culbertson, of Texas; Lodge, of -Massachusetts; Nelson, of Minnesota; Tillman, of South Carolina; Root, -of New York; Owen and Gore, of Oklahoma; Curtis and Bristow, of Kansas, -and Dolliver, of Iowa. - -When I was here from 1885 to 1888 the following were the stars: Edmunds, -who for quiet strength, massive force, persistent effort, fertility of -resource, and keen sagacity was never surpassed on the floor of the -Senate. Like Mr. Hoar, his sentences in rhetorical and grammatical -construction were fit for the Record just as they fell from his lips. -William M. Evarts, of New York, famous as counsel in the Beecher trial, -and attorney for the Republican party before the Electoral Commission. -He seemed like a man about to do some great thing, but he originated no -important national or international law. Leland Stanford, noted for his -philanthropy and great wealth, and Wade Hampton and Senator Butler, both -of South Carolina, were picturesque and interesting figures. General -Logan, Don Cameron, Preston B. Plumb, Blackburn, and Beck, of Kentucky, -stood next in interest, but most of these have given place to a younger -generation. - -The most interesting rooms in the north wing beside the Senate Chamber -are the President's room, Vice-President's reception-rooms, and -committee-room of the District of Columbia. - -The walls of the President's room are in white and gold, with crimson -carpet, table, and chair effects—rather high lights if one had to live -in it, but very pleasing for the short visits made by the President to -the Capitol. On the last day of each term of Congress the President -comes to this room for an hour or two and signs any bills which yet -remain. He also answers the perfunctory question as to whether he -desires to present any further business to the Senate. - -The Vice-President's room is much more used. When the Vice-President in -the Senate chamber grows tired "of weary lawyers with endless tongues," -he calls some one to the chair and slips into the Vice-President's room, -to rest and attend to his correspondence. - -Garrett A. Hobart was the fifth Vice-President of the United States to -die during his term of office. The others were Elbridge Gerry, William -Rufus King, Henry Wilson, and Thomas A. Hendricks. Gerry was one of the -great statesmen of the revolutionary period and hailed from -Massachusetts. He was Vice-President in 1812, and died November 23, -1814, while on the way to the capital. - -Charles Warren Fairbanks, a Republican from Indianapolis, Ind., became -Vice-President March 4, 1905, at the beginning of Mr. Roosevelt's second -term. Mr. Fairbanks never held public office prior to his election to -the Senate in 1897, which place he held until he resigned to take the -oath of Vice-President. - -Mr. Fairbank's influence in the City of Washington will long be -remembered as one of the pleasant memories of the Capital. At church -functions, at philanthropic or patriotic conventions, Vice-President -Fairbanks found time in his overcrowded life to preside. In social life -Mrs. Fairbanks was the idol of the D. A. R. women. Her hospitable home -was ever open for receptions, fetes and parties, and not in this -generation will Washington see a family so universally beloved and so -universally regretted. - -James Schoolcraft Sherman, Republican of Utica, N. Y., took the oath of -office as Vice-President, March 4, 1909. He had been a member of -Congress for twenty years, and ranked as one of the five leading members -of the House of Representatives. His ability as a presiding officer is -recognized in both branches of Congress. The Cabinet called together by -President Taft is composed largely of new men at Washington. - -Mr. Philander Chase Knox, of Pennsylvania, takes up the duties of the -State Department so ably filled by John Hay, Elihu Root, and Mr. Taft, -with large knowledge of state affairs. - -Mr. Franklin McVeagh, of Chicago, an able business man, takes charge of -the Treasury Department at a time when there is a deficiency in the -Treasury, and with a new tariff law to enforce. - -Mr. Jacob McGavock Dickinson, like Mr. McVeagh, is a Democrat from -Chicago. As Secretary of War he will need all his great acumen in -managing the affairs of the nation from the Panama Zone to the -Philippine Islands. - -Mr. George Woodward Wickersham, of New York, as Attorney-General is a -lawyer of high personal and professional qualifications. - -Mr. George von Lengerke Meyer was transferred by President Taft from the -Post-office Department, whose service he greatly improved, to the -Secretaryship of the Navy. - -Mr. Frank Harris Hitchcock, the new Postmaster-General, has had long -experience in postal affairs. - -Mr. Charles Nagel, of St. Louis, Mo., has had a business experience -which will fit him for his arduous duties as Secretary of Labor and -Commerce. - -Hon. James Wilson has been reappointed by President Taft as Secretary of -Agriculture, a position he has held for twelve years. - -Mr. Richard Achilles Ballinger, the new Secretary of the Interior, of -Seattle, Wash., is of the New West. He has met a warm welcome at -Washington. - - - - - VIII - THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES - - -THE Hall of Representatives is in the south wing of the Capitol, and is -similar in form and design to the Senate Chamber, being semicircular, -with a gallery of twelve hundred seating capacity extending around the -entire hall. - -Like the Senate, the walls are white, buff, and gold, and the ceiling -panels of glass, each showing in connection with a State coat of arms -the cotton plant in some stage of development. - -The Speaker of the House sits at a desk of pure white marble, and in -front of him are several desks for the Secretary and his many -assistants. - -A silver plate on each desk bears the name of its occupant. As in the -Senate, the Republicans occupy the left of the Speaker and the Democrats -the right. - -When the House is in session the mace is in an upright position at the -table of the Sergeant-at-Arms on the right of the Speaker, and when the -House is adjourned, or in committee of the whole, it is removed. - -The mace is a bundle of ebony rods, bound together with silver bands, -having on top a silver globe, surmounted by a silver eagle. In the -British House of Commons the mace represents the royal authority, but in -the United States it stands for the power of the people, which, tho not -present in bodily form, yet is a force always to be reckoned with. The -one now in the House has been in use since 1842. The Sergeant carries it -before him as his symbol of office when enforcing order, or in -conducting a member to the bar of the House by order of the Speaker. - -[Illustration: - - THE MACE -] - -The Speaker's room is across the lobby back of his chair, and is one of -the most beautiful rooms in the building. It has velvet carpet, fine, -carved furniture, large bookcases and mirrors, and its walls, as well as -the walls of the lobby, are hung with the portraits of every Speaker, -from our first Congress to the present one. - -Most of the pictures in the House of Representatives with which I was -familiar fifteen years ago have been removed. Now there remains but one— -Brumidi's fresco representing General Washington declining the overtures -of Lord Cornwallis for a two days' cessation of hostilities. - -Washington, like Grant, was an "unconditional surrender" man. - -Each State is entitled to a number of Representatives in Congress, -proportioned upon the number of its population. The State is districted -by its own State Legislature. Then the district selects its own man, who -is supposed to understand its wants and needs, and elects him to -represent his people for two years. - -He must be twenty-five years of age, seven years a citizen of the United -States, and a citizen of the State which he represents. There are about -three hundred and fifty-six members and delegates. The latter represent -the territories of Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arizona, and Hawaii. - -[Illustration: - - THE SPEAKER'S ROOM -] - -Congress is an aggregate of selfish units, each fighting for his -district. No doubt good influences prevail, but no one class of men, -either the extremely good or the extremely bad, has the entire say, for -law is the formulated average public opinion of the age and country in -which it is made. - -It can not be too strongly impressed upon the voters of this country -that it is their duty to select good, strong, noble men with high -convictions of public duty, and then to keep them in Congress term after -term if they desire their district to be represented by anything more -than a mere vote. Important places on committees are given men not alone -in proportion to intellectual merit, but in proportion to Congressional -experience. All men will not become leaders from remaining there a long -time, but none will without it. - -It is a wonderful thing to note the changes in the House since 1885. At -that time John G. Carlisle was Speaker of the House. So fair in his -rulings was Mr. Carlisle that one might spend hours in the gallery and -be unable to decide which side he favored. - -Samuel J. Randall and Roger Q. Mills, of Texas, were the leaders on the -Democratic side, and the Mills bill concerning tariff the chief object -of legislative interest before the country. Springer, of Illinois, and -Breckenridge, of Kentucky; Crisp, of Georgia; Hooker and Allen, of -Mississippi, were also among the leaders of the Democracy. Of these some -are now out of politics, some are dead, and one disgraced. - -Thomas B. Reed, of Maine, was the acknowledged leader of the Republican -side, with McKinley, Cutcheon, Burrows, Boutelle, Holman, Butterworth, -Henderson, Payne, Morrill, of Kansas, Negley, of Pennsylvania, and -Cannon his backers. - -It was great fun to see Reed come down the aisle ready to puncture the -pet plans of the Democrats. In sharp, keen, extemporaneous, partisan -debate he has never been excelled in this country, and possibly never in -any other. No man ever appreciated his own power more accurately than -he. He charged on few windmills; but when he placed himself in -antagonism to a measure, it usually failed to pass, altho the Democrats -had a working majority. When he became Speaker of the House, old members -assured me, in spite of his name "Czar" Reed, he was not more arbitrary -than either Blaine or Randall in the same position. As a presiding -officer no man ever put the business of the House through more rapidly -or more gracefully. He was a fine parliamentarian, quick in decisions -and most able in his rulings. - -My note on McKinley in 1885 says: "He can not be considered a leader, -for a leader is one who can champion a party measure. This he can not -do, as he is not keen in repartee—the opposition walk all over him; nor -can he support a _new_ man. He makes two or three well-prepared, -eloquent speeches each _year_; these are usually on the tariff. He is a -genial, pleasant gentleman, probably with more personal friends in the -entire country than any one man now before the nation." - -William C. P. Breckenridge, of Kentucky, was considered the most -eloquent man for a prepared speech on the Democratic side. But it was -the eloquence of a musical voice, graceful gesture, and an abundant use -of adjectives, not the eloquence of deep thought. While he was speaking -it was hard to believe that it was not the best speech which could -possibly be made on that subject. When one read it in the Record he -wondered that he had been even interested. - -In December, 1889, Mr. Breckenridge lectured in Clearfield, -Pennsylvania, to the Teachers' Institute. His subject was "Kentucky's -Place in History." - -He began by saying: "I was a rebel. I am glad of it. If I had it to do -again, I would do the same thing!" Now, think of that before a Northern -audience, especially in a mountain county which is always noted for -patriotism. If his audience had been petrified they could not more -quickly have frozen in their places. - -He told the thrilling story of Kentucky in words of matchless humor and -pathos. He tried fun; no one smiled. I was sitting on the platform, and -the stories were so amusing I was obliged to retire to the wings, as to -laugh in the face of that angry audience would have been an indignity. -He tried pathos. No one melted. As he came from the stage, I said: -"Colonel, you gave a most eloquent address." - -"What in thunder is the matter with that audience?" he said. I replied: -"When you said you did not regret being a rebel, and you would do the -same again, you killed that audience so far as you were concerned." - -Just at that moment Mr. Matthew Savage, the County Superintendent, came -up. He flung down on the table his check for one hundred dollars, and -said: "Take that, but I hope never to see your face again. I am a -Democrat, and the people of this county will think I hired you to come -here and talk treason. You have spoiled my chances for the Legislature." -The people, however, understood the case, and it did not hurt Mr. Savage -politically. - - - - - IX - CONCERNING REPRESENTATIVES - - -IT is not all "skittles and beer" to be a Senator or a Representative at -Washington. The continued pressure from a man's constituents that he -shall accomplish certain legislation for his district, and the iron-clad -rules which prohibit his every movement, if in the House of -Representatives, are enough to break an ordinary man's health. - -A new member goes to the House full of enthusiasm, hoping to accomplish -great things for those who have trusted him; he finds that he is -scarcely permitted to open his mouth the first term. But he does his -best in committee, which is little enough; he runs his feet off to get -places for some hundreds of people from his district who must be taken -care of. Then he keeps trying to be a good party man, and to do some -favor for the leaders, who, he hopes, will reward him by giving him an -opportunity to accomplish much-needed legislation for his district, till -in his second or third term he becomes desperate, breaks out in meeting, -and knocks things about generally. If he proves to be really an orator -and succeeds in catching the ear of the House, he may then begin to be -more than a mere party voter. On the other hand, he may be so squelched -that he subsides into "innocuous desuetude." - -In the meantime he has borne all forms of unjust and unkind criticism at -home. His opponents of his own party and of the opposite party point, in -scorn and malice, to how little has been done for the district, and tell -in startling sentences how they would do it and how they _will_ do it -when they are elected. Then a "nagger" comes to Washington, who is still -worse. He _demands_ a position, tells the Representative how the latter -owes his place to said nagger, and insists on being immediately made -chief clerk of some department accessible only through the Civil -Service, and needing four times the influence a new member can bring to -bear. A man must learn to be serene under nagging, misrepresentation, -and even positive lies, and rely upon time and his own best efforts to -vindicate him. - -There have been more caucuses held during the last term than usual. A -caucus is a good thing, as it gives a man a chance to influence in a -very slight degree the decisions of his party. (See Henry Loomis -Nelson's excellent article in the _Century_ for June, 1902.) - -The House (in 1909) is ruled by Speaker Cannon, Payne, of New York, -Dalzell, of Pennsylvania, and Tawney, of Minnesota. How long will such a -hierarchy, dominating nearly three hundred intelligent men, be permitted -to exist? The House is run like a bank, of which the President and a few -clerks do all the deciding. Any correspondent who has the ear of any of -these few can tell you the fate of a measure before it comes to vote. - -The chairmen of committees, and a few others who have been long in the -House, are called into a committee room to decide on how much debate -will be permitted, who will be heard, and whether or not the bill shall -pass; and the rank and file, desiring to be good party men, obey orders, -and the bill fails or goes through in exactly the form decided upon by -the clique. This is most un-American. It is true, more business is thus -accomplished; but the business does not represent the average public -opinion of the House. - -The Committee on Rules, or its majority, constitutes a stone wall -against which men break their hearts and ruin their reputations. Let us -have less done, but let what is done be an average result of public -opinion. - -The President can do but little to influence legislation. His clubs are -personality and patronage. If as persistent as Mr. Roosevelt, he may -eventually get an "Administration" measure (like Cuban reciprocity) -through, despite opposition. Present Congressional methods make -politicans out of men capable, under broader training, of becoming -statesmen. But Mr. Roosevelt did not "arrive" by the good will of the -machine, but in spite of it. If he attains a second term, it will be -against the plans of the machine; but as in Lincoln's second term, -politicians may be forced to nominate him, or themselves go down before -the storm of public indignation. - -In the meantime legislators in the House will go on presenting little -bills which they know they can never get passed, but printed copies of -which can be sent to constituents to make them believe that their -representatives are really doing something. - -The present method has this benefit: it shuts off much of the lobbying -which formerly disgraced the anterooms of Congress. - -[Illustration: - - Photo by Clinedinst - - STATUARY HALL -] - -[Illustration: - - Photo by Clinedinst - - From the painting by Emanuel Leutze - - "WESTWARD HO!" -] - -[Illustration: - - Photo by Clinedinst - - From the painting by Brumidi - - WASHINGTON DECLINING OVERTURES FROM CORNWALLIS -] - -[Illustration: - - Photo by Clinedinst - - THE SENATE CHAMBER -] - -[Illustration: SOME PROMINENT SENATORS] - - 1. Benjamin F. Shively (D.), Ind. - - Photo, Clinedinst, Wash. - - 2. Robert M. LaFollette (R), Wis. - - 3. Elihu Root (R.), N. Y. - - Photo, Pach Bros., New York - - 4. Henry Cabot Lodge (R.), Mass. - - Copyright, Clinedinst, Wash. - - 5. Nelson W. Aldrich (R.), R. I. - - Copyright, Clinedinst, Wash. - - 6. Eugene Hale (R.), Me. - - 7. Joseph W. Bailey (D.), Texas - - Copyright, 1909, Harris & Ewing, Wash. - - 8. Francis G. Newlands (D.), Nev. - - Photo, Prince, Wash. - - 9. Charles A. Culberson (D.), Texas - -[Illustration: - - Copyright, 1907, by the George R. Lawrence Company, Washington, D. C. - - THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES IN SESSION -] - -[Illustration: SOME PROMINENT REPRESENTATIVES] - - 1. John Dalzell (R.), Pa. - - Copyright, 1909, Harris & Ewing, Wash. - - 2. William Sulzer (D.), N. Y. - - Photo, Clinedinst, Wash. - - 3. Sereno E. Payne (R.), N. Y. - - Photo, Pach Bros., New York - - 4. David A. De Armond (D.), Mo. - - Copyright, 1909, Harris & Ewing, Wash. - - 5. Joseph G. Cannon (R.), Ill. - - Copyright, Harris & Ewing, Wash. - - 6. James A. Tawney (R.), Minnesota - - Copyright, 1909, Harris & Ewing, Wash. - - 7. Oscar W. Underwood (D.), Ala. - - Copyright, 1909, Harris & Ewing, Wash. - - 8. Ollie M. James (D.), Ky. - - Copyright, 1909, Harris & Ewing, Wash. - - 9. Champ Clark (D.), Mo. - - Copyright, 1909, Harris & Ewing, Wash. - -[Illustration: - - Photo by Clinedinst - - NEW HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING - - This building is connected with the Capitol by a tunnel. Electric - automobile service is also maintained between the two buildings. -] - -There came a small cloud in the horizon. Mr. Littlefield, of Maine, whom -rumor claimed, at the opening of a former Congress, to represent -Presidential opinion, saw his trust bill turned down. However, Mr. -Littlefield always delighted his hearers, who realized that his fight -against commercial monopolies was no make-believe. - -The following extracts from a speech of Hon. F. W. Cushman, of the State -of Washington, on the question of reciprocity with Cuba, will throw much -light on present legislative methods in the House of Representatives: - - THE RULES OF THE HOUSE - - We meet in this Chamber to-day a condition that challenges the - consideration of every patriotic man, and that is, the set of rules - under which this body operates, or perhaps it would be more nearly - correct to say, under which this body is operated. [Laughter.] - - Mr. Chairman, I deem it my duty, knowing as I do that this measure - could not have been brought here in the shape in which it now is, - save and excepting for the remarkable conditions created in this - House by these rules—I say, sir, I deem it to be my duty to pause - for a moment or two on the threshold of this debate and place a few - cold facts about these rules into this Record and before the - 70,000,000 of people to whom we are responsible. - - I approach this subject with a decided degree of deference. In the - three years which I have been a member of this body I have - endeavored to conduct myself with a modesty that I conceive to be - becoming alike to the new member and to his constituency. I - represent a Congressional district comprising the entire State of - Washington, a Congressional district with half a million people in - it, and with vast and varied interests demanding legislation for - their benefit and protection in many of the channels of trade and - branches of industry. - - It is with humiliation unspeakable that I rise in my place on this - floor and admit to my constituents at home that in this House I am - utterly powerless to bring any bill or measure, no matter how worthy - or meritorious it may be, to a vote unless I can first make terms - with the Speaker. - - It may be a matter of news to some of the good people within the - confines of the American Republic to know that there is no way of - getting an ordinary unprivileged measure considered and voted upon - in this House unless it suits the Speaker. I am aware that there are - several _theoretical_ ways of getting a measure up; but they have no - actual reality—no fruitage in fact. I make the statement on this - floor now, that no member of this body who introduces a bill—not a - private bill, but a public bill—can get it considered or brought - forward for final determination unless it suits the Speaker. And if - any one wants to deny that statement I am in a personal position and - in a peculiarly happy frame of mind right now to give a little - valuable testimony on that point! [Applause and laughter.] - - Imagine, if you please, a measure—not a private measure, but a - public measure—which has been considered at length by a great - committee of this House and favorably reported with the - recommendation that it do pass. That bill is then placed on the - "Calendar." The Calendar! That is a misnomer. It ought to be called - a cemetery [laughter], for therein lie the whitening bones of - legislative hopes. [Laughter.] When the bill is reported and placed - on the Calendar, what does the member who introduced it and who is - charged by his constituency to secure its passage do? - - Does he consult himself about his desire to call it up? No. Does he - consult the committee who considered the bill and recommended it for - passage? No. Does he consult the will of the majority of this House? - No. What does he do? I will tell you what he does. He either - consents that that bill may die upon the Calendar, or he puts his - manhood and his individuality in his pocket and goes trotting down - that little pathway of personal humiliation that leads—where? To the - Speaker's room. Ay, the Speaker's room. All the glories that - clustered around the holy of holies in King Solomon's temple looked - like 30 cents [prolonged laughter and applause]—yes, looked like 29 - cents—compared with that jobbing department of this government! - [Applause and laughter.] - - Then you are in the presence of real greatness. What then? Why, the - Speaker looks over _your_ bill, and then _he_ tells _you_ whether - _he_ thinks it ought to come up or not! - - There is a condition which I commend to the patriotic consideration - of the American people. Contemplate that for a method of procedure - in the legislative body of a great and free republic. - - WHO IS THE SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE? - - Who is the Speaker of this House who sets up his immaculate and - infallible judgment against the judgment of all comers? Is there - anything different or superior in the credentials that he carries - from the credentials that were issued to you and to me from - 70,000,000 of American people? When he entered this House at the - beginning of the Fifty-sixth and Fifty-seventh Congresses he was - simply a Congressman-elect, bearing credentials like every other man - on this floor. He has no greater power now than any other member, - save the additional power we ourselves bestowed upon him by electing - him Speaker and then adopting this set of rules. The question that - now arises to confront us is: Have we put a club in the hands of - some one else to beat us to death? Have we elevated one man on a - pinnacle so high that he can not now see those who elevated him? Is - the Speaker of this House a mere mortal man of common flesh and - clay, or is he supernatural and immortal? What miracle was wrought - at his birth? Did a star shoot from its orbit when he was born, or - did he come into existence in the good old-fashioned way that - ushered the rest of us into this vale of tears? - - Why, man, he doth bestride the narrow world - Like a Colossus, and we petty men - Walk under his huge legs and peep about - To find ourselves dishonorable graves. - Men at some time are masters of their fates: - The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars - But in ourselves, that we are underlings. - - I make no onslaught on the individual. I have a high regard for the - Speaker of this House personally and for him politically; but we - face the fact that we have adopted a set of rules in this body that - are an absolute disgrace to the legislative body of any republic. - - Throughout the entire three years of my service in this body I have - been up against the little machine that dominates the proceedings - and the deliberations of this House. During the entire three years - prior to this time I have always treated that machine with the - deference due to its age and its reputation. I trust you will excuse - my frankness when I tell you that from this time on I shall devote a - little of my time and a tithe of my energy to putting a few spokes - in the wheel of that machine that the designers of the vehicle never - ordered. [Laughter.] - - I for one expect to live to see the day in this House not when the - Speaker shall tell the individual members of this House what he is - going to permit them to bring up, but when those individual members, - constituting a majority, will inform the Speaker what they are going - to bring up for themselves. - - - - - X - THE SUPREME COURT ROOM - - -CONTINUING our examination of what is called the original Capitol -building, we would stop next at the Supreme Court room, once the Senate -Chamber of the United States. For quiet, harmonious beauty it is -unequaled by any other room in the building. - -It was designed by Latrobe, after the model of a Greek theater—a -semicircular hall, with low-domed ceiling, and small gallery back and -over the seats occupied by the dignified judges of the Supreme Court of -the United States. - -"The Bench" is composed of large leather upholstered chairs, with the -chair of the Chief Justice in the center, and those of the Associate -Justices on either side. In front of these is a table around which the -counsel are seated, and back of a railing seats are arranged around the -wall for spectators. - -On the walls are the busts of the former Chief Justices of the United -States: John Jay, of New York; John Rutledge, of South Carolina; Oliver -Ellsworth, of Connecticut; John Marshall, of Virginia; Roger B. Taney, -of Maryland; Salmon P. Chase, of Ohio; and Morrison R. Waite, of Ohio. -Back of the judges is placed a number of graceful Ionic columns of -Potomac marble, the white capitals copied from the Temple of Minerva. - -The Standard Guide of Washington pictures the present court in this way: - - ┌──┐ ┌──┬──┬──┬──┬──┬──┬──┬──┬──┐ ┌──┐ - │10│ │ 8│ 6│ 4│ 2│ 1│ 3│ 5│ 7│ 9│ │11│ - └──┘ └──┴──┴──┴──┴──┴──┴──┴──┴──┘ └──┘ - ┌──┐ ── ── ── ── ── ── ── ── ── ┌──┐ - │13│ │12│ - └──┘ ┌────────┐ └──┘ - │ 14 │ - └────────┘ - - SEATING PLAN OF THE SUPREME COURT CHAMBER - - Chief Justice occupies Chair No. 1 - - His colleagues sit on either side - - No. 10—Clerk's Desk - No. 11—Marshal's Desk - No. 12—Reporters' Desk - No. 13—Attorney-General's Desk - No. 14—Counsel's Desk - -In this hall Webster answered Hayne, and here Benton and John Randolph -made their great speeches. On the left side of the Senate stood Calhoun -in many a contest with Clay and Webster on the right. - -One day Calhoun boasted of being the superior of Clay in argument. He -said: "I had him on his back; I was his master; he was at my mercy." - -Clay strode down the aisle, and, shaking his long finger in Calhoun's -face, said: "He my master! Sir, I would not own him for my slave!" - -It is said to be the handsomest court room in the world. Every week-day -from October till May, except during Christmas and Easter holidays, just -at twelve o'clock the crier enters the court room and announces: "The -Honorable Chief Justice and the Associate Justices of the Supreme Court -of the United States," at which everybody, including visitors and -lawyers, stand. Just then nine large, dignified old gentlemen, led by -Chief Justice Fuller, kicking up their long black silk robes behind -them, enter the room; each, standing before his chair, bows to the -lawyers, the lawyers and spectators bow to them, then all are seated. - -The crier then opens court by saying: "O yea! O yea! O yea! All persons -having business with the honorable the Supreme Court of the United -States are admonished to draw near and give their attendance, as the -court is now sitting. God save the United States and this honorable -court." - -After this quaint little speech business begins. - -The members of the court wear gowns like the ecclesiastical robes of the -Church of England. This began in early days when this country took -English law and customs for pattern and precedent. - -The seats of the judges are placed in the order of the time of their -appointment, the senior judges occupying seats on either hand of the -Chief Justice, while the latest appointments sit at the farthest end of -each row. - -This order of precedence extends even into the consulting-room, where -the judges meet to talk over difficult cases, the Chief Justice -presiding at the head. - -Our country is justly proud of its judiciary. The Supreme Court of our -country is the last rampart of liberty. Should this court become corrupt -our free institutions will surely perish. - -The Supreme Court of the United States has, however, made some grave -mistakes—witness the famous decision of Justice Taney—but, for the most -part, time has only verified their decisions. - -The men who have sat here have not only been fair representatives of the -legal knowledge of their day but also men of unimpeachable integrity and -of the highest patriotism. Many of them have been devout Christians. -Some on the bench at present are among the best church workers of -Washington. - -Courts are conservative bodies. Conservatism produces nothing, but is -useful in preserving that which enthusiasm has created. - -This Supreme Court room has been made further memorable as being the -place in which, in 1877, sat the Electorial Commission which decided the -Presidential contest as to whether Hayes, of the Republican party, or -Tilden, of the Democratic party, should be the Executive of a great -nation for four years. - -In the fall of 1876, when the elections were over, it was found that the -result was in serious and dangerous dispute. The Senate was Republican, -the House Democratic. Each distrusted the other. It was feared that on -the following 4th of March the country would be forced to face one of -two series dilemmas: either that the country would have no President, or -that two would-be Presidents would, with their followers, strive to -enter the White House and take violent possession of the government. Men -would have shot the way they voted. On the 7th of December, Judge George -W. McCrary, a Representative of Iowa, afterward in Hayes's Cabinet, -later a circuit judge of the United States, submitted a resolution which -became the basis of the Electoral Commission. Three distant Southern -States had sent to the Capitol double sets of election returns—one set -for Mr. Tilden, one set for Mr. Hayes. On these nineteen votes depended -the Presidency for four years. - -If they were counted for Tilden, he would have two hundred and three -votes and Hayes one hundred and sixty-six; or, if counted for Hayes, he -would have one hundred and eighty-five votes and Tilden one hundred and -eighty-four. The States whose certificates of election were in dispute -were Florida, Louisiana, South Carolina, and Oregon. - -The members of the Electoral Commission were selected either as -representatives of their party, or men considered the embodiment of -honor and justice. The Commission consisted of five Senators, five -Judges of the Supreme Court, and five Representatives from the Lower -House of Congress. The attorneys were the leading lawyers of each party. -The Cabinet, leading Senators, Congressmen, foreign Ministers, and -distinguished people from all portions of the country, were present. The -wit, the beauty, the writers, the wisdom of the country assembled in -this room to weigh the arguments, and at last to hear the decision that -Rutherford B. Hayes was rightfully to be the President of the United -States. - -This tribunal, and the wise patriotism of Mr. Tilden and his party, -saved the country from a bloody civil war. - - - - - XI - INCIDENTS CONCERNING MEMBERS OF THE - SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES - - -THE Chief Justice of the United States is the highest legal officer in -this country. - -The position has always been filled by men of great learning and of high -integrity, and, differ as we may concerning the wisdom and justice of -some Supreme Court decisions, yet we must believe the judges were -sincere and honest in their renditions. - -When the country loses confidence in the integrity of this court, the -very foundation of our government will be in danger. - -The first Chief Justice was John Jay, appointed September 26, 1789. He -soon resigned to accept the position of Envoy Extraordinary to England, -where, after the Revolutionary War, the adjustment of our affairs -demanded a person of great learning and skill. The country was fortunate -in having John Adams, John Jay, and, later, John Quincy Adams as its -representatives in this delicate and important service. - -John Rutledge, of South Carolina, was a later appointment to the Chief -Justiceship, but the Senate refused to confirm the nomination. Then -William Cushing, of Massachusetts, one of the Associate Justices, was -nominated and confirmed, but declined to serve. Oliver Ellsworth, of -Connecticut, was then appointed, and was confirmed by the Senate March -4, 1796. He served till 1799, when he resigned to go as the Special -Envoy and the Minister to England. - -John Jay was again nominated and confirmed by the Senate, but refused to -serve. John Marshall, of Virginia, was appointed Chief Justice by -President John Adams in 1801. He died in 1835. His term and that of -Chief Justice Taney cover over sixty important years in the history of -our government. - -John Marshall had served on the personal staff of Washington in the -Revolutionary War, and had suffered the miseries and trials of the camp -at Valley Forge. At the time of his appointment he was Secretary of -State in Adams's Cabinet. He served in both capacities till the close of -Adams's administration. - -The Supreme Court, when Marshall was called to preside over it, was held -in a low-vaulted room in the basement of the Capitol, and remained there -until the new wings were finished, about 1857. Mr. Ellis, in "Sights and -Secrets of Washington," tells this story of Marshall: "Upon one occasion -Marshall was standing in the market in Richmond, Va., with his basket -containing his purchases on his arm, when he was accosted by a -fashionable young gentleman who had just purchased a turkey. The young -man's foolish pride would not allow him to carry the fowl through the -streets, and, taking the Judge for a countryman, he asked him to carry -it home for him. The request was promptly granted, and when the young -man's home was reached he offered the supposed countryman a shilling for -his trouble. The money was courteously refused, and upon asking the name -of the person who had rendered him the service, the young man was not a -little astonished and chagrined to learn that his thanks were due to the -Chief Justice of the United States." - -A bet was once made that the Judge could not dress himself without -exhibiting some mark of carelessness. He good-humoredly accepted the -challenge. A supper was to be given him upon these conditions: If his -dress was found to be faultlessly neat upon that occasion, the parties -offering the wager were to pay for the entertainment; but if they -detected any carelessness in his attire, the expense was to fall upon -him. Upon the appointed evening the guests and the Judge met at the -place agreed upon, and, to the surprise of all, the Judge's dress seemed -faultless. The supper followed, Judge Marshall being in high spirits -over his victory. Near the close of the repast, however, one of the -guests who sat near him chanced to drop his napkin, and, stooping down -to pick it up, discovered that the Judge had put on one of his stockings -with the wrong side out. Of course the condition of affairs was -immediately changed, and amidst the uproarious laughter of his -companions the Chief Justice acknowledged his defeat. - -Mr. Ellis also says: "The following incident in his (Marshall's) life is -said to have occurred at McGuire's hotel, in Winchester, Virginia: - -"It is not long since a gentleman was traveling in one of the counties -of Virginia, and about the close of the day stopped at a public house to -obtain refreshment and spend the night. He had been there but a short -time before an old man alighted from his gig, with the apparent -intention of becoming his fellow guest at the same house. As the old man -drove up he observed that both of the shafts of the gig were broken, and -that they were held together by withes formed from the bark of a hickory -sapling. Our traveler observed further that he was plainly clad, that -his knee-buckles were loosened, and that something like negligence -pervaded his dress. Conceiving him to be one of the honest yeomanry of -our land, the courtesies of strangers passed between them, and they -entered the tavern. It was about the same time that an addition of three -or four young gentlemen was made to their number—most, if not all of -them, of the legal profession. As soon as they became conveniently -accommodated, the conversation was turned by the latter upon an eloquent -harangue which had that day been displayed at the bar. It was replied by -the other that he had witnessed, the same day, a degree of eloquence no -doubt equal, but it was from the pulpit. Something like a sarcastic -rejoinder was made as to the eloquence of the pulpit, and a warm -altercation ensued, in which the merits of the Christian religion became -the subject of discussion. From six o'clock until eleven the young -champions wielded the sword of argument, adducing with ingenuity and -ability everything that could be said, _pro_ and _con_. During this -protracted period the old gentleman listened with the meekness and -modesty of a child—as if he were adding new information to the stores of -his own mind, or perhaps he was observing, with philosophic eye, the -faculties of the youthful mind and how new energies are evolved by -repeated action; or, perhaps, with patriotic emotion, he was reflecting -upon the future destinies of his country, and on the rising generation, -upon whom these future destinies must devolve; or, most probably, with a -sentiment of moral and religious feeling, he was collecting an argument -which, characteristic of himself, no art would 'be able to elude, and no -force to resist.' Our traveler remained a spectator, and took no part in -what was said. - -"At last one of the young men, remarking that it was impossible to -combat with long and established prejudices, wheeled around, and, with -some familiarity, exclaimed, "Well, my old gentleman, what do you think -of these things?" If, said the traveler, a streak of vivid lightning had -at the moment crossed the room, their amazement could not have been -greater than it was with what followed. The most eloquent and -unanswerable appeal that he ever heard or read was made for nearly an -hour by the old gentleman. So perfect was his recollection that every -argument urged against the Christian religion was met in the order in -which it was advanced. Hume's sophistry on the subject of miracles was, -if possible, more perfectly answered than it had already been done by -Campbell. And in the whole lecture there was so much simplicity and -energy, pathos and sublimity, that not another word was uttered. An -attempt to describe it, said the traveler, would be an attempt to paint -the sunbeams. It was now a matter of curiosity and inquiry who the old -gentleman was. The traveler concluded it was a preacher from whom the -pulpit eloquence was heard. But no; it was the Chief Justice of the -United States." - -Judge Marshall was followed by Roger Brooke Taney, of Maryland. He was -nominated by President Jackson, and confirmed by the Senate in 1836. He -died October 12, 1864. His decision in the Dred Scott fugitive case may -be ranked as one of the factors which brought about the Civil War. The -case was substantially this: A negro slave, with a wife and two -children, sued his master for freedom under the plea that, having been -taken North into free States a number of times, they were therefore -entitled to freedom. The decision covers many pages, but the nation -summed it up in these words: "The black man possesses no rights which -the white man is bound to respect." Since Moses established a judiciary -no decision ever made such a disturbance. In the memory of most people -Taney's singularly pure life goes for nothing beside the infamy of this -decision. It outraged the conscience of mankind. Taney claimed that he -did not make the law, he simply gave its interpretation. The decision -was approved by the majority of the court, but he alone was made to -suffer the obloquy which followed. - -This decision proved sufficient to bring down the wrath of a just God on -a nation so lost to human justice. The South suffered for the sin of -slavery, the North for conniving thereto. - -Judge Taney sleeps at Frederick, Md. (where most of his private life had -passed), beside his wife, who was sister to Francis Scott Key, author of -"The Star-Spangled Banner." - -In the summer of 1888 I heard Dr. Wardell, at Ocean Grove, N. J., tell -this incident concerning Salmon P. Chase, who was appointed Chief -Justice by President Lincoln in 1864, and who died in 1873. Dr. Wardell -claimed to have the story direct from Dr. Newman, then pastor of the -Metropolitan Methodist Church, Washington, D. C. - -He said that Chief Justice Chase was in the habit of attending the -Metropolitan Church, on Four and One-half Street, Washington, and Dr. -Newman (afterward Bishop) noticed that while the Chief Justice was a -member of the official Board, and attended faithfully to its duties, yet -he always left the church when the sacrament of the Lord's Supper was -administered. - -After one such occasion Dr. Newman went to him and said: "Why do you not -avail yourself of the means of grace in the Lord's Supper?" - -The Chief Justice answered: "I do not consider myself worthy to partake -of the communion." - -The Doctor said: "We invite all who love the Lord, and who do truly and -heartily repent of their sins, to join with us in this service." - -"Yes, that is just it. What do you mean by 'repent'?" - -Then the Doctor gave him a full and clear explanation of repentance. - -On the next communion day instead of leaving the church the Chief -Justice remained in his seat. After all had communed, Dr. Newman said: -"If any soul feels its unfitness for this service, to him this -invitation is specially given. If such a one fails to acknowledge the -Savior and his own unworthiness before his fellowmen, we are assured -that the Savior will not acknowledge him before his Father and His holy -angels." - -The Chief Justice rose, and staggered, rather than walked, to the front, -and fell on his knees at the altar railing. After giving to the kneeling -man the bread and wine, the Doctor, seeing the strong face of the -penitent drawn with grief, with the Justice still kneeling, pronounced -the benediction and dismissed the congregation. - -The next day, in the robing-room of the justices, Chief Justice Chase -said to Justice Miller: "Oh, I want to tell you to-day what the Lord has -done for my soul! He came very near me yesterday." - -Justice Miller replied: "Well, we will talk of that some other time; now -we have the wages of sin and not righteousness before us." - -After court adjourned that afternoon, the Chief Justice went down to -Alexandria to see an old servant who had sent for him. He said to her: -"Oh, Auntie, I received a great blessing yesterday; all life is -different. I want to have a closer walk with God." - -Within a few days he went to New York to transact some business. The -morning after his arrival he did not come down to breakfast. The clerk -waited till eleven o'clock, and receiving no answer to his frequent -knocks, the door was forced, and there was found the dead body of the -Chief Justice. He had entered on his closer walk with God. - -It was well known throughout the country that Lincoln was not in harmony -with Chase, even when the latter was Secretary of the Treasury, but -Carpenter, in his "Six Months in the White House," says: -"Notwithstanding his apparent hesitation in the appointment of a -successor to Judge Taney, it is well known to his intimate friends that -there had never been a time during his Presidency, when in the event of -the death of Judge Taney, Mr. Lincoln had not fully intended and -expected to nominate Salmon P. Chase for Chief Justice." - -The appointment must have come to Chase with a little of the effects of -"coals of fire," for he had not been very loyal to Lincoln. He had the -Presidential bee in his own bonnet. - -From 1874 to 1888 Morrison R. Waite, of Ohio, was Chief Justice. Our -present Chief Justice, Melville W. Fuller, of Illinois, was called to -the highest judicial position in the country in 1888. - - - - - XII - TEACHING PATRIOTISM IN THE CAPITOL - - -ONE can fancy a patriotic Englishman taking his son to Westminster -Abbey, and there telling him the story of liberty, in the history of the -renowned dead who sleep about him, until the youth is inspired with a -patriotism deeper than the love of kindred, and second only to the love -of God. - -So an American father who desires his children to assume their proper -place among the great force of American youth who are to perpetuate -American institutions, might well bring them to the Capitol of the -nation, and there in glowing words, and amid reminders of every decade -of the nineteenth century and the latter part of the eighteenth, tell -the story of liberty as shown in republican institutions. - -He could also take his children to Mount Vernon for a day; there they -might read together the history of that serene, majestic character whose -eminence has carried him beyond national lines and made him belong to -the world as well as to us—a citizen of all lands and of all ages. - -History is best told by biography. Around Washington would be grouped -John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and Alexander Hamilton. These men, without -a precedent to follow, launched a new government, establishing all the -departments of its great machinery with such wisdom, justice, and -patriotism that what they did, what they thought and planned, but were -not able to complete, is to-day the standard of patriotism and national -achievement. - -Then would follow that man whose life grows radiant in the strong -search-light of history—John Quincy Adams; that Adams, who could -truthfully say at the close of a long, brilliant, and useful life, in -the words of an old Roman: "I have rendered to my country all the great -service she was willing to receive at my hand, and I have never harbored -a thought concerning her which was not divine." With him would be his -compeers, Madison, Monroe, Burr, Clay, Webster, Jackson, John Randolph, -the elder Bayard, and Calhoun. - -That father would not fail to make plain the stern patriotism of Andrew -Jackson and Daniel Webster against the insidious treason of Calhoun and -his coterie. - -During the early days of President Jackson's administration he gave a -state dinner in honor of Jefferson's birthday. On his right sat Calhoun, -Vice-President of the United States, and up to this time the intimate -friend and confidential adviser of the Executive. On Jackson's left sat -Webster, with the black brows of Jove. - -The toasts of the evening had been ambiguous. Mr. Calhoun gave this -toast: "Our union, next to our liberties the most dear; it can only be -preserved by respecting the rights of States, and by distributing its -burdens and its benefits equally." - -Webster nudged the President. Old Hickory sprang to his feet and gave -the toast: "Our federal union; it must be preserved." Every man drank it -standing, Calhoun among the rest. - -How near our country came to open rebellion is shown in the last hours -of Jackson. A friend at his bedside said: "What would you have done with -Calhoun and his friends had they persisted in nullification?" "Hanged -them, sir, as high as Haman. They should have been a terror to traitors -for all time," said the dying statesman. - -That father could tell part of the story of liberty in the life of the -younger Adams. At the age of eleven Adams decided that he would be a -Christian. He said: "Of this one thing I must make sure: I shall humbly -serve God. If He makes me a great man, I shall rejoice; but this He -surely will do: if I trust Him, He will make me a useful man." - -God took Adams at his word. He sought the Kingdom first. God added -place. Adams was diplomat, Senator, Secretary of State, President, -Congressman. He might well say with his dying breath, as he was carried -from his place in the old House of Representatives to the Rotunda, "This -is the last of earth, but I am content." - -Well he might be content. He had been a faithful, honest, upright -Christian man, who had received at the hands of his fellow citizens the -highest honors they could confer, and in his death he passed to a home -among the redeemed, there with enlarged intelligence and clearer vision -to continue his work for God in the beyond. - -In this day, when writers are striving to make black appear white, the -father who would mingle Christianity with patriotism would not fail to -sketch the life of Aaron Burr in contrast with the young Adams. - -Burr tells us that at the age of eighteen the Spirit of God came upon -him with such power that he fled to the woods to settle that great -question which faces every human being—"Shall I be a Christian?" He said -to himself: "I purpose as a lawyer to succeed by the tricks of the -trade. There is many a short cut in business which a Christian could not -take, therefore I shall not be a Christian." - -He tells us that the Spirit of God never again troubled him. He sinned -against the Spirit, that unpardonable sin. Left to himself, his destiny -led him to a high place only to make his fall more terrible. Socially he -was the most charming man of his day, but he entered no home which he -did not defile. No woman loved him but to her sorrow. - -Burr was holding the position of Vice-President as a Republican when he -was nominated by the Federalists for Governor of New York. Some of the -leading men of that party refused to support him, among them Hamilton. -This led to the duel in which Hamilton was killed, July 11, 1804. - -Burr was disfranchised and banished by the laws of New York, and was -indicted for murder by the authorities of New Jersey for having killed -Hamilton on the soil of that State. He could not enter either New York -or New Jersey to settle his business. He was bankrupted, and more than -$5,000 in debt when all his property had been sold and the results paid -over. - -The day before the duel Burr had a right to suppose himself a more -important man than Hamilton. Was he not Vice-President? Had he not just -received a majority of the votes of the City of New York for Governor of -that State, in spite of Hamilton's greatest exertions? Yet the day after -the duel the dying Hamilton had the sympathy of every human being, and -Burr was a fugitive from justice, not knowing friend from foe. Never was -there a greater revulsion of feeling. - -Southern men tried to console him by their more courteous demeanor. -Between the time of the duel and the convening of Congress, Burr had -kept himself south of Mason and Dixon's line, for in any Northern State -he would have been arrested on a requisition on the Governor. - -He went back to Washington and again presided over the Senate, but was -simply scorched by the open, daily manifestations of the scorn of -Northern Senators. The Southern men were more courteous in their -demeanor. On Saturday, March 2d, he took leave of the Senate. That body -was in executive session, therefore no spectators were present. Mr. -Burr, one of the most eloquent as well as one of the handsomest men of -his day, rose in his place after the galleries had been cleared. He -began his address by saying that he had intended to remain during his -constitutional time, but he felt an indisposition coming upon him and he -now desired to take leave of them. - -The silence could be felt. There was no shorthand reporter present, and -exactly what he said is not now known—perhaps nothing very different -from what other retiring Vice-Presidents have said. No reference was -made to the duel, none to the scorn he had merited, unless it were in -his words, "For injuries received, thank God, I have no memory." - -He thanked the Senators for kindness and courtesy. He prophesied that if -ever political liberty in this country died its expiring agonies would -be witnessed on the floor of the United States Senate. As he walked out -no man rose, no man shook hands with him; when the door closed on him it -shut him out forever from position, usefulness, home, country, the love -of women, and the friendship of men. - -At the President's reception on the following Morning two Senators were -relating the circumstances to a group which had gathered round them. On -being asked, "How long did Mr. Burr speak?" one of them answered, "I can -form no idea; it may have been a moment and it may have been an hour; -when I came to my senses I seemed to have awakened from a kind of -trance." - -Burr, hurled from power and honor, wandered a fugitive from justice, and -at last would have been laid in a pauper's grave but for the care of a -woman who had loved him in his better days. - -Surely the Psalmist was right when, speaking of the righteous and the -unrighteous, he said: "And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers -of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also -shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. The ungodly are -not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away." - - - - - XIII - PEOPLE IN THE DEPARTMENTS - - -ABOUT one-third of all the employees in the government departments at -Washington are women. Several receive over $2,500 per annum, about fifty -receive $1,600 per annum, one hundred receive $1,400 per annum, four -hundred and fifty receive $1,200, three hundred receive $1,000, and the -remainder receive from $600 to $900 per annum. - -The Civil Service Commission records for last year show that 3,083 women -were examined for the various positions opened for them under the civil -service. Of these, 2,476 passed and 444 were appointed. Of the -applicants examined, 1,351 came under the head of "skilled labor." - -The most popular examination for women is that of stenographers and -typewriters. "Good stenographers" is the ceaseless demand of the -department official—not mediocre, but good par excellence. - -Government work is well paid only when well done. Promotions are at -least sometimes the reward of merit. A very striking illustration of -this occurred last winter, when a young woman was made chief of one of -the divisions in the Post-Office Department because she knew more about -the work of that particular division than any other employee in it. She -receives a salary of $2,240—among the highest paid to any woman in the -service. - -In the States a position at Washington is looked upon as most desirable, -but except for the highest positions, and for the name of it, no -ambitious man or woman who desires to secure a competence by middle life -should consider a place in the departments. - -There are nearly six thousand classified clerkships in the departments, -and many thousands of ungraded positions. Clerks of the first class -receive $1,200 per year; of the second, $1,400; of the third, $1,600; of -the fourth class, $1,800. In ungraded positions, salaries range from -$700 to $1,000. - -Chief clerks receive from $1,800 to $2,700; stenographers and -translators of languages from $1,200 to $2,000; copyists from $60 to $75 -per month. Thirty days' vacation, without loss of salary, is allowed -each year, and in case of violent illness no pay is deducted. - -Hundreds of fine young men, well educated, who ought to be in the -manufacturing businesses of our country where they could develop, tamely -accept from $700 to $1,000 a year for mechanical work. In the last few -years there has been wonderful improvement in the work done by -department people. In 1885 I was impressed by the flirtations in -corners, the half hours which were wasted in visiting by people -receiving government money. But few are idle now—at least, where a -visitor can see. They are all at their desks promptly at 9 A.M.; they -work till 4 P.M., with half an hour at noon for luncheon. No bank -records as to punctuality, regularity, and diligence can be more closely -kept than those of the departments. There are so many who are eager to -take an idler's place that no one dares to fritter away his or her time. - -It is said that if a woman banks on her femininity with chiefs of -divisions, or has unusual Senatorial backing, she may dare to take some -liberties—she may be idle or incompetent, and not be reported; but these -cases grow fewer in number. - -Now, as to civil service examination. No one can get into the classified -service without it; but in most places, when one has passed the highest -examination, it takes Congressional influence to get a position. -Whatever may be the conditions in the future, there never has been a -time when influence was more used than in the session of Congress ending -July 1, 1902. In making up the Bureau of Permanent Census, it was not -merit but influence which secured a place. Merit, of course, helps -everywhere, but in the session referred to three-fourths influence to -one-fourth merit were necessary to secure any position. - -There were twenty places to fill in the Congressional Library, where it -is claimed influence counts least. Eighteen hundred people applied for -the twenty places, and of course those with Senatorial influence were -appointed. No doubt their qualifications also entered into the account. - -Seven hours, frequently spent in close, confined rooms, doing work which -brings no mental improvement, often with a fretful, over-critical chief, -anxious to get an incumbent out in order to put in his own friend, does -not look to me like a desirable position. - -It is evidently intended to give places more and more to men who can go -home and help manage elections. It will not be until woman suffrage -prevails in the States that women will have an equal opportunity with -men, even in the work world. Then department people are ever anxious -about their places. At each change of Congress new people _must_ be -taken care of, and much more is this true when the Executive is changed. -The Washington _Post_ of July 15, 1902, has this editorial: - - The latest civil-service order of President Roosevelt is addressed - to this evil. One can not avoid wishing that it had been issued - early in December, 1901, instead of in July, 1902—before, instead of - after, a long session of Congress, during which the "pull" was - industriously plied with the usual results. But "better late than - never." It is a good order, and its influence should be seen and - felt in the improvement of the service. Altho it was printed in the - _Post_ as soon as it was made public, it will bear reproduction. - Here it is: - - No recommendation for the promotion of any employee in the - classified service shall be considered by any officer concerned - in making promotions except it be made by the officer or - officers under whose supervision or control such employee is - serving; and such recommendation by any other person with the - knowledge and consent of the employee shall be sufficient cause - for debarring him from the promotion proposed, and a repetition - of the offense shall be sufficient cause for removing him from - the service. - - When we speak of that order or rule as good, we mean to say that it - will prove so if faithfully and impartially enforced; otherwise, it - may only aggravate existing wrongs. For example, suppose three - clerks, A, B, and C, in the same division are aspirants for - promotion to fill a vacancy in a higher grade. Suppose each of them - to have very influential friends, whose recommendation, were it - proper to use it, might be the controlling factor in the disposal of - the prize. But A and B obey that rule, relying on their respective - records, while C quietly hints to his friend or friends that a - little boosting would do him a great service. A personal call on the - official "under whose supervision or control such employee is - serving"—a personal call by Senator X or some other statesman of - weight—ensues, and C is promoted as a result of that call. That is - what has happened in almost numberless cases. Will it stop now? If - "yes," the President's order will prove a great promoter of reform - in the civil service; if "no," it will work in the opposite - direction. - -I took this editorial to a number of leading people in the departments. -"Yes," they said, "something like that usually comes out about this time -of the year when Congress has adjourned. Even if President Roosevelt -means what he says, it can scarcely be executed. The system is so -complex, with so many wheels within wheels, that patronage can hardly be -stopped. If a chief fails to promote a Senator's niece, Mr. Chief will -be apt to lose his own place, and this consideration brings wisdom." -Conditions have not changed in 1909. - -When a man or a woman has been four or five years in a clerical -government office, he or she is scarcely fit for any other kind of -place. In that time has been lost ingenuity, resourcefulness, -adaptation, how to placate or please the public, and, above all, -confidence to fight in the great battle of industries; consequently, -when dismissed, the former place-holder hangs about Washington, hoping -for another situation. One can see more forlorn, vanquished soldiers of -fortune in the national capital than in any other city of its size in -the world. - -If one desires to make a living only, and not lay up for a rainy day, or -if one has clerical talent only, then a Washington position might be -desirable; but when one sees great, able-bodied men opening and shutting -doors for a salary, or a man capable of running a foundry operating an -elevator in a government building, it disgusts him with the strife for -place. Government clerkships may be desirable for women, but few of them -should claim the ability of first-class men. It is commercial death to -become once established in a department at Washington. - -The government has many first-class scientists in its employ, people -with technical knowledge. These are the rare souls who, while they know -more than their fellow men, care less for money, and have neither time -nor ability to make it. For such men a good position in the -Agricultural, Geological, Smithsonian, Educational, Indian, or other -scientific departments is desirable, but for no other class. - -In no other place than Washington can one better see the fact -illustrated that once in each generation the wheel of fortune makes a -complete revolution, turning down those at the top and turning up those -who are down. In the departments are now many widows and daughters of -men who were prominent in Civil War times. One woman eighty-two years of -age was during the war the wife of a great general. She now sits at a -department desk from nine to four daily, and no one does better work. - -The old charge of immorality among the women of departments is now -seldom heard in Washington. Among the thousands there must be a few -black sheep, but women have ways of making life so uncomfortable for a -derelict that she prefers to resign and occupy a less public position. -No Congressional influence can shelter her head from the scorn of other -women. - -Corruption is more likely to originate with chiefs of subdivisions, as -in the recent case of young Ayres of the Census Bureau, who was killed, -and Mrs. Bonine, who was acquitted of his murder. The trial was a mere -farce, for society felt that whoever killed the vile libertine who had -used his place to seduce or browbeat young girls had served society. -Justifiable homicide would doubtless be the verdict should death strike -a few others. Such cases are, however, rarer than in commercial -communities. The people of the departments largely constitute the -membership of the churches of Washington. Senators and Congressmen, with -their wives, do not bring letters from their home churches, but the -department people do. The latter practically support the churches and -the religious institutions and religious work of the district. - - - - - XIV - INCIDENTS IN AND OUT OF THE DEPARTMENTS - - -"I MUST go down to the Census Office to hold a scrub-woman in her -place," said a Western Congressman to me. He added: "Let me tell you -about her. She does not belong to my State, but you will not be -surprised that I propose to hold her in her poor place, which brings $20 -per month, when I explain her case. She is the widow of a regular army -officer. Her husband in the Civil War was twice promoted for personal -bravery. His native town presented him with a sword as a tribute of his -courage. His widow scrubs floors along with colored people, and his only -daughter does menial service twelve hours a day in the printing-office. -Of course the widow is too old for a Civil Service place, and that is -the best I can do for her. She has no G. A. R. influence, her husband -was so long a regular that she has no State back of her. I am glad to do -what I can." - -Not long ago the beauty of a country town, let us say of Texas, was -brought to Washington for a place. Her Congressman's quota of positions -was full; he knew, however, of one place which was ably filled by a -Southern woman who came here with President Johnson's family as -instructor for his grandchildren. President Johnson had, before leaving, -secured her a place in a department, and now the Texan asked her -official head in the interest of the beauty. The girl was bright, -flippant, and loud. She used her first month's wages to obtain a red -velvet dress cut square in the neck to show her white, firm skin. She -did her work fairly well, but one day people in her department heard a -scream, and they also heard some one getting a severe slapping of the -face amid cries of "I have a big brother in Texas, and it will take him -only two days to get here, and he'll beat the life out of you!" etc. - -[Illustration: THE SUPREME COURT] - - Chief Justice Melville W. Fuller - - 1. Justice William H. Moody - 2. Justice Joseph McKenna - 3. Justice John M. Harlan - 4. Justice David J. Brewer - 5. Justice Oliver W. Holmes, Jr. - 6. Justice Rufus W. Peckham - 7. Justice William R. Day - 8. Justice Edward D. White - -[Illustration: - - Photo by Clinedinst - - NEW MUNICIPAL BUILDING -] - -[Illustration: - - Photo by Clinedinst - - THE GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE -] - -[Illustration: - - Copyright, 1906, by the John A. Lowell Bank Note Co., Boston, Mass. - - THE NEW UNION RAILWAY STATION -] - -[Illustration: - - Photo by Clinedinst - - THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION -] - -[Illustration: - - Photo by Clinedinst - - THE NEW NATIONAL MUSEUM -] - -A shamefaced clerk was seen to emerge from the room. When the others -rushed in they found the girl in a dead faint which was followed by -hysterics. Then the women said, "Aha! you got what you deserved with -your red dress, your loud manners, and flippant talk." - -The girl replied, "Well, I think you should have had the decency to tell -me that before, if my dress and manners exposed me to insult. You will -see, I shall learn." Sure enough, the girl did learn to dress quietly, -and is now an efficient, decorous helper. - -The wife of one of the new-rich, who have come to Washington to spend -their money in social life, was being taken through the Census -Department when they had on the full force of several thousand. Looking -over that crowd, every one of the intellectual rank of a first-class -teacher, she said: "Ah! I see now what makes servants so very scarce in -Washington!" Each one of these classed as of the rank of servants had -passed an entrance examination which her ladyship could not have stood, -even if her life had depended upon it. - -One of the peculiar features of department life is that it seems to dry -up the milk of human kindness. A man will move heaven and earth to get a -high situation under the government, then when others ask from him less -than he has asked of his friends, the applicant is made to feel like a -beggar. He is advised to go home and tend to his own affairs—which may -be very good advice, but comes with bad grace from a government -official. - -I knew a man from the South, the editor of a religious paper, the most -important man in the county, who came to Washington to ask for the -post-office of his own town. His credentials had the endorsement of -every bank, every business house, every preacher, doctor, and teacher in -his town. He was permitted to get as near headquarters as the Fourth -Assistant Postmaster, where he was told Senator Blank would have that -appointment. The Senator appointed a Catholic in that town where there -are not over forty Catholics, and where a Lutheran College alone gets -more mail than the entire Catholic population. The new man was a person -_non grata_ to the entire town, but the Senator had paid a campaign -debt. - -Every person in Washington knows the sad life story of a famous -Washington woman—though it will be fifty years before the full details -can be publicly told—daughter of a distinguished Western Senator, the -Secretary of the Treasury and Chief Justice of the United States, the -loved wife of a New England Senator, who was divorced, and then began a -downward course, ending in ruin alike to her fortune and prestige, which -had best remain untold for this generation of readers. - -Older people will remember that one of Grant's Cabinet was forced to -resign because of fraud in the War Department. Valuable contracts were -let, and the wife of this official, totally unknown to her husband, took -thousands of dollars for her influence in securing these contracts. At -last trouble was threatened. Congress appointed a committee to -investigate. The night before the exposure madame attended a great ball -at one of the legations. The French Minister said: "I have been in most -of the courts of Europe; I have never seen any one, not even queens, -better dressed than madame." She wore a dress literally covered with -point-lace, a point-lace fan, and more than $40,000 worth of diamonds. - -Three Congressmen present knew what the next day would reveal. On that -day the Secretary was called before the committee. They soon saw that he -knew nothing about the matter. Madame heard what was going on and -suddenly appeared before the committee. She threw herself on her knees -before them and entreated shelter from disgrace. - -The Secretary resigned at once. He sacrificed his entire property to pay -back the fraudulent money. He opened a law office in Washington, but -soon after died; of course, people said he died of a broken heart. -Madame went abroad at once, and did not return till after her husband's -death. She now conducts a house in Washington where men and women lose -their souls in gambling or worse. - - - - - XV - TREASURY DEPARTMENT - - -THE Treasury building, on Pennsylvania Avenue and Fifteenth Street, was -located by President Jackson just east of the White House so as to -obstruct his view of the Capitol, at the other end of Pennsylvania -Avenue. It is said that he grew tired of the little differences of -opinion between the commissioner and the architect, Robert Mills, and -one day in ill humor he struck his staff in the earth and said: "I want -the chief corner-stone of the Treasury building placed just here!" You -may be sure it was placed just there. - -The Secretary of the Treasury superintends the collection and -disbursement of all government revenue from every source, except the -Post-Office Department. It takes many buildings to provide for the work -of the Treasury Department. - -The Congressional Directory says: - - The Secretary of the Treasury is charged by law with the management - of the national finances. He prepares plans for the improvement of - the revenue and for the support of the public credit; superintends - the collection of the revenue, and prescribes the forms of keeping - and rendering public accounts and of making returns; grants warrants - for all moneys drawn from the Treasury in pursuance of - appropriations made by law, and for the payment of moneys into the - Treasury; and annually submits to Congress estimates of the probable - revenues and disbursements of the Government. He also controls the - construction of public buildings; the coinage and printing of money; - the administration of the Revenue-Cutter branch of the public - service, and furnishes generally such information as may be required - by either branch of Congress on all matters pertaining to the - foregoing. - - The routine work of the Secretary's office is transacted in the - offices of the Supervising Architect, Director of the Mint, Director - of Engraving and Printing, and in the following divisions: - Bookkeeping and Warrants; Appointments; Customs; Public Moneys; - Loans and Currency; Revenue-Cutter; Stationery, Printing, and - Blanks; Mails and Files; Special Agents, and Miscellaneous. - -A few minutes' thought on the above will show that this is the very -heart of the government of our country. Its pulsations send the currency -through all the avenues of commerce; if it became bankrupt, disaster -would follow in every other department of the government, and the -prosperity of other nations would be unfavorably affected. - -The Treasury building was completed in 1841. It has undergone -considerable enlargement and many modifications since that time. It is -460 feet on Fifteenth Street, and has a frontage of 264 feet on -Pennsylvania Avenue. It is Grecian in architecture. On each of the four -sides are large porticos with most graceful yet massive Ionic columns. -The flower gardens about the Treasury are among the most beautiful in -the city. - -It would greatly surprise Alexander Hamilton, our first Secretary of the -Treasury, if he could see every day at 4 P.M. the 3,000 workers pour out -of the 300 rooms of the great building at Fifteenth Street and -Pennsylvania Avenue, and be told that this is only the central office of -the Secretary of the Treasury. The salary list of this building alone is -about half a million dollars annually. - -The Secretary is a member of the Cabinet, and receives $12,000 a year -for his services. He has two Assistant Secretaries, who each receive -$5,000 and a Chief Clerk, who has a salary of $2,700. The Chiefs of -Divisions receive about $2,500 each. - -There are subtreasuries in most of the large cities of the Union; also -assay offices in Boise City, Idaho, Charlotte, N. C., and St. Louis, -Mo., to see that the money is kept pure and up to the standard. - -The scales upon which the United States coin is weighed are said to be -so accurate that if two pieces of paper, in all respects the same except -that one has writing upon it, be laid one on either scale, the -difference in weight of the one bearing writing upon it will show in the -scale. - -The cost of maintaining these subdivisions of the Treasury is nearly one -and a half million dollars annually. - -The First Comptroller seems to be the important man of the Treasury. -Every claim is submitted to him. Not even the President's salary can be -paid unless he signs the warrant and vouchers for its correctness. His -salary is $5,000 per annum, but it takes $83,000 to maintain all the -appointments of his office. - -The Treasurer of the United States receives $6,000 per year. He gives a -bond for $150,000. He receives and disburses all the money of the -country and has charge of the money vaults. He has an army of -assistants. - -The Treasurer's report for 1901 says that the condition of the Treasury -as to the volume and character of assets was never better, and, in spite -of the unusual expense of the army in the Philippines and the raid on -the Pension Bureau, nearly $78,000,000 surplus remained in the Treasury. -On June 30, 1902, at the end of the fiscal year, the surplus was over -$92,000,000. What a magnificent showing as to the prosperity of our -country, and what an occasion for national thanksgiving! - -No robbery of the Treasury vaults has ever been attempted. When one sees -the solid walls of masonry and the patrol of soldiers, on duty night or -day, with every spot bright with electric light, no such attempt seems -likely to occur. The entire vaults inside are a network of electric -wires. If, for instance, a tunnel were made under the building, and a -robber should reach the vaults, the wires would ring up the Chief of -Police, who has telephone connection with Fort Meyer and the navy-yard, -so that within twenty minutes a detachment of troops could be on the -ground. - -A few years ago a negro charwoman, in doing her cleaning, found a -package of bonds of more than a million dollars in value. That faithful -woman sat by the package all night guarding it, knowing that it must be -of great value. Her faithfulness was recognized and she was rewarded -with a life position. Bowed and broken, she was an historic figure in -the building until she died. - -In this building all money from the Printing Bureau and the mints is -counted and verified. Here worn money, that which has been buried, -rotted by water or charred by fire, is identified by the skilled eyes -and hands of women. Of the charred money received from the great fire in -Chicago, eighty per cent. was identified, and new money issued in its -place. Sometimes money taken from bodies long drowned or buried has to -be handled. In such cases these women have the entire room to -themselves, as their usual neighbors find that business in other -quarters needs immediate attention. - -[Illustration: - - MACERATING $10,000,000 OF MONEY -] - -The banks of large cities send in their soiled money weekly or monthly -and receive fresh notes in exchange, the government paying -transportation both ways. This soiled money is made into pulp, which is -sold to paper-makers at about $40 a ton. - -It is only the old money that is counterfeited. Counterfeiters rumple -and muss their money to give it the appearance of being long in use. -Women are especially skilled in detecting counterfeit money. If among -the returned coins or notes one single piece proves to be counterfeit, -the amount is deducted from the salary of the examiner. Yet this great -government pays these women less than two-thirds what it would pay to -men for the same service, if men could do it at all. - -From the government of the United States it would seem that the world -had a right to expect that ideal justice which each soul shall receive -when it stands in the presence of Eternal Justice. - -The United States Treasury has charge of the Bureau of Printing and -Engraving, where all the paper money, postage, revenue stamps, and bonds -are made. - -Bills, when sent from the Bureau of Printing and Engraving, require the -signatures of officials of the bank from which they are to be issued -before becoming legal tender. - -Secretary Shaw has at the Bureau of Printing and Engraving his personal -representative, who locks up the plates, sees to the minutiæ of things, -so that even the smallest scrap of paper bearing government printing -must be shown, or the house is closed and search made till it is found. - -The custom officers who insult and browbeat you at the port are of this -department. Once on arriving at New York, after being very ill all the -way from Antwerp, I had declared I had nothing dutiable, yet in spite of -that every article in my trunk was laid out on the dirty floor of the -custom-house. When I saw the bottom of the trunk, I said: "Well, you -have only proved what I told you. I believe you think because I am -trembling from weakness that I am frightened?" "Yes, that is about the -size of it; there is your trunk, you may put the things back." "No," I -said, "my baggage is checked through, and I am not able to pack it." I -saw with some satisfaction the custom-house officer do the packing. It -had required my best efforts to get the stuff into the trunk, but he did -it. - -This country has very silly custom-house rules on personal clothing and -small articles of art and vertu, and the average artistic standard of -dress and home ornamentation of the country is lowered by these -ridiculous embargoes. - -In 1895 I was abroad with a company of Presbyterians; among them was -Professor G., of the Presbyterian Theological Seminary of California. He -happened to fall in with a little coterie of friends of whom I was one. -The most of us bought photos and souvenirs in almost every city. The -professor bought nothing. One day he said: "I would so like to have -brought my wife with me, but I was not able to do so. I shall be very -saving, so I can take her back a nice present." When we were in Italy -some fool woman suggested a cameo pin as a suitable and beautiful -present for his wife. Cameo pins have been out of fashion for twenty -years. He purchased one of great beauty for $30. As we came into port, a -friend said: "Professor, you had better let some woman wear that pin for -you or you will have trouble." "Thank you, no; I expect to pay the -required duty to my country." "Oh, you do not know your country yet; -you'll get a dose!" He paid $27 duty, and had not money enough left to -get home. I felt that this duty was an outrage. Things of beauty which -are not for sale should surely be admitted free. - -The Treasury is the heart of the whole machine that we call the "United -States Government." - - - - - XVI - SECRET SERVICE DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY - OF THE UNITED STATES - - -EVERY one is interested in what is called the Secret Service of the -government. The name covers many things, altho we usually associate it -with the government's protection of the coin and greenback currency of -the country. - -The detectives of this department are often employed in assisting to -find out or run down robbers of banks, railroad trains, express offices, -etc. They are also used in detecting frauds at the custom-houses, frauds -in the departments of justice, pertaining to naturalization papers, -post-office robberies, and attacks on the Mint. In the Pension Bureau -they unearth fraudulent attempts to represent dead pensioners, etc. For -work outside of their own departments they are paid by their employers. - -In the last report of the Secret Service, dated July 1, 1902, the chief -enumerates 253 persons convicted of attempt of counterfeiting currency, -and 106 yet awaiting action of the Court. The arrests for the current -year have numbered 573; of these, 413 were born in the United States; of -the 106 remaining, Italy furnished 65 counterfeiters; Germany, 25; -Ireland, 15; the others, except 6 Mexicans, are of the different -countries of Europe. Of the different States, New York produced 85 -counterfeiters (including those who make false representations of any -kind in passing currency); Missouri, 47; Pennsylvania, 45; while almost -every State has one or more. Altered and counterfeit notes to the value -of $46,004.95 have been captured, and counterfeit coins to the value of -$19,828.47. - -The Chief of the Secret Service says that the year has been fruitful in -that class of criminals who alter bills of small denomination to one of -higher value. Any change in a bill renders the maker liable to a fine of -$5,000, or fifteen years in prison, or both. - -The walls of the Secret Service office are covered with samples of -counterfeiters' work. The history of each would sound like a dime novel, -but the government is certain to catch any one who persists in -demoralizing the currency. Chief John E. Wilkie, a first-class Chicago -newspaper man, was brought East by Secretary Gage. He has called to his -assistance, as Chief Clerk, Mr. W. H. Moran, who learned his business -from Mr. Brooks, one of the best detectives any country has yet -produced. Other officials tell me the office has never been more ably -conducted than it is at present. - -This bureau is urging that for persistent crime a longer penal sentence -shall be given. To illustrate the persistence of two of these criminals, -the following extracts from the Secret Service records are, by courtesy -of the bureau, submitted: - - JOHN MULVEY, _alias_ JAMES CLARK, arrested October 16, 1883, at New - York, N. Y., for having in possession and passing counterfeit - coin. Sentenced, October 22, 1883, to _three years_ in Auburn, N. - Y., penitentiary and fined $1. - - WILLIAM STEVENS, _alias_ JOHN W. MURRAY, _alias_ JACK MULVEY, was - again arrested June 14, 1886, at Baltimore, for passing - counterfeit 25c. silver coins, and was sentenced, September 7, - 1886, to serve _one year_ in Maryland penitentiary and fined $100. - - Was again arrested under the same name October 5, 1887, at - Philadelphia, Pa., for passing and having in possession 25c. - coins, and sentenced, December 1, 1887, to _eighteen months_ in - the Eastern Penitentiary of Pennsylvania and fined. - - JOHN W. MURRAY, _alias_ WILLIAM STEVENS, _alias_ JACK MULVEY, was - again arrested, July 10, 1889, at Hoboken, N. J., for passing - counterfeit standard $1, 25c., and 10c. coins, and sentenced, - January 22, 1890, to _six months_ in State Prison at Trenton, N. - J., and pay costs. - - JACK MULVEY, _alias_ JAMES W., _alias_ JOHN CLARK, _alias_ JOHN W. - MURRAY, _alias_ "PANTS," _alias_ STEVENS, etc., was again arrested - January 12, 1891, at Pittsburg, Pa., for having in possession and - attempting to pass counterfeit 50c. coins, and was sentenced, - March 5, 1891, to _two years_ in Western Penitentiary at - Allegheny, Pa., and fined $25. - - JOHN MURRAY, _alias_ JACK MULVEY, was again arrested, January 25, - 1894, at Chicago, Ill., for manufacturing counterfeit 25c. and - 10c. coins and having same in possession, and was sentenced, March - 12, 1894, to _three years and six months_ at hard labor in the - penitentiary at Joliet, Ill., and to pay a fine of $1. - - JAMES FOLEY, _alias_ JACK MURRAY, _alias_ JACK MULVEY, was again - arrested, February 24, 1897, at Chicago, Ill., for having in - possession and passing counterfeit silver dimes, and escaped March - 22, 1897, but was rearrested, under the name of JOHN O'KEEFE, in - New York, N. Y., April 6, 1897, for passing counterfeit 10c. - pieces, and sentenced, May 12, 1897, to _seven years_ in Clinton - Prison and fined $1. Released from this prison February 27, 1902. - -Another case from the records of the Secret Service would read as -follows: - -One day the doors of the Moundsville, W. Va., prison opened on a tall, -slender, mild-eyed man, upon whose face and form time and confinement -had left their impress, and he passed out to take up again the broken -thread of his life. - -This was John Ogle's first day of freedom for more than three years. On -July 4, 1898, he was sentenced to four years' imprisonment for trying to -increase the negotiable value of one-dollar bills by altering their -denominational characteristics. - -Little more than a year before his brother, Miles, was released from the -Ohio penitentiary, where he had paid the extreme penalty imposed by law -for spurious money making, only to die two days later of paralysis, with -which he had been hopelessly stricken over a year before. - -The Ogles, father and sons, during the past fifty years have had much to -do with the making of the criminal history of this country. George Ogle, -the father, was a river pirate and farmhouse plunderer, the Ohio River -and its tributaries being the scene of his operations. The sons, bred in -an atmosphere of crime, early embarked in independent unlawful -enterprises. Miles displayed pugnacity, intrepidity, and skill, while -John was shrewd, plausible, and cunning. - -After serving five years for killing an officer who attempted to arrest -the family, and when but twenty-six years old, Miles allied himself with -the notorious "Reno" gang of bandits, and became the pupil and -confederate of Peter McCartney, that past master of the counterfeiter's -art. How well he applied himself the records of the Secret Service will -testify. An even dozen skilfully executed spurious note issues were -directly traceable to him, despite the fact that two-thirds of his -manhood were spent behind prison walls. - -John Ogle, while not possessed of the dangerous skill of his brother, -was his equal in hardihood, and, in his way, quite as detrimental to -society. For cool daring, ingenuity, and resourcefulness he was without -a peer in his chosen profession, and some of his escapes from the -officers of the law bordered on the miraculous. He was introduced to -prison life in 1864, being sentenced in the fall of that year to five -years in the Jeffersonville, Ind., penitentiary for burglary. Shortly -after his release he was traced to Cairo, Ill., with twenty-eight -hundred dollars of counterfeit money intended for one of Miles' -customers, and, after a desperate fight, was placed in jail. He managed -in some way to effect his escape, but was soon recaptured at Pittsburg. -This time he told the officers that he knew of a big "plant" of spurious -bills and tools near Oyster Point, Md., which he was willing to turn up -if it would benefit him. Being assured of leniency, he started with a -marshal for the hiding-place. _En route_ he managed to elude the -watchfulness of his guard, and jumped from the car-window while the -train was at full speed. At Bolivar, Tenn., Ogle was arrested, January -8, 1872, with five hundred dollars of counterfeit money in his pocket. A -sentence of ten years was imposed; but John had a reputation to sustain, -so he broke from the jail where he was temporarily confined awaiting -transportation to the penitentiary. Several months later he was arrested -and indicted at Cincinnati for passing bad five-dollar bills. Pending -trial, he was released on five thousand dollars bail, which he promptly -forfeited, and was again a fugitive. - -February 18, 1873, one Tom Hayes was detected passing counterfeit money -at Cairo, Ill., but it was not discovered that "Tom Hayes" was none -other than the much-wanted John Ogle until after he had made good his -escape. So chagrined were the officers over this second break that all -the resources of the department were employed to effect his capture, and -but a week had passed before he was found in Pittsburg and taken to -Springfield, Ill., for trial. This time there was no escape, and he -served five years in Joliet. As he stepped from the prison door Marshal -Thrall, of Cincinnati, confronted him with an order for his removal to -answer the indictment of May, 1872. The Cincinnati jail was undergoing -repairs. A painter had left his overalls and hickory shirt in the -corridor near the cage where Ogle was placed. Adroitly picking the lock -of his cell with his penknife, he donned the painter's clothes, took up -a paint-bucket, and coolly walked down-stairs, past the gate (which the -guard obligingly opened for him), through the jailer's office, and into -the street. Proceeding leisurely until out of sight of the prison, the -daring criminal made his way to the river, which he crossed at -Lawrenceburg, and, discarding his borrowed apparel, struck across the -country, finally bringing up at Brandenburg, Ky., where he obtained -employment as a stonecutter. Respectability was, however, inconsistent -with Ogle's early training; so about a week after his arrival he broke -into a shoe-house of the town, stole $200 worth of goods, and was -arrested three days later while trying to dispose of his plunder in -Louisville. Fearing a term in the Frankfort prison for some reason, he -informed the Kentucky officers that a large reward was offered for his -return to Cincinnati. This had the desired effect, and he was sent to -the Ohio penitentiary to serve five years. - -Returning to Cincinnati at the expiration of this enforced confinement, -he met his brother, who had just been released from an eight-year -"trick" in the Western Pennsylvania penitentiary, and, altho no real -affection existed in the breast of either for the other, John needed -money, and Miles had money and required assistance in a contemplated -enterprise. An understanding was soon reached, and these two dangerous -lawbreakers joined forces in another scheme to debase their country's -currency. Using the same conveyance employed by their father in his -plundering expedition (a house-boat), they started from Cincinnati and -drifted down the Ohio River, John steering and keeping watch while Miles -plied the graver. When the plates for a twenty-dollar silver note and a -ten-dollar issue of the Third National Bank of Cincinnati were complete, -Miles took the helm and John went below to do the printing. $150,000 of -the "coney" had been run off by the time they reached the mouth of the -Wolf River, and here the trip ended. Disposing of the boat, the brothers -started back to Cincinnati. _En route_ they quarreled over the division -of the notes, and separated with the understanding that John was to -receive $500 of the proceeds of the first sales. - -Miles did not keep faith, and John subsequently assisted the government -officers in locating and securing his brother, who was arrested in -Memphis, Tenn., on Christmas day, 1884, with $6,000 of the counterfeits -in his pockets. - -For a number of years thereafter John steered clear of offenses -penalized by the federal statutes, and successfully feigned insanity -when he could not escape punishment for crimes against the State by any -other means. - -This is what happened to one town marshal who caught Ogle in the act of -burglarizing a store and failed to appreciate the character of his -prisoner. It was between two and three o'clock in the morning when the -capture was made, and as the lockup was located about a mile from the -scene of the crime, the officer decided to keep the rogue in his room -until morning. Carefully locking the room door and handcuffing John, he -lit his pipe and made himself as comfortable as possible—so comfortable, -in fact, that he was soon fast asleep. When he awoke his bird had flown, -and the officer's watch and purse were missing. - - - - - XVII - POST-OFFICE DEPARTMENT - - -EVERY man and woman in the republic has a personal interest in this -department of the government. You pay two cents for a stamp, throw a -missive into a box, and start the machinery which requires 100,000 -persons to run it. If your letter is for the Philippines, you use the -railroad and the ocean steamer, with many relays of men and engines to -perform your bidding. If your letter is for Alaska, you use the -railroad, the steamship, and the reindeer team to deliver it. Not an -hour, day or night, the entire year through, but men are toiling to -hurry your mail to its destination. If your letter is for one of the -large cities, skilful men board the train, and as it approaches its -destination distribute the mail for each district, so that your letter -will not lie for hours in the central office. If your letter is to a -busy farmer who may be in the midst of his harvest and has no time to go -for his mail, one of the government's faithful servants takes that -letter to him. Yet we are much more likely, withal, to growl at Uncle -Sam than to remember the faithful service we receive for so little -money. - -The Post-office Department is one which is not yet self-supporting. The -last annual report of the Postmaster-General shows that the receipts -from ordinary postal revenue amounted to $191,478,663.41. Figures are -not at hand for a further revenue to the department from money-order -business, including post-office orders which were uncalled for. The -government expended $16,910,278.99 more than it received. This deficit -is occasioned by the second-class matter, which includes newspapers and -magazines paying less than cost of transportation. It is also due partly -to the glaring abuse of the franking privilege by members of the Senate -and House. If a description of what some of these men commit to Uncle -Sam to carry for them free of charge were published they would hide -their heads in shame. While this abuse continues we are not likely to -get a one-cent rate on letters, a rate which would greatly benefit the -entire country. Poor people are paying the postage for these -Congressmen. - -The United States Post-office Department and the post-office for the -City of Washington are in a building on Pennsylvania Avenue, which -extends over an entire square from Twelfth to Thirteenth Streets, N. W. - -The Postmaster-General is a member of the President's Cabinet. He -receives $12,000 per annum for giving to his country services which a -railroad or great newspaper would consider cheap at $25,000 per annum. -There are four Assistant Postmaster-Generals who receive each about half -as much as their chief. These are appointed by the President and -confirmed by the Senate. - -The Postmaster-General makes postal treaties with foreign governments, -by and with the advice of the President, awards contracts, and directs -the management of the domestic and foreign mails. - -The First Assistant Postmaster-General has charge of the salary and -allowance division, free delivery system, post-office supplies, -money-order division, dead-letter office, and the general -correspondence. - -The Second Assistant Postmaster-General has charge of the contract -division, division of inspection, railway adjustment (which includes -weighing and deciding on what pay shall be given railroads), the mail -equipment division, and foreign mails. - -The Third Assistant Postmaster-General has charge of postage stamps and -postmasters' accounts, registry office, and the special delivery system. - -The Fourth Assistant Postmaster-General has the appointment of many -postmasters and of post-office inspectors, and has charge of the bonds -and commissions for postmasters. This last place was formerly filled by -Mr. J. L. Bristow, of Kansas. During the first year of Mr. Roosevelt's -Presidency Mr. Bristow officially decapitated as many as fifty -postmasters a day, and it is claimed it was a slow year in the business. -Of course, for every one who lost his place some other fellow was made -happy. Mr. P. V. De Graw now has the office. - -No impure books, pamphlets, or papers are allowed transportation by the -United States mail. Men in this employ have a right to insist that their -work shall not include indecent matter. As far as possible the -government tries to prevent advertisers of dishonest businesses from -using the mails for fraudulent gain. It is to be hoped that the time may -soon come when all financial schemers who now defraud the wage-earning -class by circulars on mining, oil, or industrial stock, or other -doubtful enterprises, shall be obliged to prove to the government -officials that the scheme represented is just what the circular sets -forth. All Building Associations and Insurance Companies should pass -under the same law. Good people would be glad of this inspection, and -bad people make it necessary. - -The Postmaster-General recommends that the government have inspectors -appointed who shall see that neither telegraph nor express companies be -permitted to carry matter for lotteries or any known fraudulent -enterprise. The McKinley and Roosevelt administrations will be noted for -the improvement and extension of the rural delivery system. - -The dead-letter office is one of great interest, and is found in the -general post-office building. Of unclaimed letters there were last year -nearly six million; of misdirected letters, 454,000; and of letters -without any address, 39,837. Any letter which is unclaimed at a -post-office after a few weeks is sent to the dead-letter office. Here it -is opened, and if it contains the name and address of the writer, the -letter is returned; but letters signed "Your loving Amy," "Your devoted -mother," "Your repentant son," fail to reach the eyes and hearts of -those who wait for them in vain. Last year 526,345 unclaimed letters -written in foreign countries, probably to loved ones in the United -States, were sent to the dead-letter office. Think of the heartaches -which that means! Think of the loves and friendships wrecked thereby! - -Letters whose envelopes display the business card of the writer are -returned to the sender by the local postmaster after a certain period. -Papers, magazines, and books with insufficient postage are sent to the -dead-letter office, held for a short time, and then distributed to -hospitals, asylums, and penal institutions. - -Wherever "Old Glory" floats, there the servants of Uncle Sam carry his -mail. Of this department every citizen should be proud, for its speed -and efficiency is equaled by no other mail service in the world. - - - - - XVIII - DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE - - -ABOUT fifty years ago, at the request of Hon. H. E. Ellsworth, the sum -of one thousand dollars was set apart in the interest of agriculture; -now there is a Department of Agriculture, and its Secretary is a member -of the President's Cabinet. - -The present Secretary of this department is Hon. James Wilson, of Iowa. -He served several terms in Congress, was Regent of the State University -of Iowa, and for six years prior to his present appointment was Director -of the Iowa Experimental Station and professor of agriculture at the -Iowa Agricultural College, Ames, Iowa. - -The Department of Agriculture consists of twenty different divisions, -each one of which is worthy of a complete chapter. The department has -many buildings, but the main one stands within the grounds of the -Smithsonian Institution, in a bower of blooming plants and clinging -vines. Every kind of plant from the tropics to the Arctic Circle which -can be made to grow in this climate can be found in this department. - -Studies in ornamentation, best methods of grafting, pruning, budding, -hybridizing, and treating diseases of plants, trees, and animals are -thoroughly investigated at its experimental stations. - -Vegetable and flower seeds, grass seeds, plants, trees, bulbs, and -grape-vines are distributed in the department through the Senators, -members, and delegates of Congress. By this means the best varieties of -the vegetable kingdom are carried throughout the United States. During -the coming year the country will be more carefully districted, and only -such seeds and plants as have been thoroughly acclimated will be sent to -the several districts. - -Members of Congress from cities exchange their quota of vegetable and -crop seeds for flower seeds, thus leaving more of the former for members -with a farming constituency. - -The following statement shows the amounts of seeds, bulbs, plants, and -trees, so far as the allotments have been made, for a recent fiscal -year: - -Each Senator, member, and delegate will receive— - - _Vegetable Seed_ 12,000 packages, 5 papers each. - - _Novelties Vegetable Seed_ 500 packages, 5 papers each. - - _Flower Seed_ 500 packages, 5 papers each. - - _Tobacco Seed_ 110 packages, 5 papers each to - districts growing tobacco. - - _Cotton Seed_ 70 packages, 1 peck each, to - districts growing cotton. - - _Lawn Grass Seed_ 30 packages. - - _Forage Crop Seed_ Allotment not yet made. - - _Sorghum Seed_ Allotment not yet made. - - _Sugar Beet Seed_ Allotment not yet made. - - _Bulbs_ 10 boxes, 35 bulbs each; or 20 - boxes, 17 bulbs each. - - _Grape-vines_ 8 packages, 5 vines each. - - _Strawberry Plants_ 10 packages, 15 plants each. - - _Trees_ 20 packages, 5 trees each. - -For seed distributed alone the government appropriates $270,000. Think -of the beneficence of that! The rarest and best seeds that money can buy -will be planted in every State and Territory of this country. Experts -are continually sent abroad to find new cereals, fruits trees, animals, -and flowers. - -The department has at least one correspondent in every county of the -United States through whom the statistics on acreage, quality of crops, -and success of experiments are reported at stated times. - -All questions pertaining to farming are answered by this department. If -a man desires to buy a farm in Kansas or Alaska, a portion of the -country of which he knows little, the department will tell him of the -climate, the crops likely to be remunerative, and the obstacles of soil -or climate to overcome. A chemist will analyze the soil for him, tell -him what it contains, and what it needs to produce certain crops. An -entomologist will tell him the insects prevalent which may destroy his -crops. The scientist will also tell him how to destroy the inserts, what -birds to encourage and what to banish. - -At Summerville, S. C., the government has a tea farm with a fully -equipped factory, and the tea produced is claimed by experts to equal -the best imported article. This year one thousand acres of rice land -near Charleston, S. C., will be put in tea. The cost of producing -American tea is about fifteen cents a pound; the yield is four hundred -pounds to the acre, the wholesale selling price forty to fifty cents per -pound, and the retail price seventy-five cents to one dollar per pound. - -In the wheat-growing States the government is trying a fine variety of -macaroni wheat, in order to compete successfully with the imported -article, of which $8,000,000 worth enters this country annually. - -In the cotton States the government is trying Egyptian cotton, which is -now imported to the value of $8,000,000 annually. - -In Arizona and other dry tracts dates and other Egyptian fruits are -being successfully acclimated. In the hot states rubber, coffee, -bananas, and cocoa are being tried. - -Our fruit markets are being extended into Europe, and special agents and -consuls are using every influence to enlarge this market. At the Paris -Exposition our pears, apples, peaches, and plums were a never-ending -surprise to people of all lands. Californians made us all proud of them -by their lavish generosity, and the result has been that pears and -apples have been sent in large quantities to Southern Europe, also to -Russia and Siberia. - -New cottons are being sent throughout the South, new prunes and plums -along the Pacific Coast. Important experiments are being made in sugar -producing. Pineapples are being acclimated in Florida, plants which -produce bay rum and various perfumes are being introduced in several -states, and olives from Italy are being tried in Porto Rico and the -Philippines. - -In many different States soils have been examined. In Lancaster County, -Pennsylvania, it was found certain soils contain ingredients to produce -the finest Cuban tobacco, and other soil regarded as useless was shown -to be capable of producing certain rare plants. Every state should call -for this kind of analytic help, until we make the United States the -garden of the world. - - - - - XIX - DEPARTMENT OF CHEMISTRY ON PURE FOODS - - - DIETETICS - -THIS subject of the relative value of foods is one that interests every -individual. The Department of Agriculture is making a brave effort to -secure a law regulating interstate and international commerce, requiring -that all foods sent from one state to another, or to foreign countries, -shall be labeled for just what they are, and shall conform to the -government standard in excellence. - -For instance, renovated or "process" butter is now passing its ordeal. -"Process" butter means that a large quantity of butter has been sent to -a factory or elsewhere, and there worked together and colored to secure -uniformity of appearance, and then placed on the market. The government -requires that it shall be properly labeled. It is of less nutritive -value than either oleomargarine or butterine. A government leaflet gives -householders and merchants full directions for discovering the real -value of anything called butter. Every farmer should secure a copy of -the Agricultural Year-book. - -I remember once, a number of years ago, at a table in London, discussing -with some merchants from South America the subject of buying their goods -in the United States instead of England. - -One man from British Guiana said: "It is impossible to deal with the -United States; they have no food-test laws, and we buy one thing and get -another. Then take machinery and implements. The first three or four -purchases will be all right, after which they put off on us shelf-worn -goods which they could not sell at home." - -When the government can put an official stamp on each article exported -it will be good for the permanence of our export trade. - -No such general law now exists, and the best our government can do is to -certify that the goods comply with the standard of the country to which -they are to be sent. It is believed that many of the preservatives used -with food products are harmless to the human body, and a scientific test -of this was conducted in December, 1902. The Agricultural Department -called upon the young scientists of the colleges and universities to -assist in settling this question. A picked body of students were -supplied with the purest food to bring them to perfect condition, and -soups, meats, vegetables, jellies, etc., containing preservatives -claimed to be harmless will be given them, and as soon as a touch of -dyspepsia is manifest the test will be dropped. It was doubtful whether -football and baseball managers, not to mention such insignificant -factors as professors and mothers, would consent that their favorites -should be submitted to such experiments. But scientists are earnest -seekers for truth, and enough subjects were readily found to make the -trial. - -It is not so much the making of impure foods that is objected to as it -is an effort to provide that goods shall be labeled for what they are— -that is, a can labeled raspberry jam shall not consist of gelatine with -a few raspberry seeds and juice used for coloring, but shall be the real -thing. - -In recent testimony before Congress a case of this kind was brought out. -A certain firm made jelly from the refuse of apples—that is, rotten and -wilted apples, peelings and cores, stuff which when made cost the firm -one and a half cents a pound—and this they sold as apple and currant -jelly, selling hundreds of buckets. The government forced the firm to -label the buckets correctly, and the sale became insignificant. Now, the -poor need cheap foods, but it is not fair that they should have to pay -more than a thing is worth; besides, such frauds interfere with the -industry of the farmer's wife who sells pure jelly. - -The government now sends agents into every city, who buy from the -shelves of grocers just what they offer for sale. The grocer, of course, -does not recognize the government agent. The stuff is then sent to the -laboratory, and the grocer and manufacturer notified as to results. The -latter is told that his formula will be published, and before that is -done he will be permitted to offer any statement that he may think -advisable. - -We are apt to think the "embalmed" meat agitation during the Spanish war -will injure the trade of the country more than the war itself, but that -agitation was right if it saved the health of even one soldier, and, -above all, if it secures society in the future against deleterious -canned meats. - -It is well known, tho not approved by the government, that there are -several canneries in the West where horse-flesh only is used. The -government watches them closely and forces them to label the goods for -just what they are. These goods are sent to such foreign countries as do -not object to the use of horse-flesh. - -Most States have stringent food laws, but so much food is sent from the -State in which it is produced to another that State laws become -inoperative. - -The government finds glucose (not in itself harmful) to be the basis of -many frauds. Colored and flavored it is sold as honey, and it is the -foundation of very many jams. Cocoas and chocolates are made from wheat, -corn, rice, potatoes; pepper, cinnamon, allspice, nutmegs, and mustards -are made from almost every cereal. Pure vinegar is rare. Almost any kind -of wine can be drawn from the same spigot, colored and flavored to suit -the requirements of the wine desired. - -Sometimes in foreign lands I have thought that London particularly needs -a commission on pure coffee. I think I shall know the taste of chicory -as long as I live from experiences in that city. - -Most foreign countries make stringent food laws chiefly on liquors and -butter. Germany draws close lines on meat, including all forms of -sausage, with some restrictions on butter, wine, coloring on toys, and -coloring matter generally. - -Every European country has stringent laws on the composition of beer. I -wonder how long American beer which rots the shoes of the bartender, and -brings paralysis to his right hand, would be tolerated in Germany or -Britain? At the Buffalo Exposition, in the government display, was one -sample of "peach brandy," the formula of which was forty gallons of -proof spirits, one-half pound of an essence, one quart of sugar syrup, -and a sufficient amount of coloring matter. The "bead oil" on the same -shelf, it was claimed, was a solution of soap intended to produce a -"bead" on liquors, and thereby give the appearance of age. - -Could anything better prove the need of a government standard than the -above, or the further facts that one man is now in the penitentiary for -fraudulent use of the United States mail in advertising ground soapstone -as a flour adulterant, and that fifteen cheaper oils are now used to -adulterate pure olive oil? - -If I were a young college woman I would go in for chemistry, and make -myself a food specialist for grocers, exporters, and importers. I would -make my home in some large institution where the food question as to -what nutriments the body needs, and what will produce best results at -the least cost, could be tested scientifically. I would take the cook -and her helpers into a loving partnership to improve the dietetics of -the establishment, and yet reduce expenses. There is a new business now -ready for earnest college women. - - - - - XX - DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR - - -THE Department of the Interior was created by act of Congress in 1849. -When the names of its subdivisions are enumerated, it will readily be -seen that no adequate description of it can be given in one or two -chapters. - -It comprises the Patent Office, the Pension Office, General Land Office, -Bureau of Indian Affairs, Bureau of Education, Commissioner of -Railroads, and the Office of the Geological Survey. Each office is -managed by a commissioner or director, who has under him a large force -of officials and clerks. - -In the chief building of the Department of the Interior, fronting on F -Street, and extending from Seventh to Ninth, and from F to G Streets, -may be found the Patent Office of the United States. No other department -so well reveals the inventive genius of the most inventive people on -earth. - -Once at a table in Paris a Frenchman said to me: "The Americans are -inventors because they are lazy." - -"Well," I said, "I have heard many surprising charges against my -countrymen, but that excels all. How do you make that out?" - -"Well, I am a manufacturer. I set an American boy to keep a door open; -before half an hour he has invented a machine which will open and shut -it, and I find my boy playing marbles." - -[Illustration: - - Photo by Clinedinst - - THE PATENT OFFICE -] - -"Sensible boy! Yes, with that view of it, maybe we are; we certainly do -not care to do by hand that which a machine can better perform." - -The Patent Office is one of the few departments which is more than -self-supporting. In the year 1836 but one patent was taken out; during -the year ending December 31, 1901, the total number of applications was -46,449. The total receipts for the year were $6,626,856.71; total -expenditures, $1,297,385.64—leaving a balance far over five million -dollars in favor of the government. - -There are divisions for different classes of inventions. When a patent -is applied for, examiners make all necessary investigations, and -carefully look into the invention claimed to be new, comparing it, part -by part, with patents already existing before determining whether a -patent can be granted. They have a library with plates and descriptions -of about everything under the sun. From this library inventors can have -books and plates sent them in order to compare their work with -inventions now existing. - -The Secretary of the Interior is a member of the President's Cabinet, -and receives $12,000 per year. He has charge of the Capitol (through the -architect), the Insane Asylum, and the College for Mutes—indeed, it -would seem that his work is sufficient for ten Secretaries. - -There is an Assistant Secretary of the Interior, who receives $4,000 per -annum, and commissioners of different divisions and bureaus who receive -from $3,000 to $6,000 annually. - -Many officers of this department could command higher salaries in the -commercial world, but these positions secure honor and respect not only -for the man himself but also for his descendants, hence these -commissionerships are very desirable. For that reason men give up a -legal practise or a railroad position, bringing salaries eight or ten -times as large. - -The present Secretary, Ethan Allen Hitchcock,[4] of Missouri, -great-grandson of Ethan Allen, of Vermont, has a wide experience in -manufacturing, railroad, and mining interests, and has served as -Ambassador to Russia. He was called to his present place in 1898. - -Footnote 4: - - Ethan Allen Hitchcock, Secretary of the Interior under Presidents - McKinley and Roosevelt, died April 9, 1909, age seventy-four. - -The Secretary in his report for 1901 entreats that at least twenty more -persons of fine mechanical ability be appointed as examiners, as his -force is much behind in their work, altho many labor far over allotted -time. - -The Bureau of Education, established in 1867, is probably as little -known to the general public as any branch of the government. It is a -clearing-house. - -The Commissioner of Education, Hon. William T. Harris,[5] is one of the -great educators of the world. It is probable if the teachers of the -United States could have a personal vote, their unanimous choice would -fall upon Dr. Harris as their Commissioner. The offices of the Bureau of -Education are in a brick building at the corner of G and Eighth Streets. - -Footnote 5: - - In July, 1906, Commissioner Harris retired on a Carnegie pension and - Prof. Elmer Ellsworth Brown, of California, became Commissioner of - Education. - -The Commissioner has about forty assistants, who are confined to about -twenty-eight rooms. This office collects, tabulates, and reports on all -schools in the United States. Any one who desires to compare the -curriculums of different institutions consults the Commissioner's -report. Or should one desire to know what is being done in Europe, or -any other part of the world, along the line of art in schools, or manual -or industrial training, or the advanced education for women, all such -inquiries can be answered by reference to the Commissioner's report. - -This bureau is held in high estimation in Europe. Many of the South -American republics and some Asiatic countries are trying, through the -reports of Dr. Harris, to model their school systems after that of the -United States. - -Miss Frances G. French has charge of the foreign correspondence, and -tabulates statistics and reports on thirty-two foreign countries. - -The school work presented by the Department of Education at Paris in -1900 secured favorable commendation from the best educators of Europe. -Only three commissioners have preceded Dr. Harris: Hon. Henry Barnard, -1867-1870; Hon. John Eaton, 1870-1886; Hon. N. H. R. Dawson, 1886-1889. -The latter was a brother-in-law of Abraham Lincoln. Dr. Harris was -appointed by President Harrison, September, 1889. The best work of the -Bureau of Education lies in bringing about homogeneity in the work of -education throughout the United States. Without the tabulated work of -the Superintendents of States, how would the Superintendent of, say, one -of the Dakotas, know whether the work of the public schools of his State -corresponds with the work done in New York or Pennsylvania? Yet the boy -educated in Dakota may have to do his life-work in Pennsylvania. Then -the Commissioner's report keeps us informed what the State, Nation, or -Church is doing for the education of the colored race, the Indian, or -the people of our new possessions. - -A short extract from the Commissioner's report of 1899 will give an idea -of the tabulated work for women: - - The barriers to woman's higher education seem effectually removed, - and to-day eight-tenths of the colleges, universities, and - professional schools of the United States are open to women - students. As is stated by ex-President Alice Freeman Palmer, of - Wellesley College, "30,000 girls have graduated from colleges, while - 40,000 more are preparing to graduate." The obtaining of a - collegiate education gives the women more ambition to enter a - profession, or, if they decide to marry, it is stated that— - - The advanced education they have received has added to their - natural endowments wisdom, strength, patience, balance, and - self-control ... and in addition to a wise discharge of their - domestic duties, their homes have become centers of scientific - or literary study or of philanthropy in the communities where - they live. - - It is stated that the advancement of women in professional life is - less rapid than in literature. The training of women for medical - practise was long opposed by medical schools and men physicians. - Equally tedious was the effort to obtain legal instruction and - admission to the legal profession, and even to-day the admission to - theological schools and the ministry is seriously contested; yet all - these professions are gradually being opened to women. In 1896-97 - there were in the United States 1,583 women pursuing medical studies - to 1,471 in 1895-96; in dentistry, 150 women in 1896-97 to 143 in - 1895-96; in pharmacy, 131 in 1896-97 to 140 in 1895-96. In law - courses of professional schools were 131 women in 1896-97 to 77 in - 1895-96; in theological courses 193 women in 1896-97. - -The only aggressive work done by this bureau is in Alaska, and of this -Dr. Sheldon Jackson[6] is agent or superintendent. Besides doing a great -work in education, this department has brought about 1,300 deer from -Siberia to take the place of dogs, mules, and horses in transportation, -and at the same time to give milk, butter, cheese, and meat to the -population. The reindeer are self-supporting, living on the moss which -grows abundantly. - -Footnote 6: - - Dr. Sheldon Jackson died May 2, 1909. - -These animals are loaned to individuals or missions, and at the end of -five years the government requires an equivalent number to be returned. -The Eskimo, the Lapp, and the Finn become expert in handling these -herds, now numbering many thousands. By them mails are carried, and -whalers, sealers, miners, and soldiers rescued from starvation, danger, -or death. - -The education as well as religious training of Alaska is up to this time -conducted through the mission stations, all of which are visited, -encouraged, and assisted by Dr. Jackson. - -The _Youth's Companion_ tersely states the present condition of things: - - When the churches first planned to send missionaries and teachers - into Alaska, representatives of the several denominations met and - divided the territory among them. Should the traveler ask the - ordinary Alaskan miner what is the result of effort, he would - probably be answered that there has been no result. The miner, in - the words of Dr. Sheldon Jackson, is unconscious that the very fact - of his presence there at all is the direct outcome of Christian - missions. In 1877 Sitka and St. Michaels were armed trading-posts, - out of which the soldiers shut the natives every night, that the - inhabitants might rest in safety. For ten years not a single whaler - dared to stay overnight at Cape Prince of Wales, so savage was the - native population. Now, in all those ports, the miner and whaler and - traveler can dwell in safety, because of the civilizing work of the - missionaries. Probably ten thousand natives have been brought under - Christian influences, and many public as well as mission schools - have been opened. - - Among the Moravian missions of the Yukon Valley few of the natives - can read or write. At bedtime a bell rings, and the entire - population goes to the churches. A chapter in the Bible is read, a - prayer offered, a hymn sung; and the men, women, and children return - to their homes and go to bed. Where in the United States can be - found a better record? - -In introducing religion with the arts, sciences, and conveniences of -civilization, Dr. Jackson's work reminds one of the words of Whittier: - - I hear the mattock in the mine, - The ax stroke in the dell, - The clamor of the Indian lodge, - And now the chapel bell. - - I hear the tread of pioneers, - Of nations yet to be, - The first low wash of waves where soon - Shall roll a human sea. - - - - - XXI - BRANCHES OF THE DEPARTMENT OF THE - INTERIOR - - -THE Gallaudet College for the Deaf is situated in Northeast Washington, -at Kendall Green. It is surrounded by about one hundred acres of ground. -Until within a year it has been known as the Columbian Institution for -the Deaf and Dumb, but the Board of Directors, at the request of the -alumni, wisely changed it to Gallaudet College, in honor and memory of -Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet, founder of deaf-mute education in America. The -honor is also deserved by the Hon. Edward M. Gallaudet, LL.D., its -president at the time. He is probably the greatest teacher of mutes now -living. He is certainly the most distinguished one. It is the only real -college for this unfortunate class in the world. All the other schools -for mutes in this country only prepare them to enter this institution. -The college embraces, in a four years' course, languages, mathematics, -natural science, history, philosophy, and political science—about the -usual classical course in any college. - -They are instructed by what is known as the combined method—that is, -both the oral and sign methods are used. - -Mutes among themselves greatly prefer signs. All mutes can not learn the -oral method, and I know by experience among mutes that the talking which -they learn is not very satisfactory. Their voices are too loud or too -low; in some of them the sound of the voice is most distressing, not -having the ear by which to regulate it. - -I met one woman in Washington stone-deaf who could talk as well as any -one, and I had met her three times before I knew she was deficient in -any sense. Then she took me by the shoulders and turned me toward the -window, saying: "I do believe you are talking. You know I can not hear -thunder, so I must see your lips." - -The director for the school of mutes in Japan made a lengthy visit to -Washington to study the methods of the college instruction, and several -countries of Europe have sent delegates to examine its workings. Dr. -Gallaudet has visited every great school for mutes in Europe—not once, -but several times—so that he brings to his great work not only his own -skill, knowledge, and experience, but also the results of his -observations in many lands. - -Congress appropriates about $50,000 per year for the support of this -college. Here the mutes from the District of Columbia and of the Army -and Navy, besides sixty indigent students from different parts of the -country, without charge for board, receive a college training. Beside -these there are many who pay full tuition. The annual attendance is -between one and two hundred. About six hundred young men and women have -been graduated, showing that deafness does not interfere with the -highest mental culture. - -The following extract from the report of 1893 will give an idea of the -beneficent work of this government institution. The report says: - - Fifty-seven who have gone out from the college have been engaged in - teaching; four have entered the Christian ministry; three have - become editors and publishers of newspapers; three others have taken - positions connected with journalism; fifteen have entered the civil - service of the government—one of these, who had risen rapidly to a - high and responsible position, resigned to enter upon the practise - of law in patent cases in Cincinnati and Chicago, and has been - admitted to practise in the Supreme Court of the United States; one - is the official botanist of a State, who has correspondents in - several countries of Europe who have repeatedly purchased his - collections, and he has written papers upon seed tests and related - subjects which have been published and circulated by the - Agricultural Department; one, while filling a position as instructor - in a Western institution, has rendered important service to the - Coast Survey as a microscopist, and one is engaged as an engraver in - the chief office of the Survey. Of three who became draftsmen in - architects' offices, one is in successful practise as an architect - on his own account, which is also true of another, who completed his - preparation by a course of study in Europe; one has been repeatedly - elected recorder of deeds in a Southern city, and two others are - recorders' clerks in the West; one was elected and still sits as a - city councilman; another has been elected city treasurer and is at - present cashier of a national bank; one has become eminent as a - practical chemist and assayer; two are members of the faculty of the - college, and two others are rendering valuable service as - instructors therein; some have gone into mercantile and other - offices; some have undertaken business on their own account, while - not a few have chosen agricultural and mechanical pursuits, in which - the advantages of thorough mental training will give them a - superiority over those not so well educated. Of those alluded to as - having engaged in teaching, one has been the principal of a - flourishing institution in Pennsylvania; one is now in his second - year as principal of the Ohio institution; one has been at the head - of a day-school in Cincinnati, and later of the Colorado - institution; a third has had charge of the Oregon institution; a - fourth is at the head of a day-school in St. Louis; three others - have respectively founded and are now at the head of schools in New - Mexico, North Dakota, and Evansville, Ind., and others have done - pioneer work in establishing schools in Florida and in Utah. - -In Dr. Gallaudet's travels he was met in every country by the educated -mutes, and by his sign language could converse with them, showing that -the world has at least one universal language. Every honor that grateful -hearts could shower upon a devoted friend and philanthropist was shown -the doctor in his travels in Europe. He deserves them all. - -The Smithsonian Institution is situated on a fifty-two acre reservation -between the Capitol and the Potomac River. The main building is near the -center of the grounds opposite Tenth Street, West. It is built of a fine -light purplish gray freestone which is soft when it comes from the -quarry, but becomes almost like granite on long exposure to the air. It -constitutes the great National Museum, in animal, vegetable, geological, -and even social life. Relics of almost every administration, -particularly from Washington's to Jackson's time, are preserved here. - -James Smithson was the natural son of Sir Hugh Smithson, first Duke of -Northumberland. James Smithson took a degree in Oxford in 1786. He died -in Genoa, June, 1829. He desired to found in the United States, a land -he never saw, an institution which should live in the memory of men when -the titles of his ancestors, the Northumberlands and the Percys, were -extinct and forgotten. - -The institution is for the increase of knowledge among men. It assists -scientific men in original research, and it publishes the results, which -are sent to leading libraries, and are also accessible to scientists -throughout the land. - -The bequest was for several years before Congress, but in 1846, when the -funds had reached three-fourths of a million dollars, the Smithsonian -Institution was founded. - -Its translators turn all scientific works into English, so that -Americans can have the benefit of them in their own language. - -Miss Thora Steineger, a Norwegian lady, has charge of the classification -of all animals received by the Smithsonian. Women's work in the -scientific departments is gradually increasing, as colleges, like -Vassar, Wellesley, Smith, and Bryn Mawr give more and more attention to -science. - -Here one can see the birds of all lands, animals of every clime, -vegetation from every latitude. The idols of heathendom glare at -passers-by; the quaint costumes of the Asiatics, the Eskimos of the -extreme North, and the inhabitants of the islands of the sea are worn by -wax figures so lifelike that one almost fears to make any comment in -their presence. - -The fruits of much of the learning of the world are under this roof, and -every youth in our land should see its classic stores. - - - - - XXII - BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS - - -THIS bureau is located in a beautiful white marble building between -Seventh and Eighth streets, facing the Patent Office. These two -buildings are among the very best specimens of architecture in the -capital. - -Hon. Francis E. Leupp, the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, receives a -salary of $5,000; the Assistant Commissioner receives $3,000. They have -about one hundred assistants in Washington, consisting of clerks, -bookkeepers, stenographers, superintendents, architects, draftsmen, etc. -Of persons connected with Indian affairs, on the field, including Indian -agents, storekeepers, teachers, farmers, and artisans, fully 10,000 are -paid government money. There are in the United States, exclusive of -Alaska, 269,388 Indians under the government care. Of these, 184,881 are -not included in the five great tribes. Over 98,000 of these Indians wear -the dress of civilization, and over 46,000 can read and write. Of -communicant church-members there are 30,935—not a very large proportion -after two hundred years of instruction. - -There are 59 agencies, and about 20,000 Indians outside of the agencies. -The reservations are, generally speaking, the lands which white men -considered they would never want, being the most barren, forlorn, -hopeless spots in the state or territory in which they are located. Bad -as they are, many of them are now coveted by the white man, who, under -the plea of breaking up Indian tribal relations, will within a few years -buy or appropriate the last acre. - -There are now no nomadic tribes; the hunting-grounds are all taken, and -the Indian must work, receive government rations, or die. The Indians -receive over $200,000 in money, some by contract receive rations through -removal, and all are assisted with agricultural implements, seeds, and -breeding animals. - -It was once my lot to see an Indian tribe forcibly removed from some -place in the North to the Indian Territory. A more sorrowful sight can -scarcely be imagined. My recollection is that they were the Nez Percés. -They were large men with fine heads and faces. The women were worthy to -be the mothers of warriors. As they camped for the night, the men -gathered in small circular groups, sat Turkish fashion on the ground, -and smoked their pipes in absolute silence. Sorrow, dejection, and -despair were written all over them. The women pitched the tents and -cooked the suppers, with the bent bodies and cast-down countenances of -broken hearts. - -A company of regular army men was their escort. I spoke to the officers. -The captain said: "I hope my government will never again detail my -company to do such work. It simply uses me up to see these -broken-hearted people. Many have escaped, but I can not shoot them." - -That they have been deeply wronged, no one doubts; that they are still -in many cases victims of the white man's cupidity, is self-evident; but -the government is trying to do the best now possible for them. It is not -possible in a short time to correct the errors of a century, but when -kind hearts and wise brains are acting in their behalf the future may be -considered more hopeful. - -It is gratifying to see that the present Commissioner urges that local -schools shall do the work with the Indians, for even tho the Indian -should learn less, his home ties will be maintained, and his knowledge, -as it is acquired, will be applied in the home. Then the _reconcentrado_ -methods can be abolished. - -Young Indians should be placed with farmers to learn farming, and paid -as much as their work is worth. In the same way girls should learn -housekeeping. Of all people the Indian is a social being. If placed on -farms all the homes would center in one place. Our young white people -can not stand the loneliness of the farm; how can we expect people who -have had tribal relations to endure it? - -The white man's trades and occupations only to the degree positively -needed should be forced upon them; but their own bead-work, fancy -baskets, queer pottery, and Navajo blankets should be greatly improved, -and their artistic tastes in their own line cultivated. Let us make them -see that we white people like their own characteristic work, and we will -not need to turn their industry into new lines. - -Miss Estelle Reel, Superintendent of Indian Schools, visits all the -Indian schools, whether in civilization at Carlisle and Hampton or at -the farthest reservation. She receives a salary of $3,000, with an -allowance of $1,500 for traveling expenses. Stage-coach, buckboard, -railroad, boat, and canoe are familiar servants in her work. - -[Illustration: - - Photo by Clinedinst - - THE BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS -] - -[Illustration: - - Photo by Clinedinst - - THE CONGRESSIONAL LIBRARY - - Looking from the Capitol -] - -[Illustration: - - Photo by Clinedinst - - GRAND STAIRWAY OF THE CONGRESSIONAL LIBRARY -] - -[Illustration: - - Photo by Clinedinst - - THE ROTUNDA (READING-ROOM) OF THE CONGRESSIONAL LIBRARY -] - -[Illustration: - - Photo by Clinedinst - - THE PENSION OFFICE -] - -[Illustration: - - Photo by Clinedinst - - THE STATE, WAR, AND NAVY DEPARTMENTS -] - -[Illustration: - - Photo by Clinedinst - - THE GERMAN EMBASSY -] - -[Illustration: - - Photo by Clinedinst - - THE BRITISH EMBASSY -] - -[Illustration: - - Photo by Clinedinst - - THE NEW FRENCH EMBASSY -] - -[Illustration: - - Photo by Clinedinst - - THE RUSSIAN EMBASSY -] - -Every line of her splendid reports teems with heart-and-soul enthusiasm. -She has just put out a book entitled, "Course of Study for the Indian -Schools of the United States, Industrial and Literary." Besides the -common school branches, it treats of the elements of agriculture, -bakery, basketry, blacksmithing, carpentry, cooking, housekeeping, -laundry, physiology, shoemaking, tailoring, upholstering, and, in fact, -almost everything needed in daily living. Through it all runs a real -practical teaching in morality—that good work is truth, bad work is -untruth. Work in any one is the measure of character. - -You remember President Roosevelt, in his New York speech concerning -missions, spoke of the great underpaid army of faithful clergymen all -over this land who, in obscure places, hold up the correct models of -morality, who keep the ideals of the nation to honest, simple, earnest, -true daily living. Much more is this true of the missionaries among the -Indians. - -I remember once visiting the Indian school at Albuquerque, New Mexico. -Professor Bryan was then at the head of it. The school was partly -supported by funds from the Presbyterian Church and partly by government -money. At the table I was trying to find from each one his or her share -in the great work they were doing. I asked each one, and each gave me a -short, graphic account of his work. I sat at Professor Bryan's right -hand; just opposite me sat a bright-faced German, looking the wisest -person at the table. As I came to him I said, "And you, Professor?" -"Madam, I am the cook." Whether my face flushed with surprise or not I -do not know. No one smiled. After a somewhat embarrassing moment for me, -he said: "Madam, since I was a little boy I have desired to be a -missionary to the Indians. I received a good education, graduated at the -Berlin University, took a course in theology at a seminary in Germany, -then came here, where I found that my imperfect English was an -insurmountable barrier to religious work among the Indians. We had no -cook. Some of our best teachers were ill nearly all the time, so I -became the cook, and I do it unto God, believing that every soul saved -by these devoted workers, whose health I have improved, is part of my -work. Do you approve?" - -"Do I approve?" I said. "Why, every pot and kettle becomes a sanctified -implement in your hand. The Master said: 'And whosoever of you will be -the chiefest, shall be servant of all. For even the Son of man came not -to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom -for many.'" - - - - - XXIII - THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS - - -THE great necessity for a separate building for a Congressional Library -was first urged by Mr. A. R. Spofford, in his Librarian's Report in -1872. An appropriation was made for the purchase of the ground in 1886. -The site consists of ten acres of ground, facing the east front of the -Capitol. The ground and the old buildings upon it cost $585,000, and the -building itself, $6,032,124.34. - -It is the handsomest, most convenient, and best lighted and ventilated -library building in the world, and I believe it to be the handsomest -building for public purposes in the world. The building is of the -Italian Rennaissance order of architecture. It has three stories and a -dome, and covers three and a half acres of ground. Its dimensions are -470 × 340 feet, and the height of the wall 69 feet. - -The Library, or collection of books, was founded in 1800, Congress -appropriating $5,000 for that purpose. When the Capitol building was -fired by the British, this Library was nearly destroyed. It also -suffered from fire in 1851. - -The Library of Congress purchases rare books from all lands. Its chief -source of supply is through the copyright law, which requires that two -copies of every book copyrighted should be sent to the Library. It has -acquired by gift or purchase the Library of Thomas Jefferson, of 6,700 -volumes, for which $23,950 was paid, the Force Historical Collection in -1865, the Smithsonian Library in 1867, and the Toner Collection in 1882. - -The Smithsonian division is largely composed of books on scientific -subjects. The law library of over 92,000 books yet remains in the -Capitol building. - -The Force Library is a fine collection of books, manuscripts, and papers -concerning the early history of America, especially of the Colonial -times. - -Every picture, photograph, piece of music, engraving, dramatic -production, pamphlet, or brochure published in the United States can be -found here in the copyright edition. The collection is the largest in -the western hemisphere, comprising about 1,000,000 books and pamphlets. -The Library has forty-five miles of shelving, which is more than twice -its present requirements. There are in the book division 207 employees, -and in the copyright-rooms 49. The caretakers number 116. The -appropriations by Congress for service, and for the printing, binding, -and purchasing of books, amount to not less than $1,000,000 annually. - -Any one can read or study in the Library, but only Congressmen, members -of the Supreme Court or their families, or the President's family, are -permitted to take books from the building. No pen-and-ink work is -allowed in the Library, for fear of stains. - -In the basement, one room is set apart for the blind, where they may -read for themselves, and almost every afternoon they have a concert, or -some noted author reads from his own writings, or some distinguished -speaker lectures before a most appreciative audience of blind people. - -[Illustration: - - ONE OF THE BRONZE DOORS OF THE CONGRESSIONAL - LIBRARY -] - -The present Librarian is Mr. Herbert Putnam, of Boston. The most -interesting personality in the building is Mr. Ainsworth R. Spofford, -who was the Librarian from 1864 to 1897.[7] He was appointed during Mr. -Lincoln's administration. He is a walking encyclopedia. - -Footnote 7: - - Mr. Spofford died at Holdness, Mass., August 11, 1908. - -I once asked him for the names of a few books on anthropology. He poured -out such a stream of titles and authors that I was obliged to call for -quarter. He then wrote me out a list of fifteen titles and authors, -taking only a minute or two for the whole matter. He seems conversant -with every subject. His memory concerning books is simply phenomenal. - -In the Library is a perfect copy of Eliot's Indian Bible, published in -Cambridge in 1661, the last copy of which brought $1,000. Here, too, may -be found the works of Cotton and Increase Mather (1671 to 1735), and -leading journals, all publications of our country from 1735 to 1800. -Bound volumes of many of them can also be found here. The first edition -of the Mormon Bible, published in 1830, and printed at Palmyra, New -York; Archbishop Cramer's version of the Bible, 1553; Martin Luther's -Bible; and the Catholic version of the New Testament, 1582, are among -the rare volumes in the Library. - -An extract from a copy of the Washington _Post_ of 1897 well describes -the official test of the device for sending books to and from the -Capitol: - - An official test of the device for transporting books between the - Capitol and the new Congressional Library was made yesterday - afternoon. Mr. John Russell Young, the Librarian; Chief Assistant - Librarian Spofford, and Superintendent Bernard R. Green assembled in - the small receiving-room, just off Statuary Hall, about 2 o'clock. - Mr. Young had prepared for the test a list of books known only to - himself until they were ordered from the Library. - - The first volume sent for was William Winter's poems. Mr. Young gave - out the name and Mr. Green wrote it on a slip of paper. This was - placed in the pneumatic tube, which flashed it to Mr. David - Hutcheson, who is in charge of the reading-room of the new Library. - The book was ordered by Mr. Hutcheson from the shelf-clerk and sent - to the desk in the center of the reading-room by the Library - carrier. It was then taken to the big carrier in the basement and - started on its journey to the Capitol. The time consumed from the - moment of sending the order by pneumatic tube until the leather case - containing the desired volume deposited its cargo before Mr. Young - was exactly ten minutes. - - Mr. Young then sent for a copy of "Faust" in German, Hugo's "Les - Châtiments," and Hildreth's "History of the United States," vol. i., - all on one order, and for the London _Times_ of 1815, the year of - the battle of Waterloo, on a separate order. The "Faust" and the - history arrived in eight minutes and "Les Châtiments" on the next - carrier. The order for the London _Times_ was an extreme test, as - the volume is so large that the carriers in the Library connecting - with the shelves would not accommodate it, and a messenger had to be - sent from the main desk to the top deck of the south stack, where - the newspaper files are shelved. When the messenger returned he just - missed the carrier, which had been sent off with one of the other - volumes ordered, and he had to wait the four minutes consumed by the - transit of the carriers before he could start the _Times_ on its - journey. It arrived at the Capitol just thirteen minutes after the - order for it was sent. - - The carrier consists of an endless cable, with two metal baskets at - an equal distance from each other. These work on the cable, the - power for which is furnished by the Library dynamo. The books are - carried through the tunnel, and when they reach the wheels which - change the direction, the speed is automatically slackened, so that - the delivery is made gently and without the possibility of damage. - Smaller books are first placed in a large sole-leather case. The - carriers are taken through the tunnel at the rate of six hundred - feet per minute. Should any trouble occur, the mechanism can be - instantly stopped by an electric button, one at each end. The - machinery of the carriers and its instalment was largely the work of - Superintendent Green. - - All who witnessed the test were surprised at the ease and swiftness - with which the books could be sent for, taken from the shelves, and - transported a distance of about a quarter of a mile. Librarian Young - was very much gratified. He characterized the system as remarkable. - The test also demonstrated that the arrangement of the books in - their new quarters is perfect, as those sent for were selected at - random and were readily picked out from the enormous collection by - those in charge of the shelves. - -In this labyrinth of beauty, known as the Library of Congress, I believe -a man would see no fault. But women, except as allegorical characters, -such as imaginary figures of history, science, pomology, art, etc., have -no share in the scheme of ornamentation. But men of all ages, of all -branches of art, science, commerce, and literature, are memorialized in -painting, sculpture, writing, or suggestion of some kind, either -concrete or abstract. It is true, Sappho (whom I suppose the artist -thought was a man), grown dim in the long vista of years, is a lone -woman among the world's _élite_. No George Eliot, nor George Sand, nor -Harriet Hosmer, nor Rosa Bonheur, nor Mrs. Browning, nor Mrs. Stowe now -stands near Holmes, Whittier, Longfellow, Byron, or Landseer. This -omission is not like our gallant American men. - -I remember once at a table in London some distinguished English women -were complimenting the achievements of American women. I replied, "I -have met the college women of almost every European country. I do not -find American women in any way mentally superior to the women of Europe. -But American women accomplish much more than their sisters east of the -Atlantic simply because of our men. Now here in England your husband and -brothers insist on silence, but with us if a woman sings or talks well -it is the hand of her husband or father that leads her to the front, and -it is the kindness of our men that starts us on our public life, helps -us at hard places, and encourages us everywhere. No, it is not our -_women_ who are superior, it is our men, our gracious, helpful men." - -Whatever women in the United States have accomplished beyond their -sisters in foreign lands has been done because of the friendly, cordial, -helpful encouragement of their husbands, brothers, and fathers; so in -this Library the womanhood of the world is slighted in the house of her -friends. - - - - - XXIV - THE PENSION OFFICE - - -THE Pension building is situated on Judiciary Square, near G Street. It -is the largest department building in Washington, being 400 feet from -east to west and 200 from north to south, and 75 feet high. - -The walls surround an interior courtyard, two galleries extend around -this court, and from these galleries access is attained to the rooms on -the second and third stories. The building cost half a million dollars; -it is of mixed architecture, not beautiful in appearance, but the best -lighted, heated, and ventilated department building in the city. It is -sometimes called "the Meigs (name of architect) Barn," because its -outline is not unlike a Pennsylvania red barn. - -When the architect had finished escorting General Sheridan through the -building, just after its completion, the former inquired -enthusiastically, "Well, Sheridan, how do you like it?" - -"I find only one fault," said the General, solemnly; "it is fireproof." - -At the close of the year 1908 there were on the rolls 951,687 -pensioners. During 1908 there were added 413,017, with a loss from death -of 428,701, making a loss above all gains of 15,684. - -The number of pensioners should grow less each year. - -There remain on the rolls the names of no widows and but two daughters -of Revolutionary soldiers. In the last report of the Commissioner of -Pensions (1900) but one soldier of the War of 1812 survived. He was at -that time (September 10, 1901) 101 years of age. Of the Mexican War, the -names of 2,932 soldiers and 6,914 widows are still on the rolls; of the -Indian wars (1832-1842), 1,820 survivors and 3,018 widows. The war with -Spain left a legacy of 20,548 invalids, 1,145 widows, and 510 nurses, -drawing pensions. Besides these there is the great army of Civil War -pensioners. - -If the government would, at least twice each year, publish in each -county the names of persons receiving pensions, the amount paid, and the -alleged cause of disability, it would bring the blush of shame to the -face of many a liar who now draws a handsome sum from his government. -The money is largely paid into the United States Treasury not by the -rich of our country, but by the laboring class of men and women. - -Patriotism which requires a lifelong stipend is of doubtful color. - -Soldiers of the Spanish War at the time of their discharge were obliged -to sign papers declaring any disability which existed. Then each soldier -was examined by the surgeon and his company officers, and these again -certified either to his perfect health or to his disability. It was -found that the health of many had been greatly improved by exercise in -the open air, free life, and plain diet. - -Eleven years after the Civil War only six per cent. of the Union -soldiers and sailors had applied for a pension; it was found only a -little over three years had passed since the close of the one hundred -days' war with Spain, yet more than twenty per cent. of the soldiers and -sailors of that war had applied for pensions. - -The great majority of those mustered out had declared over their own -signatures, and that of the surgeon and commanding officer of the -company to which they belonged, that they had no disability whatever. -Yet thousands of these very men applied for pensions, and in their -applications have set forth in minute detail the large number of -disabilities acquired in the service. One man within forty-eight hours -after his discharge as a sound man discovered ten physical ills, any one -of which should suffice to secure the bounty of a generous government. - -I submit the following extract from Commissioner Evans' last report: - - A good object-lesson in this regard is furnished by the history of a - volunteer regiment which was recognized as one of the "crack" - regiments in service during the war with Spain. Its membership was - notably a fine body of men, and its officers were men of experience - and ability and skilled in military matters. Few regiments had as - good a record for service as this one. It was at Camp Alger for a - time, then at Camp Thomas, then at Tampa, Fla.; thence sailed for - Santiago de Cuba, where it was placed in the trenches and did good - service until it returned to Montauk. From there it was returned to - the place of its enrolment, and at the expiration of a sixty days' - furlough was mustered out of service. - - This regiment had a membership of 53 commissioned officers and 937 - enlisted men. There were no battle-field casualties, but 1 officer - and 22 men died of disease while in the service. _The published - report of the medical officer on the muster out of this regiment - shows that 1 per cent. of the men of the regiment were improved by - military service; 5 per cent. were in as good physical condition as - at time of enlistment; 24 per cent. were but slightly affected, and, - as a rule, the troubles were not traceable to military service. Of - the remainder (70 per cent.), or 528 men, the general condition was - as follows:_ - - Irritable heart, due to fever 365 - - Mitral regurgitation 4 - - Chronic bronchitis 214 - - Acute bronchitis 47 - - Phthisis 3 - - Gastritis 158 - - Enlarged or congested liver 116 - - Enlarged spleen 316 - - Inflammatory condition of intestines 53 - - Irritability of bladder and incontinence of urine 76 - - Nephritis 5 - - Hemorrhoids 11 - - Varicocele 61 - - Inguinal hernia 3 - - Rheumatism 26 - - Myopia 19 - - Slight eye strains 29 - - Slight deafness, due to quinine 17 - - Chronic nasal catarrh 9 - - Sprain of back 3 - - Old dislocation, right shoulder 1 - - Gunshot wounds, left forearm 2 - - Badly set Colles fracture 1 - - Secondary syphilis 2 - - Suffering from pains in the muscles, especially the calves of the 471 - legs and lumbar region, loss of weight from 10 to 30 pounds, - accompanied by more or less debility - - Relapses of fever continuing to recur up to January 4, 1899 87 - - Up to June 30, 1901, 477 claims for pension have been filed in this - bureau on account of service in said regiment for disabilities - alleged to have been contracted during the brief term of its - existence. - - I am fully convinced that a small pension of $6 or $8 per month for - alleged obscure disability, such as diarrhea, piles, rheumatism, - impaired hearing, bronchitis, etc., is conferring a misfortune upon - a young man—in fact, a lifelong misfortune—for the reason that it - puts him to a decided disadvantage in the race for a livelihood - always thereafter in the way of securing employment. - - The fact that he is drawing a "disability" pension puts him on the - list as disabled and unable to perform the amount of labor that is - expected of a sound man, and it seems like misplaced generosity on - the part of our government to thus place a handicap upon the young - ex-soldier in his search for employment, as it is well known that a - large percentage of the young men that served in the war with Spain - depend upon manual labor for a livelihood. - -Mr. Eugene F. Ware, the late Commissioner, issued the following table to -show the difference between the regulars and volunteers of the -Spanish-American War: - - ──────────────────────────┬────────┬─────────┬─────────┬────────── - REGIMENTS │_Killed_│_Wounded_│_Missing_│ _Claims - │ │ │ │filed for - │ │ │ │pensions_ - ──────────────────────────┼────────┼─────────┼─────────┼────────── - Volunteers— │ │ │ │ - 1st—District of Columbia│ 0│ 0│ 0│ 472 - 9th—Massachusetts │ 0│ 0│ 0│ 685 - 33d—Michigan │ 0│ 0│ 0│ 573 - 34th Michigan │ 0│ 0│ 0│ 615 - 8th Ohio │ 0│ 0│ 0│ 652 - ──────────────────────────┼────────┼─────────┼─────────┼────────── - Total │ 0│ 0│ 0│ 2,997 - │ │ │ │ - Regulars— │ │ │ │ - 6th U. S. Infantry │ 17│ 106│ 17│ 162 - 7th U. S. Infantry │ 23│ 93│ 0│ 249 - 13th U. S. Infantry │ 18│ 90│ 0│ 87 - 16th U. S. Infantry │ 13│ 107│ 17│ 143 - 24th U. S. Infantry │ 12│ 75│ 6│ 123 - ──────────────────────────┼────────┼─────────┼─────────┼────────── - Total │ 83│ 471│ 40│ 764 - ──────────────────────────┴────────┴─────────┴─────────┴────────── - -It is believed that this spectacle, which indicates lack of patriotism, -is due to the solicitation of the pension agent, who received $20 for -every pension secured. Now this condition of things is an outrage. The -name of every man who receives a pension should be published. If he -really deserves it, no other citizen will object; if not, he should be -scorched by the community. - -Is it any wonder that with such a raid upon the United States Treasury -that the pension work is slow, and that many soldiers and widows of -soldiers of the Civil War have not yet received their deserved pensions? - -It seems to me the following extract from the report of the Commissioner -of Pensions, in reference to illegalities connected with applications, -may be of interest as showing the condition of affairs in 1902: - - The 226 indictments tried, which resulted in convictions, were based - upon the following charges: - - False claim 64 - False certification 26 - False affidavit 16 - False personation 5 - Perjury 40 - Forgery 18 - Illegal fee 26 - Personating government officer 21 - Retaining pension certificate 2 - Prosecuting claims while a government officer 4 - Conspiracy 2 - Embezzlement 1 - Attempted bribery 1 - - It has been the uniform practise not to recommend prosecution in any - case unless the criminal intent of the parties was clearly shown; - and in the cases of soldiers and their dependents, to resolve every - doubt in their favor, and not to recommend prosecution where it was - apparent that they had been drawn into a violation of the law by - others. As a result of this practise, the majority of the - convictions secured were against attorneys, agents, sub-agents, - magistrates, and others responsible for the preparation and filing - of false and fraudulent claims and evidence, and those who falsely - personated soldiers or soldiers' widows. - -Eugene F. Ware succeeded Mr. Evans as Commissioner of Pensions early in -1902. Mr. Ware is a Kansas man, prominent both in the literature and -politics of that State for the last twenty-five years. He has stirred up -matters in the Pension Bureau by making even the humblest clerk feel -that good work will meet with promotion, and that no influence can keep -inefficiency in that responsible place. He has also announced that no -one who habitually uses intoxicants can be entrusted with the -responsibility of looking after the aged and indigent soldiers, forlorn -widows, and helpless children. The consequence is some have been -dismissed for drunkenness, others have resigned, others have quit their -cups. Mr. Ware comes from a state where prohibition has made the jail a -useless building except for storing the great surplus of corn. One of -his poems says: - - The horse-thief went, the cowboy joined the church, - The justice of the peace is laughed to scorn; - The constable has tumbled from his perch, - The school has left the sheriff in the lurch— - The jail is full of corn. - -His poem on John Brown, the hero of freedom, satisfies. The first three -verses read as follows: - - States are not great except as men may make them; - Men are not great except they do and dare. - But states, like men, have destinies that take them - That bear them on, not knowing why or where. - - The why repels the philosophic searcher, - The WHY and WHERE all questionings defy, - Until we find, far back in youthful nurture, - Prophetic facts that constitute the why. - - All merit comes from braving the unequal, - All glory comes from daring to begin; - Fate loves the state that, reckless of the sequel, - Fights long and well, whether it lose or win. - -Mr. Ware was Commissioner of Pensions from May 10, 1902, to January 1, -1905. Then, much to the regret of President Roosevelt, he resigned. Mr. -Vespasian Warner, of Clinton, Ill., was appointed Commissioner January -16, 1905. Mr. Warner had an honorable record as member of Congress from -1895 to the time of his appointment as Commissioner. During the last -four years fewer complaints have come from the Pension Office than in -former years. - - - - - XXV - STATE, WAR, AND NAVY DEPARTMENTS - - -THE State, War, and Navy departments are in one handsome four-storied -granite building, with a frontage of 343 feet and a depth of 565 feet, -situated on Pennsylvania Avenue, just west of the White House. The -building is one of the handsomest in the city, being of the French -Rennaissance, modified by American ideas. It has five hundred rooms and -two miles of marble halls. In the west wing of the building the -Secretary of War, Hon. Elihu Root, and General Miles, Commander of the -Army, have handsome rooms for themselves and their many assistants. In -the east wing can be found the Secretary of the Navy and rooms for the -Admirals and their corps of helpers, and in the south wing the popular -Secretary of State, the Hon. John Hay, with a comparatively small number -of assistants. - - - STATE DEPARTMENT - -In the department of the Secretary of State one sees the portraits of -all the great men who have occupied the position of Secretary of State -from the time of Washington down to the present occupant. Most people -would be interested in the Huntington portraits of Grant, Sherman, and -Sheridan, and in a copy of Gilbert Stuart's portrait of Washington. In -the State Department the most interesting are the portraits of Thomas -Jefferson, 1789, Washington's first term; Daniel Webster, 1841 and 1850; -William H. Seward, 1861 and 1865; Elihu B. Washburne, 1869; Hamilton -Fish, 1869; William M. Evarts, 1877; James G. Blaine, 1881 and 1889; and -F. T. Frelinghuysen, 1881. A portrait of Lord Ashburton recalls the -"Ashburton Treaty" of 1842, which defined the boundaries between the -United States and the British Possessions in North America, and provided -for the suppression of the slave-trade. - -In the State Department are some of the most precious archives of the -nation. Here can be found the original Declaration of Independence, the -Constitution with the original signatures. Here can be seen the -handwriting of most of the rulers of the world during the last hundred -years affixed to treaties. One of the most unique of these is a treaty -with Japan. The clear Japanese characters cover many pages, the royal -signature is at the top, and you read from the bottom. The treaty was -brought to Washington by two Japanese officials of high rank, who were -charged with its safe delivery on penalty of their lives. One day they -triumphantly entered the State Department bearing aloft on two bamboo -poles a curiously constructed box, in which was the precious document. -They were greatly relieved when they saw it safely deposited with the -Secretary of State. - -Here are the papers of Washington, Adams, and Jefferson; here are all -the flags taken in all the wars in which the United States have engaged. - -[Illustration: - - THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE -] - -The diplomatic rooms are of great beauty. Here Mr. Knox receives foreign -ministers, consuls, and special messengers from foreign lands. Here at -almost any time can be seen members of some of the thirty-five foreign -embassies and legations. Many of these legations own and maintain -handsome residences. A statement prepared by District Assessor Darneille -shows that foreign governments own over $500,000 worth of real property -in the District of Columbia, the estimated value of the land being -$330,776, and the improvements $284,500. The French and Chinese -governments have recently purchased valuable tracts of land, and erected -magnificent legation buildings which will increase the value of property -held by foreign governments to nearly $1,000,000. - -Probably the most characteristic feature of both political and social -life in Washington is afforded by the presence of these legations. The -members are more conspicuous here than at any other national capital in -the world, except, possibly, Peking. Not to speak of Asiatic costumes -and customs, European manners and morals, if we except those of England -and Germany, which are much the same as our own, contrast most decidedly -with their American correspondents. Most of the men are pure pagans— -cynics and materialists. They look upon a profession of Christianity at -its best as a mark of intellectual weakness, and at its worst of -hypocrisy. Their own faces, however, do not indicate that they are -exceptionally broad-minded or good and sincere men. - -I have seen them in public receptions stand on one side and chatter in -French, Spanish, or Italian, poking all sorts of fun at the hostess and -her entertainment, and then, as she approached, rush to greet her with a -mock homage which made my flesh creep. I have heard them declare that -"all Americans are cads," and the next instant prove the less sweeping -proposition that "all cads are not Americans" by fulsome compliments to -a distinguished Justice or Senator. - -They, however, dispense a generous hospitality, and society, which has -learned to estimate them by their own cynical standards, and is neither -elated by their smiles nor annihilated by their snubs, cultivates them -as best suits its own purpose. - -The United States supports abroad thirty-eight embassies and legations, -consisting of ministers, secretaries, and attachés, besides about one -thousand consuls. - - * * * * * - -The Congressional Directory gives the personal history of Secretary Knox -as follows: - - PHILANDER CHASE KNOX, Secretary of State (1527 K Street), was born - in Brownsville, Pa., May 6, 1853, son of David S. and Rebekah Knox; - his father was a banker in Brownsville; graduated at Mount Union - College, Alliance, Ohio, in 1872; entered the law office of H. B. - Swope, Pittsburg, Pa., and was admitted to the bar in 1875; was - assistant United States District Attorney for the Western District - of Pennsylvania in 1876; was elected president of the Pennsylvania - Law Association in 1897; was made Attorney-General in the Cabinet of - President McKinley in 1901 as successor to Hon. John William Griggs, - of New Jersey, resigned, and was sworn into office April 9, 1901; - was the choice of President Roosevelt for Attorney-General in his - Cabinet, and was confirmed by the Senate December 16, 1901; resigned - that office June 30, 1904, to accept appointment as United States - Senator, tendered by Governor Pennypacker June 10, to fill a vacancy - caused by the death of Hon. M. S. Quay, and took his seat December - 6; was elected by the Legislature in January, 1905, for the term - ending March 3, 1911; resigned as Senator March 4, 1909, to accept - the position of Secretary of State, and was nominated, confirmed and - commissioned March 5. - -Congress had to repeal the act raising the salary of the Secretary of -State before Mr. Knox could take the position, because he was in the -Senate when the salary was raised. - - - THE WAR DEPARTMENT - -In time of war or just following a war the most interesting department -is that which was lately occupied by Elihu Root and William H. Taft. Mr. -Root is noted as a great corporation lawyer, and at first seemed to -consider that the government of the United States could be run on the -same principles as a great corporation—that is, "We shall do as we -please in spite of public opinion." But he was severely brought to task -for this. Later he became Secretary of State. - -In spite of this, the report of this department, dated December, 1901, -shows difficult, conscientious, magnificent work performed by the War -Department since the close of the war with Spain. Possibly the quiet -prejudice which existed throughout the country against Mr. Root was -largely the result of his treatment of General Miles. He did not like -the old General, but the country did. Mr. Root could do many splendid -things before the farmer, who only reads his weekly paper and to whose -brain new things come slowly, forgave him for rudeness to a man of the -people, whose merit had placed him at the head of the army. Any one who -thinks he wins favor by calling General Miles "old fuss and feathers," -as some newspapers do, quite forgets that the American people like fuss -and feathers. - -In spite of the above, Mr. Root is a great patriotic man, who, with -mental ability enough to earn $100,000 per year, gives his country the -benefit of his talents for what must seem to him the modest sum of -$12,000. As an organizer and great executive officer he had no superior -in the government employ. His last report shows the army located as -follows: - - DISTRIBUTION OF THE ARMY, SEPTEMBER 25, 1901 - - ──────────────────┬──────────┬─────────┬─────── - COUNTRY │_Officers_│_Enlisted│_Total_ - │ │ men_ │ - ──────────────────┼──────────┼─────────┼─────── - United States │ 1,922│ 31,952│ 33,874 - Philippine Islands│ 1,111│ 42,128│ 43,239 - Cuba │ 166│ 4,748│ 4,914 - Porto Rico │ 51│ 1,490│ 1,541 - Hawaiian Islands │ 6│ 250│ 256 - China │ 5│ 157│ 162 - Alaska │ 17│ 510│ 527 - ──────────────────┼──────────┼─────────┼─────── - Total │ 3,278│ 81,235│ 84,513 - ──────────────────┴──────────┴─────────┴─────── - - [In this table are included the 4,336 men of the Hospital Corps and - the 25 officers and 815 men of the Porto Rico Provisional Regiment, - leaving the strength of the Regular Army 3,253 officers and 76,084 - enlisted men. - - In addition there are also in the Philippines 172 volunteer - surgeons, appointed under section 18 of the act of February 2, 1901, - and 98 officers and 4,973 native scouts.] - -Of course, now that the war in the Philippines is practically over, many -more men have returned to the United States. - -In reading Mr. Root's report, nothing impresses one more than the -splendid arrangement for the better education of army officers, not only -as to military tactics, but for full intellectual equipment. Enlisted -men who fit themselves by study, and retain good characters by passing -complete civil-service examination, become eligible to official -positions among the regulars. Also officers of volunteer regiments by -the same process become eligible to official positions in the regular -army. - -Mr. Root recommended that officers of the National Guard, or officers of -former volunteers, be permitted in their vacations to study with regular -army officers at West Point, and at the army post schools, so that we -may never again be caught without competent officers for volunteer -regiments. His report contains full accounts of the forming of the new -government in Cuba, the Cuban Constitution, a full account of all the -troubles in the Philippines, the wonderful work accomplished by the -signal corps, the territorial and military divisions of the Philippines, -and recommendations as to the proper currency and system of banking -necessary in our Oriental possessions. - -He recommended the purchase of the lands of the friars, who could not -continue to hold their possession peacefully on account of the hostility -of the people, whom they have grossly wronged. - -His account of the very valuable unexplored timber lands of the islands, -and the industries needed, made his report of great practical -importance. - -Men of the United States army have always been noted for their high -standard of honor. The country believes in the integrity of the officers -of the regular army. When any of them fail themselves and betray the -trust imposed in them, it causes a shock to public feeling such as -malfeasance in no other official position ever produces. To an unusually -large extent they have been worthy of the trust reposed in them by a -great nation. - -The French are no more jealous of the good name of their army than are -Americans. The person who takes away the good name of our brave, -patriotic, self-sacrificing men, "who are a-doing and a-dying" in the -Philippines, because of the evil actions of less than one-twentieth of -their number, deserves public execration. The least we can do for our -army is to give them their hard-earned laurels unspoiled. - -The following sketch of Mr. Root, now Senator from New York, is taken -from "Who's Who in America": - - Secretary of State from July 1, 1905, until March 4, 1909; born in - Clinton, N. Y., February 15, 1845; son of Oren and Nancy Whitney - (Buttrick) Root; graduated from Hamilton College in 1864, where his - father was for many years professor of mathematics; taught at Rome - Academy in 1865; graduated from the University Law School of New - York in 1867; (LL.D., Hamilton, 1896; Yale, 1900; Columbia, 1904; - New York University, 1904; Williams, 1905; Princeton, 1906; - University of Buenos Ayres, 1906; University of San Marcos of Lima, - 1906; Harvard, 1907); married January 8, 1878, Clara, daughter of - Salem H. Wales, of New York; U. S. Attorney for the Southern - District of New York, 1883-85; delegate-at-large to the State - Constitutional Convention in 1894, and chairman judiciary committee; - appointed Secretary of War, August 1, 1899, by President McKinley; - reappointed March 5, 1901; resigned February 1, 1904; became - Secretary of State, U. S., July 1, 1905. Member Alaskan Boundary - Tribunal in 1903; temporary chairman Republican National Convention - in 1904. Trustee of Hamilton College, Carnegie Institution, - Washington; Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; President Union - League Club (New York), 1898-99; president New York City Bar - Association, 1904-05; president American Society of International - Law, 1906. - - - - - XXVI - STATE, WAR, AND NAVY DEPARTMENTS (Continued) - - - THE NAVY DEPARTMENT - -THE offices of the Navy Department are situated in the same building as -those of the War Department. The Secretary of the Navy occupies some of -these handsome rooms. On their walls are the pictures of eighteen -Secretaries, more than half the number of those who have occupied the -high place being yet unrepresented. Secretary Long urged that the -pictures of those yet waiting should be secured and given a place among -these worthies. Down to Lincoln's day the following persons occupied the -place of Secretary of the Navy: - -During Washington's administration the Secretaries of the Navy were also -Secretaries of War. Three men occupied the double position: Gen. Henry -Knox, of Massachusetts; Timothy Pickering, of Massachusetts; and James -McHenry, of Maryland. In John Adams's administration the Navy was made a -separate department. The Secretaries of the Navy since 1798 have been as -follows: Benjamin Stoddert, of Maryland; Robert Smith, of Maryland; -Jacob Crowninshield, of Massachusetts; Paul Hamilton, of South Carolina; -William Jones, of Pennsylvania; Benjamin W. Crowninshield, of -Massachusetts; Smith Thompson, of New York; Samuel L. Southard, of New -Jersey; John Branch, of North Carolina; Levi Woodbury, of New Hampshire; -Mahlon Dickerson, of New Jersey; James K. Paulding, of New York; George -E. Badger, of North Carolina; Abel P. Upshur, of Virginia; David -Henshaw, of Massachusetts; Thomas W. Gilmer, of Virginia; John Y. Mason, -of Virginia; George Bancroft, of Massachusetts; William B. Preston, of -Virginia; William A. Graham, of North Carolina; John P. Kennedy, of -Maryland; James C. Dobbin, of North Carolina; Isaac Toucey, of -Connecticut; Gideon Welles, of Connecticut. Since then have come John -Faxon, Adolph E. Bane, Geo. M. Robeson, Watson Goff, Jr.; N. H. Hunt, -Wm. E. Chandler, Wm. C. Whitney, Benj. F. Tracy, H. A. Hobart, John D. -Long, M. H. Moody, Paul Morton, Chas. J. Bonaparte, S. H. Newberry and -George von L. Meyer. Mr. Long resigned in 1902, and was succeeded by Mr. -Moody, who later was transferred to the Supreme Court. Of Mr. Meyer the -Directory says: - - GEORGE VON LENGERKE MEYER, of Hamilton, Mass., Secretary of the - Navy, is trustee Provident Institution for Savings, Boston; director - Old Colony Trust Company, Boston, Amoskeag Manufacturing Company, - Manchester, N. H., and United Electric Securities Company, Boston; - was a member of the city government of Boston, 1890-1892; member of - the Massachusetts House of Representatives, 1892-1896; Speaker of - the Massachusetts House of Representatives, 1894-1896; Republican - national committeeman, 1898 to 1905; confirmed as ambassador to - Italy December 14, 1900; transferred as ambassador to Russia March - 8, 1905; recalled in February, 1907, to enter the Cabinet as - Postmaster-General, and took oath of office March 4, 1907, holding - that post until March 6, 1909, when he took oath of office as - Secretary of the Navy. - -Now that the United States has become a world power, the navy is the -right arm of the government in taking needed supplies to our distant -colonies, and in protecting with devoted care the property of America -the world over. - -The last annual report of the Secretary of the Navy showed that the -United States has 252 regular naval vessels, 55 of special classes, -besides as many more of inferior classes called standard vessels, such -as steam-cutters, launches, cutters, etc. The Secretary's report shows -that $84,181,863.89 was appropriated for naval expenses, of which about -seventeen millions yet remain unused. A large part of this has gone for -new vessels. No part of the government is increasing so rapidly as the -naval service. When all men are enlisted for which legal provision has -been made, the naval and marine force will reach 34,810 men, or nearly -8,000 more than were in the army prior to the war with Spain. By the -Congressional acts of 1864, 1868, and 1876 the navy was fixed not to -exceed 7,000 men; the act of March 3, 1901, fixes the number at 25,000, -but the necessities of the country have increased it beyond this. - -The average citizen knows far less about the navy than about the army. -Yet in time of war the army would be of little use without an efficient -navy. In the Civil War no great progress was made in conquering the -South till the blockade shut in the Southern States, preventing the -export of cotton and the bringing in of the necessities of life. - -In the late war with Spain, brilliant as was the service of the army, -yet our navy carried away the greater laurels. - -The North Atlantic Squadron during the last fiscal year has been engaged -in severe training in marksmanship and evolutions, gaining facility in -landing large guns, etc. The vessels of this squadron have extended -their operations from Maine to Central America, particularly among the -West Indies. The South Atlantic Squadron has assisted in commercial -interests along the coast of South America. The European Squadron is now -mostly in the Mediterranean Sea. The Pacific Squadron is scattered over -such a great length of coast from Alaska to South America that the ships -can not drill as a squadron, but are obliged to maneuver singly. The -apprentice and training squadrons have been along the coast of Europe, -but are now in the West Indies. These are afloat continually, except -when stopped for repairs or supplies. - -Possibly no condition in the war with Spain annoyed us so much as the -use of powder which emitted smoke and thus showed just where our men -were located, while they dealt with an unseen foe. The navy has taken up -this matter, and is experimenting on the use and making of smokeless -powder. We shall not be caught napping again. The navy is also -practising wireless telegraphy; and while it can not be said to have -adopted any of the half dozen systems now before the public, yet so far -it has secured the best results from the Marconi system. This is used by -Great Britain and Italy. Germany uses the Slaby system, France and -Russia the Ducretet system. The Secretary of the Navy insists that none -is a perfect success, as the difficulty of interference has not yet been -entirely overcome. Wireless telegraphy has carried messages between -British war-ships 160 miles apart. In 1908 and 1909 the fleet went -around the world. - -We have eight navy-yards, the principal one being at Brooklyn. The -barracks for the marines in Washington are situated on Eighth Street, a -short distance from the navy-yard; they cost $350,000. The navy-yard at -Washington does not build large ships, but produces chains, anchors, -ordnances, such as rifles, breech-loading guns, etc., together with a -long list of materials used in the navy. - -Admiral Dewey is not only the pride of the navy but of the nation. He -receives $13,500 per year. Rear-Admirals are paid $8,000. - -Extensive and important improvements are to be made at the Annapolis -Naval Academy. The country expects great proficiency in its army and -navy, so no pains, no expense should be spared in the preparation of men -of whom so much is required. A number of years ago Commodore Perry, -speaking to the students of Antioch College (Ohio), told the following -anecdote: - -"Some twenty-five years ago I was carelessly walking on the levee of a -city of the Adriatic. A short distance from the shore lay a man-of-war -at anchor. I called an oarsman to me, and had him take me out to the -vessel. - -"I saw no one on board, but by a rope hanging over the side I went on -deck, hand over hand. I paid the oarsman, and told him to return for me -in an hour. - -"I wandered over the beautiful ship, admiring its guns, its keeping, its -admirable appointments, and its excellent management, shown by its -condition. At the end of my hour I began to look for my oarsman. Just -then I discovered a door on my right. I opened it, and in that room sat -thirty-two boys. I had been there an hour and had not heard stir enough -to show that so much as a bird was alive on that boat. - -"The youngest cadet came to the door and welcomed me with his cordial -military salute. 'Boy, where is your teacher?' 'Gone ashore, sir.' 'Do -you keep absolute order while he is gone?' 'Certainly, sir.' - -"Then passing to the front, I said to one of the older boys: 'Young man, -why do you act so differently from other boys? Are you afraid of being -punished?' - -"The cadet rose to his feet. 'Sir,' said he, 'you see before you -thirty-two cadets. We all expect to govern others in our future work. -The first element of a good governor is self-government; sir, we are -practising that.'" - -The Commodore added: "That was twenty-five years ago. In the providence -of God none of these young men have been called to eternity. I will now -read you their names." And the audience recognized in each man a name -famous in the navies of Great Britain, Germany, France, or America. - -Now those lads had not merely kept silent. The mastery of self made them -victorious over temper, bad habits, and all depraved tastes. They were -men in soul as well as in body. Truly, "He that ruleth his spirit is -greater than he that taketh a city." - - - - - XXVII - DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE - - -IN February, 1903, President Roosevelt nominated to the head of the new -Department of Commerce and Labor his secretary, George B. Cortelyou, and -to be Commissioner of Corporations in that department James R. Garfield, -who is a son of President Garfield, and a member of the Civil Service -Commission. Of these appointments the New York _Times_ expressed the -general opinion of the press of the country: - - The former appointment is significant chiefly because the new - Secretary is intimately known to the President, and his policy in - the department will probably represent the President's views very - closely. It cannot in any special sense be regarded as a political - appointment. The selection of Mr. Garfield is also conspicuously on - the merits of the appointee, who is not an active politician, is an - able lawyer, has been prominent and useful in the promotion of - municipal reform and of the merit system in Ohio and as a Civil - Service Commissioner. He has plenty of energy, a cool head, - experience in public affairs, and may be expected to do all that can - be done with the powers of his new office, the value of which must - depend much on the character of the Commissioner and the support and - direction of the Secretary and of the President. - -After that Mr. Cortelyou made an efficient officer in this Department, -then was transferred to the Treasury, which he ably conducted during the -panic of 1907. At the end of the Roosevelt Administration he was called -to the presidency of the Consolidated Gas Company in New York City. - -Mr. Garfield was soon called to deal with the great corporations, and -confronted the greatest problem of the times. He came to his responsible -place a comparatively unknown man. His name carried something of the -halo which surrounds the name of his distinguished father, and for that -reason he started with the best wishes of his countrymen. - -Mr. Taft placed at the head of the Department of Commerce and Labor Mr. -Nagel, of St. Louis, whose history the Congressional Directory sums up -as follows: - - CHARLES NAGEL, of St. Louis, Mo., Secretary of Commerce and Labor - (the Arlington), was born August 9, 1849, in Colorado County, Tex. - He left his home in 1863 as a result of the civil war, accompanying - his father to old Mexico, and from there, by way of New York, to St. - Louis. He graduated from the St. Louis High School in 1868; from the - St. Louis Law School in 1872; attended the University of Berlin - 1872-73; admitted to the bar 1873. In 1876 he married Fannie - Brandeis, of Louisville, who died in 1889, one daughter surviving - her. In 1895 he married Anne Shepley, and they have four children. - He was a member of the Missouri Legislature from 1881 to 1883; - president of the St. Louis City Council from 1893 to 1897; member of - the St. Louis Law School faculty since 1886; Board of Trustees of - Washington University; Board of Directors of St. Louis Museum of - Fine Arts. Made national committeeman from Missouri in 1908. Has - taken an active part in politics for the last twenty years by - participating in conventions and speaking during campaigns, and has - from time to time delivered addresses before bar associations and - similar organizations upon various topics of public interest. - -[Illustration: - - FISH COMMISSION BUILDING -] - -The new department has a wide scope, and under efficient administration -may exert a good deal of influence. It takes over practically the -scientific and statistical work of the government, especially the Coast -Survey, the Bureaus of Statistics from the Treasury and State -Departments, and the Fish Commission, besides the Labor Bureau, the -Immigration Bureau, and the enforcement of the Chinese Exclusion Act, -and it has a new Bureau of Manufactures, with considerable duties. But -undoubtedly the most important work it can perform is in the Bureau of -Corporations. It will do a great work, if it only secures publicity of -accounts. The powers of this bureau extend to "diligent investigation -into the organization, conduct, and management of any corporation, joint -stock company, or corporate combination engaged in commerce among the -several States and with foreign nations, excepting common carriers." For -this work the Commissioner is to have the "right to subpœna and compel -the attendance and testimony of witnesses and the production of -documentary evidence and to administer oaths." One of the objects of -this power is to enable the Commissioner to "gather such information and -data as will enable the President of the United States to make -recommendations to Congress for the regulation of" interstate and -foreign commerce. - -The Survey, Quarantine, Immigration, and Life-Saving bureaus are next in -importance. Along the coast new harbors and coast lines are constantly -being surveyed. When the quarantine officer boards your ship at the -entrance of New York harbor, and scares you thoroughly lest he keep you -in quarantine for the sake of some poor Italian baby in the steerage, he -represents the Secretary of Commerce guarding a great nation from -disease. When the immigrant lands he is interviewed by an agent of this -department and his money changed into United States currency. Some of -these agents recognize in the poor, frightened, lonely, and -travel-stained foreigner a human being who needs a friendly word and -helping hand, but others would scare even an American woman, who knows -her own value, out of her wits; what, then, must be the effect of such -men on the feelings of these strangers? Nearly a half million of -foreigners a year enter our ports, and I have seen many of them treated -like cattle. - -The Life-Saving Bureau has charge of the continuous line of life-saving -stations which guard our coasts. No braver men have ever lived than the -devoted servants of the government who patrol our shores. There are 269 -life-saving stations on the coasts of the Atlantic, the Pacific, and the -Great Lakes, and one at the Ohio Falls, at Louisville, Ky. The men of -these stations were present last year at 693 disasters and saved 3,377 -lives. Our government pensions soldiers and sailors who are hired to -destroy lives; surely greater pensions should be awarded these heroes of -the main for saving life. - - - - - XXVIII - THE EXECUTIVE MANSION - - -THE President's house is generally known as the White House. It is -situated on Pennsylvania Avenue, one mile west of the Capitol building. -It contains two lofty stories above ground and a basement. - -[Illustration: - - MRS. WILLIAM H. TAFT - - (Copyright, 1908, by Harris & Ewing, - Washington. D. C.) -] - -It was modeled after the palace of the Duke of Leicester by the -architect, James Hobon. The foundation was laid October 13, 1792, and -the building was first occupied by President John Adams in the summer of -1800. It was partially burned by the British in 1814. The front is -ornamented by Ionic columns and a projecting screen with three columns. -The space between these two sets of columns constitutes a carriage-way, -admitting to the main entrance. - -The White House proper contains but thirty-one rooms. The building was -refitted and the wings for approach and for the private offices of the -President were built during the administration of President Roosevelt. -Whether seen through the tracery of leafless trees or through the -verdure of summer, the White House always looks cool, restful, and -beautiful. The situation is not regarded as very healthful, but -everything that modern science can do is now being employed to improve -its sanitary condition. - -All official duties will in time be attended to in the offices which are -situated just west of the White House, so that the latter will be used -only as the private residence of the President's family. - -Longfellow says: - - All houses wherein men have lived and died - Are haunted houses. - -How true this must be of the home of our Presidents! George Washington -watched its building, and with his stately wife walked through it when -it was finished, and was satisfied. They were about ready to leave the -scene of action, but they did much to prepare the stage for the -procession of Presidents which has followed. - -For the last fifty years much complaint has been made that the house has -not been large enough and that it was lacking in modern conveniences, -but in spite of these objections no trouble has yet been experienced in -finding men who were quite willing and even anxious to occupy it. - -The walls are covered with portraits of the Presidents and their wives. -All these portraits are interesting. - -Mrs. John Adams bewailed the unfinished condition of the house, and used -the now famous East Room for drying the family linen. - -Of all the noble matrons who have graced the White House, Abigail Adams -was the wisest and greatest. Her letters make her the Madam de Sévigné -of our land. Her letter (written February, 1797) to her husband, who had -just succeeded Washington, sounds like the voice of an oracle. We quote -a portion: "You have this day to declare yourself head of a nation. 'And -now, O Lord, my God, thou hast made Thy servant ruler over the people; -give unto him an understanding heart, that he may know how to go out and -come in before this great people; that he may discern between good and -bad. For who is able to judge this Thy so great a people?' were the -words of a royal sovereign, and not less applicable to him who is -invested with the Chief Magistracy of a nation, tho he wear not a crown -nor the robes of royalty. My thoughts and my meditations are with you, -tho personally absent, and my petitions to heaven are that 'the things -which make for peace may not be hidden from your eyes.' My feelings are -not those of pride or ostentation upon this occasion. They are -solemnized by a sense of the obligations, the important trusts, and -numerous duties connected with it. That you may be enabled to discharge -them with honor to yourself, with justice and impartiality to your -country, and with satisfaction to this great people, shall be the daily -prayer of yours—" - -The first New-year's reception at the White House was held by President -Adams in 1801. Mrs. Adams kept up the stately, ceremonious customs -established by President and Mrs. Washington. It was her son, John -Quincy Adams, as Monroe's Secretary of State, who was afterward to write -out a definite code for almost every public ceremony. This code is -largely in force at the present time. - -Martha Washington comes into history simply as the wife of a great man, -but Abigail Adams was inherently a superior woman. Of all the women who -occupied the White House she, only, gave the country a son who became a -great man, and occupied the highest position in the gift of his country. - -After John Adams came Thomas Jefferson, who had imbibed ultra-democratic -ideas in the French Revolution. The ceremonies which prevailed in the -Washington and Adams period were temporarily laid aside by this plain -Virginia gentleman. He received the formal dames of the land in his -riding-suit, covered with dust, riding-whip in hand, and with clanking -spurs on his heels. His lovely daughter, Martha Jefferson Randolph, did -her best to give the great house the air of a pleasant home. She -succeeded well, and Jefferson's accomplished daughter smoothed many of -the asperities existing among public men who had lived through the -Revolution and suffered from the jealousies, misunderstandings, and -injustices of the times. - -Mrs. Dolly Madison was probably the greatest social genius that has ever -occupied the White House. The papers of that day declare "Mrs. Madison -is the most popular person in the United States." - -Washington social life yet abounds in pleasing legends of her graceful, -courteous kindness, not only to the gentlemen and ladies of the -legations, but to the ignorant and socially unskilled who were among her -worshipers. James Fenimore Cooper, in a private letter, gives a picture -of the White House in the days of James Monroe: - -"The evening at the White House, or drawing-room, as it is sometimes -pleasantly called, is, in fact, a collection of all classes of people -who choose to go to the trouble and expense of appearing in dresses -suited to an evening party. I am not sure that even dress is very much -regarded, for I certainly saw a good many there in boots.... Squeezing -through a crowd, we achieved a passage to a part of the room where Mrs. -Monroe was standing, surrounded by a bevy of female friends. After -making our bow here, we sought the President. The latter had posted -himself at the top of the room, where he remained most of the evening -shaking hands with all who approached. Near him stood the Secretaries -and a great number of the most distinguished men of the nation. Beside -these, one meets here a great variety of people in other conditions of -life. I have known a cartman to leave his cart in the street and go into -the reception-room to shake hands with the President. He offended the -good taste of all present, because it was not thought decent that a -laborer should come in a dirty dress on such an occasion; but while he -made a mistake in this particular, he proved how well he understood the -difference between government and society." - -The Monroes came to the White House after it had been restored after the -burning in 1814. It was barely furnished at that time, and contained but -few conveniences for entertaining. Mrs. Monroe brought furniture -directly from Paris, which she used for the East Room. This has been -frequently upholstered, and constitutes part of the handsome furniture -at the present time. - -John Quincy Adams, the fifth President of the United States, was one of -the greatest men this country has yet produced. Repellant manners -injured his usefulness and obscured the luster of his great name. It is -said he could grant a request and thereby lose a friend, while Clay -could say "No" so kindly as to win a friend. - -The life of Louisa Catherine Adams, wife of John Quincy Adams, is one of -surprising interest. She was the daughter of Joshua Johnson, of -Maryland, was educated and married in London, accompanied her husband to -the many different courts to which he was minister, and brought to the -White House a larger social experience than any of her predecessors. - -She reestablished the stately ceremonials of the Washington period, -which greatly resembled the customs of the English Court. Among the -great men who frequented her levees were Webster, Clay, Calhoun, and -Andrew Jackson (the latter always in buff pants and vest with blue -broadcloth coat and gilt buttons). - -Then came strenuous Andrew Jackson as President, with only the memory of -his beloved Rachel, who had passed away before he became Chief -Magistrate. She had been buried in the beautiful dress prepared for her -husband's inauguration. A private letter yet extant gives this picture -of the days when Emily Donelson (wife of the President's nephew) was the -chief lady of the land: - -"The large parlor was scantily furnished; there was light from the -chandelier, and a blazing fire in the grate; four or five ladies sewing -around it; Mrs. Donelson, Mrs. Andrew Jackson, Jr., Mrs. Edward -Livingston, and others. Five or six children were playing about, -regardless of documents or work-baskets. At the farther end of the room -sat the President in an arm-chair, wearing a loose coat, and smoking a -long reed pipe, with bowl of red clay—combining the dignity of the -patriarch, monarch, and Indian chief. Just behind him was Edward -Livingstone, the Secretary of State, reading a despatch from the French -Minister for Foreign Affairs. The ladies glance admiringly now and then -at the President, who listens, waving his pipe toward the children when -they become too boisterous." - -Jefferson, Jackson, Van Buren, Tyler, and Arthur were widowers when they -entered the White House. - -Van Buren was the Talleyrand of American politics. Secretary of State -under Jackson, he had won the heart of his chief, whose influence -secured him the Presidency. His son's wife, Angelica Singleton Van -Buren, gracefully conducted the ceremonies of the White House during the -Van Buren administration. - -General William Henry Harrison became President in 1841. His wife never -came to Washington. He died one month after his inauguration. It was -declared that he was worried to death by the fierce office-seekers of -the time. His was the first funeral from the White House. - -John Tyler, who succeeded Harrison, was a polished, cultured gentleman -from Virginia. His was the literary period, when Washington Irving, -Edward Everett, and John Howard Payne received foreign appointments. - -His first wife, Letitia Christian Tyler, made her first public -appearance at the White House at the marriage of her daughter. She died -in 1842. Eight months before Tyler's term expired he was married to Miss -Julia Gardner, of New York. The festivities of the time began with her -wedding reception, and lasted till the end of that administration. - -James K. Polk, of Tennessee, became President in 1845. He was rather -small physically, and so spare or thin that the tailor had to make his -clothing too large to help out his appearance. - -Mrs. Polk much resembled in manners Martha Washington. She dressed well -and gave frequent levees, as receptions were then called. She received -her guests sitting, with the President standing by her chair. A -gentleman once said to her, "Madam, there is a wo pronounced against you -in the Scriptures: 'Wo unto you when all men shall speak well of you.'" - -In 1849 Gen. Zachariah Taylor was inaugurated as the twelfth President -of the United States. He lived sixteen months and five days after he -became President. His wife, Margaret Taylor, was an invalid, but his -daughter, "Miss Betty" as she was familiarly called, made the White -House attractive. - -Millard Fillmore, of New York, elected Vice-President, became President -July 10, 1852. He was an eminent lawyer from Buffalo. His manners were -marked with great simplicity and affability. Mrs. Abigail Fillmore was -one of the few literary women who have presided in the White House. She -drew to her side the literary men and women of the nation, and her -receptions resembled the French _salons_ in their literary tone. - -Franklin Pierce, of New Hampshire, became President in 1853. He was a -shy, modest man, who could not cope with the strong men of the South, -who were even then preparing for secession. He was six feet high. His -coal-black hair and eyes gave him a most striking appearance. His wife, -Mrs. Jane Appleton Pierce, was not a strong woman physically, but -managed to discharge the duties of the White House with great dignity. - -James Buchanan, of Pennsylvania, became the fifteenth President of the -United States in 1857. The throes of the Civil War began in his -administration. He was a politician, not a statesman, and tried to suit -both sides, but ended by suiting neither. But the duties of the White -House were never more elegantly administered than while Miss Harriet -Lane, the niece of President Buchanan, presided. There are white-haired -diplomats living to-day who compare everything now done in the White -House with Miss Lane's graceful administration. She had been much with -her uncle when he was minister at foreign courts, and they both had many -friends among the scholarly men of the legations, so that the White -House became the rendezvous of that class more than at any other period. -She received the Prince of Wales and his suite most gracefully, omitting -nothing which would add to the dignity of the occasion. - -Jefferson Davis said: "The White House under the administration of -Buchanan approached more nearer to my idea of a Republican Court than -the President's house had ever done since the days of Washington." - -Abraham Lincoln, "the noblest Roman of them all," became President March -8, 1861. He is the greatest American that has yet lived. Washington was -the result of English influences, but Lincoln is the highest -representative of republican influences that has yet governed this -nation. A giant in stature, being six feet and four inches in height, -his grand physique was but a type of the great heart and strong -intellect of a great man. He was called to preside over this nation at -the most critical time in its history. - -Mrs. Mary Todd Lincoln found it difficult to keep up the ceremonious -customs of the White House with a husband who followed no -conventionalities, but believed the Executive Mansion should be opened -at all times to every citizen. Mrs. Lincoln devoted much time to the -soldiers in the hospitals, and the White House conservatory was kept -stripped of flowers for the benefit of the wounded and sick. - -Andrew Johnson, of Tennessee, came to the Presidency on the death of Mr. -Lincoln in 1865. He was not wise in his judgments, and had he been more -amenable to men of experience in governmental affairs his life in -Washington would have been much easier. Time is revealing more and more -that his troubles were in a great degree the result of the jealousies -and disappointments of politicians. The sufferings of the people of the -White House during the days of President Johnson's trials can never be -estimated. - -Martha Patterson, widow of Senator Patterson, of Tennessee, and daughter -of the President, administered the social duties of the Executive -Mansion during Johnson's administration, Mrs. Johnson being an invalid. -Mrs. Patterson said: "We are plain people from the mountains of -Tennessee, called here for a short time by a national calamity. I trust -too much will not be expected of us." But sad as her heart must have -been in those days, she filled the duties of her high place to the -satisfaction of even the exacting great dames of the period. Andrew -Johnson's lovely family are yet fondly remembered and deeply loved by -many who enjoyed the friendship of "the plain people from Tennessee." - -General U. S. Grant, of Illinois, became President in 1869, and his -administration was one long carnival of social duties and enjoyments. - -Mrs. Julia Dent Grant and her accomplished daughter, Nellie, led the -society of the Capitol through eight brilliant years. The White House -was entirely refurnished, and the festivities were on a scale of -magnificence never equaled there before or since. - -In 1877 Rutherford B. Hayes, of Ohio, became President. He came in at a -difficult and dangerous time, but his administration brought peace and -tranquility to the nation. - -Mrs. Lucy Webb Hayes was noted for her plain dressing and strict -temperance principles, which she enforced even in the White House, much -to the disgust of the legations and to the delight of the Christian -people of the country. - -[Illustration: - - Copyright, 1909, by Harris & Ewing, Washington - - THE PRESIDENT AND HIS CABINET - - From left to right around the table—President Taft, Franklin MacVeagh, - George W. Wickersham, George Von L. Meyer, - James Wilson, Charles Nagel, Richard A. Ballinger, Frank H. Hitchcock, - Jacob M. Dickinson, Philander C. Knox. -] - -[Illustration: - - Photo by Clinedinst - - ENTRANCE TO THE WHITE HOUSE -] - -[Illustration: - - Photo by Clinedinst - - NEW WING OF THE WHITE HOUSE -] - -[Illustration: - - Photo by Clinedinst - - SOUTH FRONT OF THE WHITE HOUSE -] - -[Illustration: - - Photo by Clinedinst - - NORTH FRONT OF THE WHITE HOUSE -] - -[Illustration: - - Copyright by Clinedinst, 1903 - - GRAND CORRIDOR—WHITE HOUSE -] - -[Illustration: - - Copyright by Clinedinst, 1903 - - STATE DINING-ROOM—WHITE HOUSE -] - -[Illustration: - - Photo by Clinedinst - - MOUNT VERNON—FROM SOUTH LAWN -] - -[Illustration: - - Photo by Clinedinst - - TOMB OF WASHINGTON—MOUNT VERNON -] - -[Illustration: - - Photo by Clinedinst - - HOME OF GENERAL LEE -] - -[Illustration: - - Photo by Clinedinst - - MONUMENT TO THE UNKNOWN DEAD, ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY -] - -[Illustration: - - Photo by Clinedinst - - THE WASHINGTON MONUMENT -] - -James A. Garfield, of Ohio, became President in 1881. His life in the -White House from March to September, 1881, scarcely gave time to show -what the social life in Washington would have been had he lived to -complete his term. His assassination cast a gloom over the social life -for a full year after Chester A. Arthur became the Executive. He served -to the end of the term, in 1885. President Arthur being a widower, the -hostess of the White House during his term was his accomplished sister, -Mrs. Mary Arthur McElroy. - -Grover Cleveland, of New York, became President in 1885. The Republican -party had been in power for twenty-five years, and when Mr. Cleveland -was elected the change of officers was as great as in the days of Andrew -Jackson. Cleveland was a man of the highest integrity and the most -unfaltering courage, so that the change proved beneficial to the entire -land. - -Miss Rose Elizabeth Cleveland, sister of the President, presided at the -White House until his marriage, June 2, 1886, to Miss Frances Folsom, -who became, next to Dolly Madison, the most popular woman who ever -entertained in the historic old house. - -In March, 1889, Benjamin Harrison became Chief Magistrate. The first -Mrs. Harrison was a woman experienced in Washington society, and was -much loved by a very large circle. - -In 1893 Grover Cleveland again became President, and in 1897 William -McKinley, probably the best-loved man by the people of any President -since the days of Mr. Lincoln. - -Mrs. McKinley, altho an invalid, with the assistance of her nieces, kept -up the reputation and social festivities of the White House. - -Theodore Roosevelt became President September, 1901, and closed a -brilliant and successful administration March 4, 1909. His -administration will be remembered in history as a strenuous fight -against wrong-doing in high places. He will be honored for having -secured to the United States proper recognition in world politics and -for having promoted peace and good will among nations. - -William Howard Taft, of Ohio, was inaugurated President March 4, 1909. -No man has ever been called to this high office with a broader training. -He is a graduate of Yale, has received the degree of LL.D. from five -universities, is a distinguished lawyer, has been a wise judge, and a -successful governor of the Philippine Islands at the difficult period of -transition. As a traveler he has looked into the faces and is personally -known to all the great rulers of the world. He has visited Cuba and the -Panama Zone (the spheres of probable disturbance), and has therefore had -the training which should fit him to deal wisely with both the domestic -and the foreign problems likely to arise. - -Mr. Taft was married in 1886 to Miss Helen Herron, of Cincinnati. They -have two sons and one daughter. Mrs. Taft has had a large social -experience, and is considered one of the most cultured women ever called -to direct the affairs of the White House. - - - - - XXIX - INTERESTS IN WASHINGTON WHICH CAN NOT - HERE BE FULLY DESCRIBED - - -IN the third story of the Congressional Library strangers can find two -papier-maché models which are of great interest. One represents the City -of Washington in 1902, the other represents the Washington of the -future. - -Congress has called the great engineers of the War Department and four -of the leading artists of the United States as a committee on civic -improvement for the capital city. The artists are: Mr. Daniel H. -Burnham, of Chicago; Mr. John C. Olmstead, the noted landscape artist; -Mr. Charles F. McKim, and Mr. Augustus St. Gaudens. - -By the plans the public buildings of the future will be arranged around -Capitol Square (which has now two sides occupied by private residences), -and will then extend on both sides the mall, or flat, low-lying district -1,600 feet in width, extending from the Capitol building to the Potomac, -a distance of one and a half miles, and inclosing the Washington -monument. The buildings are all to be of white marble, harmonious in -design, and with a standard sky-line. The latter feature is not pleasing -in effect in the model. The Pennsylvania Railroad and the B. & O. -Railroad have already given up their small stations, and now with all -other roads passing through Washington run into a handsome new Union -Station. - -At the front of Capitol Hill will be Union Square, where the statues of -war heroes will be grouped. The streets from that point to the -Washington monument will have four rows of trees on each side. A great -theater, gymnasium, lakes, fountains, and baths will remind one of -ancient Rome. A magnificent memorial to Abraham Lincoln will be placed -south of the Washington monument. Obelisks and arches which have been -used as memorials from the earliest ages will form part of the -ornamentation. People smile over this wonderful design, but if from now -on all public work is done under this intelligent supervision even one -hundred years may make the dream of these artists a glorious reality. -Not a lamp-post will go up in this new day, not a business sign will be -displayed without the approval of this art commission. - -Designs for private houses as well as business houses must be made to -harmonize with the landscape and other buildings which already exist. -"May we all be here to see." - -Among the buildings and objects of interest which can not here be fully -described, nor their histories elaborated, is the Ben Butler building on -Capitol Square, where President Arthur made his home while the White -House was being repaired. - -There is also the old Capitol or Capitol Square (now numbered 21, 23, -25), which was used by Congress after the British had destroyed the -Capitol in 1814. These buildings were used as a military prison during -the Civil War, and here Wirtz, of Andersonville prison memory, was -executed. In one of them died John C. Calhoun. - -[Illustration: - - CHARLOTTE CORDAY - - (_One of the paintings in the Corcoran Art Gallery_) -] - -The Washington monument, nearly six hundred feet high, is said to be the -highest monument in the world. It was erected in memory of George -Washington. This grand structure is of pure white marble. From the top -there is a magnificent view of the surrounding country. The monument, -however, has suffered from the disintegrating effects of the weather, -and from the ruthless hands of the relic-hunters. The majestic -appearance of the monument grows upon the beholder, and its pearly -whiteness reminds him of the character of Washington, which grows fairer -in the mellowing light of history. - -Arlington Cemetery should be visited by the pilgrim to Washington. There -sleep many of the sacred dead of the nation, and there is the home of -Robert E. Lee, where he was called to decide between his country as a -whole or his native state. - -Around Lafayette Square, which faces the White House, history, poetry, -romance, and chivalry have twined an immortal wreath. Every monument -commemorates a hero. Here, too, is the old private residence of Dolly -Madison, the old home of the British Embassy, where Owen Meredith wrote -"Lucile"; also the Webster home, where once lived the French Embassy; -and St. John's Episcopal Church, where many Presidents have worshiped. -Here Webster, Sumner, and Slidell lived at different periods. The old -Decatur house stands on this square. The Admiral had a window cut -through, so that he could signal the President in the White House. They -missed the telephone. On this square lived Diaz, of Mexico; here Don -Cameron and Blaine each lived in the same house, afterward occupied by -Senator Hanna. On the north side is the handsome residence where lived -Secretary of State John Hay. - -Georgetown, named after George III. of England, is much older than -Washington City. The stories of its former grandeur and its -distinctively Southern tone make it a quaint object of interest. Its -most interesting literary shrine is the home of Mrs. E. D. E. N. -Southworth, the novelist, who wrote one novel for each year of her long -life. - -The Corcoran Art Gallery, on Seventeenth Street, extending from New York -Avenue to E Street, just southwest of the White House, has many objects -of interest both in painting and sculpture. - -No traveler should fail to visit Mount Vernon, the home of George and -Martha Washington. The house was built in 1783 by Lawrence, half-brother -of General Washington. The rooms seem small and cramped, according to -our modern ideas, but they were the stage upon which lived and loved two -names of sacred memory. The buildings are in the custody of the ladies -of the Mount Vernon Association, and the care of each room is in charge -of some one State. - -The United States Naval Observatory, north of Georgetown, will interest -lovers of astronomy, while every square, circle, and triangle of -Washington City has some reminder of those whose heroic deeds, spiritual -devotion, or literary and scientific achievement have beautified, -ennobled, and glorified the world, and made it more beautiful because of -their lives. - -Continental Hall, the home of the Daughters of the American Revolution, -situated on Seventeenth Street, south of the Corcoran Art Gallery, ranks -with the most beautiful of the white marble buildings. It was begun in -1903, and will be finished in 1909, at a cost of $500,000. - -The National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution was -organized October 12, 1890, in Washington, and holds a charter from -Congress. It reports annually to the Smithsonian Institute, and its -reports are printed by Congress. It is the only society of women in the -world organized for strictly patriotic purposes. - -Mrs. Benjamin Harrison, wife of the President of the United States; Mrs. -Adlai E. Stevenson, wife of the Vice-President of the United States and -President of the Senate; Mrs. Daniel Manning, wife of former Secretary -of the Treasury of the United States; Mrs. Charles W. Fairbanks, wife of -the Vice-President of the United States; Mrs. Donald MacLean and Mrs. -Scott, of Illinois, have been the presidents-general since its -organization. - -The chief work of the society is to mark historic spots in all parts of -the country, to perpetuate the memories of the heroic dead, and to make -patriotism a passion instead of a sentiment. Another object is to make -good citizens of all boys and girls of the land. It does much good in -bringing together people from different sections, thereby curing -provincialism, and bringing about friendly relations between different -parts of this great country. - - - - - TRANSCRIBER'S NOTES - - - 1. Corrected Illustrations Group I page numbering to "Between 48 and - 49." Was "Between 32 and 33". - 2. Silently corrected simple spelling, grammar, and typographical - errors. - 3. Retained anachronistic and non-standard spellings as printed. - 4. Enclosed italics font in _underscores_. - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Washington, its sights and insights -1909, by Harriet Earhart Monroe - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WASHINGTON, SIGHTS AND INSIGHTS, 1909 *** - -***** This file should be named 52202-0.txt or 52202-0.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/2/2/0/52202/ - -Produced by Richard Tonsing and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was -produced from images generously made available by The -Internet Archive) - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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