Democratic Sentinel, Volume 19, Number 35, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 6 September 1895 — CHAT OF THE CAPITAL [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

CHAT OF THE CAPITAL

SPECULATION AS TO JACKSON’S SUCCESSOR. At Present Bissell Seems to Be the Strongest Man—Marshes of the Potomac Are Being Abolished—The Great Congressional Library. An Early Appointment Likely. Washington correspondence:

There ia stiii a great deal of speculation as to whom the President will appoint to fill the place of the late Justice Jackson. Some Bik people have wondered why the appointment has not already been made, . but H is pointed out that there is no instance on Record _ where a justice has been appointed dur-mg-‘ng the interim beIFInl tween the adjourn- ! *• ment and the rensU k * sembling of Co n -

gress. Moreover, there is really no immediate necessity Tor the filling of the vacancy and it is not expected that the President will consider the matter until his return to this city in October. Justice Field has pointed out the necessity of the vacancy being filled about that time, as the docket of the court is several years behind. The loss of even a single member of the bench would therefore be considerably felt and for this reason the Chief Justice and some of his associates are said to have urged upon the President the advisability of filling the place as early as possible. The thing which is thought to weigh most with the President against making an early appointment is that it might subject the justice selected to the humiliation of sitting on the bench for a short time, only to find he was a persona grata to the Senate. Until an appointment is finally made there will continue to be much guessing as to the appointment. At the present time Mr. Bissell seems to be about the strongest man, not only because of his friendship with the President, but also because of his being a New Yorker, from which State it is thought the appointment will be made. It is predicted by many that the President will follow his custom and appoint a lawyer not kncfwn to the general public. If the President intends to honor any of his Cabinet with a seat on the bench Secretary Car;" lisle would in all probability be the man.

Potomac Marshes. Little by little the marshes of the Potomac, which have so long rendered Washington unhealthy, are being abolished. When the agitation for the abolition of the marshes began it was maintained that the upper marshes rendered the White House unhealthy, while those on the eastern branch performed a similar offense to the United States arsenal and navy yard. The plan which is being followed in the matter is either to put the marshes permanently under water or else to bring parts of them permanently above. That this work, although only in its infancy, has been productive of good results the death rate of Washington this summer has shown. Physicians throughout the city report that there is less malaria in the place than ever before, and they note a similar decrease in the sickness caused by marsh miasma. The improvement in the river itself is nearly completed, but that on the eastern branch is barely under way. Here the flats choke up most of the waterway and half poison the air. The plan which Maj. Twining, the engineer, is following in this part of the river will have the effect of straightening out the navy yard channel, which now winds around like a W, while the great mud marshes will be changed into water or high land. The friends of the late Secretary Gresham always declared that the sickness which ultimately caused his death was brought about by the exhalations from the marshes near the State Department. At certain points of the wind all the air from these marshes is borne directly into the departments, and majiy a man owes his first sickness to Potomac malaria. Congressional Library.

When the great Congressional library is. completed members of Congress will be able to get the books they need in a less space of time than by any other system on earth. Much of this will be due to the system of shelving which is to be adopted in the library. Many months of investigation took place before the final choice of these made. Next to the reading-room there will open out an extensive book magazine or repository filled with iron cases consisting of tiers or floors rising sixty-five feet high to the roof. These tiers were put in at this distance to obviate the necessity of using ladders. As -each tier of shelves is only eight feet high- it is easy to reach the topmost shelves without help of any kind. Each stack shelving capacity of 8,000 volumes. TTie librarians have also been investigating the Improvements of other libraries, and on the various floors in the book stacks there will be elevators and tramways for the transportation of books. Every kind of time-saving machinery which ingenuity can devise will be put into use to bring books to the tunnel which is to be put into operation between the Capitol and the library. Work on this has already been commenced. A trench 11,000 feet long has been dug across the Capitol park, and in it will be constructed a brick, conduit six feet high and four feet wide. This conduit will connect the basement of the library building with the basement of the Capitol. Shafts will run both from the library stacks and from the Congressional floors to this tunnel. It is proposed to run a small cable through the tunnel upon which will constantly travel carriers large enough to hold books. These will move very rapididly, and will take up and deliver the books between the two buildings. Telephone wires are to be laid in this conduit, and a member of Congress will be able to communicate his wants directly' to the librarian from the cloak-rooms of either the Senate or the House. The tunnel is intended to be dry and light, so that a man can walk through it if anything goes wrong. As this book railway is only to be used to furnish menibers of Congress with books it is expected that two carriers will be sufficient. The smaller the number the greater the speed which' can be used for the cable.