People's Pilot, Volume 3, Number 14, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 22 September 1893 — AGED ONE HUNDRED YEARS. [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

AGED ONE HUNDRED YEARS.

The Centennial of the Larins of the Corner Stone of the Capitol Obeer-red at Washington + A Parade and .-Patriotic Music and Speeches—History of the Fain oil* Building. Washington, Sept 18. —George Washington laid the corner stone of the national capitol 100 years ago. The meant much more than any like ceremony that had preceded it The federal constitution had been adopted. Two congresses had been held. Washington had been reelected. The republic which /was to stand forth before posterity’s eyes as the grandest achievement of all the ages was an accomplished fact. Since then a century has passed. The fiation has borne fruit according to its promise. The thirteen states have grown to forty-four; the few million of inhabitants to nearly seventy. But three wars have disturbed the country’s peace since then, and in all of these the union triumphed. The air was filled with the melody of church bells which rang throughout the City in honor of the capitol’s centennial. Everybody was astir early and the streets were filled with people decked in their best The liue over which the parade marched was becomingly decorated, and the stars and stripes floated above nearly every building in the city. Congress was adjourned and all of the depart-

ments were closed. Incoming trains brought thousands, who swelled the crowds to the capacity of the sidewalks. » As was the case 100 years ago, when the father of his country was escorted over the same ground over which President Cleveland rode, the civic organizations predominated. There were four divisions, not ing the president’s escort. At the Capitol. The procession moved promptly at 1 o’clock, and passing through Pennsylvania avenue arrived at the capitol shortly after 2 o’clock, when the parade was dismissed and the ceremonies of commemoration were commenced from stands erected on the east front in the presence of an immense concourse of spectators. The musical part of the programme was exceedingly notable and effective. First the Marine band, under the leadership of Prof. Fanciulli, rendered the overture to “Tannhauser.” Then after Bishop Paret’s brief and eloquent prayer, closing with the entreaty that if it should be the Divine will “that at the end of another century these walls shall still be standing, grant they may stand with our nation’s truth and honor steadfast and untarnished.” Dudley Buck’s magnificent Te Deum in E flat was rendered by a chorus of 1,500 trained voices, under the leadership of Prof. Du Shane Oloward. As the majestic chords of this superbly rendered composition died away the oratorical part of the proceedings was commenced by Lawrence Gardner in an address of welcome, which had the merit of being as brief as it was appropriate. He closed by introducing to the audienbe “as chairman of ceremonies the worthy successor of Washington, the president of the United States, Grover Cleveland.” President Cleveland Warmly Received. President Cleveland, who had been greeted with warm applause all the way en route to the capitol, received a still more enthusiastic welcome now. Standing in his familiar attitude, with his dark Prince Albert coat tightly buttoned, using no gestures, but articulating loudly and distinctly, he spoke as follows: “Those who suppose that we are simply engaged in commemorating the beginning of a magnificent structure devoted to important public uses have overlooked the most useful and improving lesson of the hour. We do inched celebrate the laying of a cornerstone from which has sprung the splendid edilice whose grand proportions arouse the pride of every American citizen: but our celebration is chiefly valuable and significant because this edifice was designed and planned by great and good men as a place where the principles of a free representative government should be developed in patriotic legislation for the benefit of a free people. If representatives who hero assemble to make laws for their fellow countrymen forget the duty of broad and disinterested patriotism and legislate in prejudice and passion or in behalf of sectional and selfish interests, the time when the corner stone of our capitol was laid and the oircumstances surrounding it will not be worth commemorating. “The sentiment and the traditions connected with this structure and its uses belong to all the people of the land. They are most valuable as reminders of patriotism in the discharge of public duty and steadfastness in many a struggle for the public good. They also furnish a standard by which our people measure the conduct of those chosen to serve them. The inexorable application of this standard will always supply proof that our countrymen realize the value of the free institutions which were designed and built by those who laid the corner stone of their capitol, and that they appreciate the necessity of constant and jealous watchfulness as a condition indispensable to the preservation of these institutions in their purity and integrity.

“l believe our fellow citizens have no greater nor better cause for rejoicing on this centennial than is found in the assurance that their public servants who assemble in these halls will watch and guard the sentiment and traditions that gather around this celebration, and that in the days to come those who shall again commemorate the laying of the cornor stone of their nation’s capitol will find in the recital of our performance of public duty no less reason for enthusiasm and congratulations than <we find in recalling the wisdom and virtue of those who have preceded us." Other Addresses. After the president's brief address there was music by the band. Then

the orator of the day, William Wirt Henry, of Virginia, delivered an oration which was both lengthy and learned. “The Star Spangled Banner,” sung by the grand chorns, followed, after which Vice President Stevenson was introduced and m%de an historical and interesting address. The Marine band played a selection and Hon. Charles F. Crisp, speaker of the house of representatives, delivered an address in behalf of that body. The grand chorus of 1,500 voices sang “The Heavens Are Telling.” Judge Henry Billings Brown, of the supreme court, then spoke in behalf of the judiciary of the United States. The exercises closed with a speech by Commissioner Myron M. Parker for the district government and the rendering of “America” by the Marine band, chorus and audience. Thousands thronged to the capitol grounds at night to hear the ringing of the chimes of bells on (she new library building and to attend the open-air concert by the Marine band and the grand chorns of 1,500 voices. The concert took place on the. platform where the exercises of the afternoon were conducted. * The east front of the capitol was beautifully lighted and the scene was of the most picturesque character. The programme began with the ringing of “America” on the chime of bells. Then the Marine band played an over-

ture, after which the grand chorus sung. The programme was a lengthy one and concluded with the singing of the “Star-Spangled Banner” by the grand chorus, the audience joining in the singing. History of the Capitol. The story of the capitol is an interesting one, beginning with the great fight ytade by Washington and JefTerson to secure its location in the present place. The corner stone of the original building, which remains undisturbed where it was laid with imposing masonio rites by Master Mason George Washington, on the 18th of September, 1793, is located under the law library, in the basement beneath the rotunda. No record has ever been found of the impressive ceremonies attendant upon this function, and no really authentic aocount can be given of the books, papers, jewels or records that may have been deposited within that stone. Dr. William Thornton, a native of the West Indies and a naturalized American citizen, residing in Philadelphia, and Stephen Hallett, a French-American, also a resident of Philadelphia. were the first architects. James Hoban, an Irish-American, and a resident of Charleston, S. C., was, however, tha principal supervising architect in oliatge of tne execution of the plans prepared' by Dr. Thornton and Mr. Hallett, Others were engaged subsequently in similar capacities up to the destruction of the building during the war with Great Britain, in 1813, after which Mr. Benjamin H. Latrobe, another Philadelphian, had charge, and to him, more than to any other man, doubtless belongs the credit of the construction of the middle section. It was not properly occupied by congress until the winter of 1800, nine years after the first appropriation was made for its erection, and seven years after the corner-stone was laid. So, it appears from this necessarily brief statement of its earlier architectural history, that the building, as we now see it, with it* massive wings, noble dome and unequaled expanse of marble terrace, began with what might well be termed a small beginning, and has been over a century in course of construction, and yet is not complete. It was not until 1850 that congress made provision for the addition of the senate and house wings, as they now stand. Previous to that the house of representatives held its sessions in the chamber now known as Statuary hall, and the senate met in the room now occupied by the supreme court As the membership of these august bodies increased with the growth of the nation, the necessity ’for more room in which they should hold their deliberations .became apparent And then it was that the comprehensive conception of to-day was born or brought into light Changes were made in many respects, improvements and remodelings, the present cramped library room added, the new dome built, and, in short, between that date and the present, with the exception of a few months during the civil war, the process of rebuilding —practically rebuilding—the capitol has been going on. The corner stone of the extensions, or the “enlarged building,” as it was described at the time, was laid by President Filmore July 4, 1851, at which time Daniel Webster, then secretary of state, delivered a characteristically grand and appropriate oration. Mr. Thomas N. Walter, another Philadelphian, was selected to be the architect, and held the position until 1865, when Mr. Edward Clark, the present incumbent, was appointed. The center portion of the building, approached by magnificent marble stairways, presenting a most imposing facade, is built of sandstone, the original color of which was yellow, but is now kept painted white, to make it correspond with the north, or senate wing, and the south, or houso wing, both of which are built of blue-veined white marble from the quarries near Lee, Muss. It wa3 at first designed to build this center portion of brick, for economy was the order of the day at that time: but finally Virginia sandstone was chosen on the score of economy also; and, also, perhaps, the original designers had not the slightest conception of the future grandeur of the structure they were then beginning. In fact, the first advertisement for it, calling for brick, contemplated only two large assembly rooms for the accommodation of 30J persons each, with a lobby and twelve smaller rooms, to bo used for committee purposes. That this idea was primitive and inadequate is shown by the fact that the present capitol contains 118 rooms, instead of fifteen, besides numberless small store-rooms and vaults. It covers an area of 71,000 superficial feet. It is constructed mainly of marble and iron. In and about It, sustaining terraces, galleries and loggias, are 134 massive Corinthian colums, 100 of which are monolithic. The seating capacity of the senate and house wings, including galleries and not including corridors, is 2,400 each, and it is estimated that standing room could be found for as many more people if occasion required. The building is 754 feet 4 inches in length, and 354 feet from the east to the west, through the rotunda, including the west projection, wherein is now located the great congressional library, Tho total cost of the entire structure up to this writing oannot be positively stated, but the figures given in the appropriation bills up to recent date show that quite *20,006,000 have been expended upon it since its erection was begun in 179*. Edward H ape rin an, a 7-year-old boy, hanged himself at St Louis.

THE UNITED STATES CAPITOL.