Newspaper Page Text
A NATION’S LIBRARY.
■ •
CHANGES WROUGHT BY THE NEW
BUILDING AND MANAGEMENT.
Something About the Old Structure and
the New—The Intrusion of Wind and
Electricity—A Plan to Make the Library
Really Free.
[Special Correspondence.]
Washington, Dec. 7. —It is sad to
see an old friend deprived of her vest
ments, stripped of her adornments and
left exposed to the rude gaze of an un
thinking and unsympathetic -world,
naked and neglected. Yet such is the
condition in which I found one of the
best and most highly valued of my an
cient acquaintances only yesterday, as
I wandered through our national Capi
tol. I stood in the great hall of the old
Congressional library and gazed rueful
ly at the vacant desks, the dismantled
alcoves, the long rows i.f bare shelving,
and thought upon the changes which
time (and the people’s money) had
wrought. Where erstwhile the erudite
Spofford sat, oppressed by care and re
sponsibilities multifold, at desk heaped
high with musty tomes and papers long
accumulate was only vacancy. Where
stood the row of dusty desks at which I
was wont to present my humble request
for books there was naught but bare,
tiled floor.
Ghosts of the Past.
When here before, I vividly recalled,
one might wander at will all about —
provided he could find his way without
a guide or chart—and from the well
Stored shelves select the book he want-
1
£ M
i
i W'X aJW
AINSWORTH R. SPOFFORD.
ed. The great librarian was accessible
to all—too accessible, in fact, for his
own comfort or for the good of the
studiously inclined. When a book was
wanted, you presented your card with
name and author, then stood around
and waited patiently (or impatiently,
according to your nature) while the
overworked assistants hunted for it.
Sometimes they came back within an
hour; sometimes they didn’t come back
at all—at least, one didn’t, whom I re
quested to bring me a rare book, and
he maybe looking yet for aught I know
to the contrary, though that was near
four years ago.
But now over in that magnificent
structure across the great plaza, with
its 44 miles of shelving and facilities
for the placing of 100 miles of books—■
now how different! You go into the
central rotunda and see first of all that
the librarian and his assistants are shut
off from the public at large. There is
no way of getting them by the ear or
coat button. So you select the ticket
provided, write down the book you
want and pass it over the mahogany
rail. The assistant looks at it, opens a
pneumatic tube, shoves in the paper
and then turns quickly to the next book
hungry individual, while you, per
chance, turn around for a look at the
decorations. You have hardly fastened
your gaze upon, let us say, Moses,
whose name and statue we have here in
duplicate, when your name is whisper
ed, and you turn again, awestruck and
wondering, to receive the volume asked
for. How it came is a mystery so far as
mortal ken can show. But the guide
book tells us, that, besides the radiate
pneumatic tubes through which the or
ders are sent, there are also numerous
"electric carriers” to and from the
EVERY FAMILY
SHOULD KNOW THAT
WP
fe®7SSSWW!iftS:
ierfttl In its quick ectloa to relieve distress.
Pain-Kilter
Cr “**
Bicknese, Sick Beadaehe, Paia la Cha
Baek or Bide, Khonmatism and Nearaleia*
Pain-Killer
MADE. It brtnfs •peed? and permanent reltyf
fa au came of Brolsoe, Cota, Sprains,
Sarara Baras, do.
Pain-Killer trostsd friend of th*
Mechanic, Farmer, Planter, Sailor, and
fa fact all classes wantlnt a medicine always at
hand, and safe to use internally or externally
wU certainty of relief.
IS RECOMMENDED
St SsvoMans, by JfUrionortea, by JflnUfars, Oy
Mechanics, by Nurses in HospiOelo.
' BY EVERYBODY.
Polo-Killer
loaTo port without a aupplv of It.
«r Me family can afforf to be without tbW
faualnablo remedy in tbebouaa Ito price brtaa
It wtthin tbe machos all, and It will aaanaUy
awe many times Its coot in doctor** bills.
Beware of ImltatloM. Take neae buO tha
BMhee “Paaar CarM"
“stacks” on which the books are placed
by attendants in waiting and then sent
hurrying to their destination.
Old Habitue*. ,
An old habitue of the old Congres
sional feels rather resentful at this in
trusion of wind and electricity to take
the place of human effort. There was
an individuality about the old library
which the new one, albeit so vast and
glorious, never can supply. There were,
I remember, some old fellows in rusty
hats and ragged coats who used to fre
quent the other hall regularly every
day and month and every year during
past decades. What they went there to
read I do not know, but there they
were, punctually on time, every morn
ing, and invariably in the same seats
and corners too. Should you chance to
get there ahead of them, and perhaps
take their accustomed seat, then there
was a pretty how d’ye do. They storm
ed and raved, they stamped and swore,
until you “.vamoosed the ranch” and
gave them their seat. It was theirs;
they were quite sure of it, for they had
occupied it time out of mind. I haven’t
located these old codgers yet in the new
library, but I’m sure they will be there,
holding down the best chairs in the
reading room.
It is said that the chambers occupied
by Josephine at Malmaison are yet red
olent of musk, the favorite perfume ol
Napoleon’s creole queen, even though
that frail and perfect flower of human
kind has been dead for more than 80
years. So, too, these nooks and corners
habited by the old habitues are yet re
mindful of the times when they exer
cised their truly American privilege of
squatter sovereignty.
Since the removal to the larger library
salaries have been increased and posi
tions multiplied, so that the place of
second assistant librarian is, compara
tively speaking, a sinecure. The diction
ary term, you know, for “sinecure” is
“any office or position which requires
or involves little or no responsibility,
labor or active service.” This term has
been revised, apparently, so that now it
may read “a position under the govern
ment,” not particularly in the Con
gressional library, however, but in any
other department belonging to our Uncle
Samuel.
This is in passing merely, but we
cannot fail to note that the force has
been greatly increased, and at present
there are many women acting as assist
ants, while before there were hardly
any.
The Public Restricted.
This is only one of many changes
made since the transfer to the new
building and under the new manage
ment. It is not perhaps generally known,
but the great Congressional library is
one for reference merely. We, the pub
lic, though having paid for it, are not
privileged to more than the consulting
of the books therein unless we repre
sent the people in congressional or sena
torial capacity. Congressmen and sena
tors, their clerks and intimate friends,
the executive, of course, and a privi
leged few only can take books from this
library.'* You may go there and read
and read to your heart’s content, be
tween the hours of 9 in the morning
and half past 4 in the afternoon, at any
time except Sundays and holidays. But
not every inhabitant pf Washington,
permanent or temporary, can give the
necessary time required for the ■journey
thither and the settling down at a pub
lic desk for the consultation of books,
however rare they may be. Then, again,
there are the thousands of people em
ployed in the various branches of gov
ernment, hundreds among whom have
as yet seen only the exterior of the
library building, because the hours of
opening and closing are coincident with
those of their own departments. The
fact is now particularly emphasized that
this library is one originally intended
for use of senators and congressmen,
members of the supreme court and oc
cupants of the White House, and not
for the general public. It is only
through the courtesy of our representa*
tives that we can enjoy its privileges at
all.
Before the removal, if I desired a
book to read at leisure, I could obtain
it by depositing its value or a certain
sum of money with the librarian, but
now in order to see it I must haunt the
library itself and am not allowed to
take it hence at all. I will not say this
is not perfectly right as regards a refer
ence library or respecting books in de
mand in constant use by our lawgivers,
but there is another view of the matter.
It is held that there should be a dis
crimination as between the classes of
books, and that we should be allowed
to take out such as are not particularly
in request for reference strictly. It is
the intention, I understand, to convert
the old library halls in the capitol into
a reference room for the legislators and
also perhaps for the holding of the law
library of the supreme court. At pres
ent every book of the Congressional
library is stored in the new structure
and is sent on demand by underground
carriers to the capitol.
It is now 35 years since Librarian
Spofford made his (paginal recommenda
tion for a separate building for the Con
gressional library, and that he has
lived to witness the consummation oi
his plans and the fruition of his hopes,
still in the capacity of custodian of thia
great and growing collection, is a speak
ing commentary on the stability of oui
governmental institutions.
Costly Volume*.
We have got the finest structure of
its kind in the world, holding at pres
ent about 1,000,000 books, with shelv
ing for 2,500,000 and a total capacity
for over 4,000,000. The building and
grounds have cost about $6,617,000, oz
about $6 per volume at present holding.
Since so many millions have been ex
pended in making it the nearly perfect
monument of learning that it undoubt
edly is, why not add a few more thou
sands and make it a precious boon to
THE HOME TBIBLNE THURSDAY, DECEMBEB 9, 1897.
- ■ • ■- *
mankind at large for time present and
to come? '
Apropos of this suggestion, I may
mention that there is already a bill pre
pared to be offered early in this session
of congress for making this library (as
it is tersely stated) “a public docu
ment.” The idea of the senator who
JOHN RUSSELL YOUNG.
will offer this bill is, as I have already
indicated above, that the library should
be open every night, including Sundays
and holidays, as late as 10 o’clock.
As a corollary of this bill, he believes,
a “pub. doc.,” descriptive of the peer
less structure and its precious contents,
adequately illustrated, should be issued
by the government, for free distribu
tion, particularly among the schools and
colleges. Thus this the greatest achieve
ment of its kind the century has wit
nessed, with its records of the achieve
ments of all the centuries since the
world began, would become an inspira
tion, an uplifting intellectual force
among the people of this land, for and
by whom it was erected.
F. A. Ober.
How to Prevent Pneumonia.
At this time of the year a cold is very
easily contracted, and if left to run its
course without the aid of some reliable
cough medicine is liable to result in that
dread disease, pneumonia. We know of
no better remedy to cure a cough or cold
than Chamberlain’s Cough Remedy.
We have used it quite extensively and
it has always given entire satisfaction.
—Olagah, Ind. Ter. Chief.
This is the only remedy that is known
to be a certain preventive of pneumonia.
Among the many thousands who have
used it for colds and la grippe, we have
never yet learned of a single case having
resulted in pneumonia. Persons who
have weak lungs or have reason to fear
an attack of pneumonia, should keep
the remedy at hand. The 25 and 50
cent sizes for sale by Curry-Arrington
Co.
Around . ito Giojh Hiiiitlfolzied.
Kansas City, Dec. B—Paul Alexan
der Johnstone, the mind reader, says he
is toing to take a nip around the world
blindfolded. At the same time he h
going to try and beat the record for
globe trotters He said: "It will boa
great strain mentally and physically
My plan is to have the president or
some high official in Washington start
a packet of letters around the world ano
after it has been gone about three weeks
I will be blindfolded and try to over
take it. I think I can do this.”
Everybody Si_y* So.
Cascarets Candy Cathartic, the most won
jerful medical discovery of the age, pleas
ant" and refreshing to the taste, act gently
and positively on kidneys, liver and bowels,
cleansing the entire system, dispel colds,
cure headache, fever, habitual constipation
and biliousness. Please buy and try a box
of C. C. C. to-day; 10, 25. 50 cents. Hold and
guaranteed to cure by all dru-rgists.
•miiaa ny Bl* VompanionT
Victoria, B. 0., Dec. B.—The body
of Ernest Hawthorne, who disappeared
from the Silver Stream district, near
Wellington, New 'Zealand, recently,
has been found. It had been pressed
into a hastily dug grave on the spot
where Hawthorne and a man named
Stanhope had established a camp. After
the disappearance of Hawthorne Stan
hope moved camp and was afterward
arrested, charged with forging a check,
and is now in jail. That Hawthorne
was murdered is beyond doubt.
To Cure A Cold In One Day
Take Laxative Bromo Quinine Tablets.
All druggists refund the money if it
fails to cure. 25c. The genuine has L.
B. Q. on each tablet.
I'eclnred Regular l?ividend<«.
New York. Dec. B.—The directors ol
the American Sugar Refining company
have declared the regular dividends on
the common and preferred stocks at the
rate of 3 per cent on the common and
on the preferred.
Notice.
I want every man and woman in the
United States interested in the opium
end whisky habits to have one of my
books of these diseases. Address B. M
Woolly, Atlanta,Ga., Box 362, andone
will be sent vou free.
Move I ATiittfearfflar Device.
Washington, Dec. B.—ln a report to
the state department from Leipsic, Ger
many, United States Consul Warnet
describes a novel German antiburglar
device. This consists of flexible safety
curtains made of hardened steel tubes
properly connected, which are invuluer
able to ordinary burglars’ tools, for the
reason that the tubes revolve freely and
the centrebit or other tool can find no
purchase or hold.
There is no need of little children
being tortued by scald head, eczema
and skin eruptions. DeWitt’s Witch
Bazel Salve gives instant relief and
cures permanently. For sale by Cur'
ry-Arrington Co.
$2-95 to Atlanta and return via
Western £ Atlantic R. R. Thursday
Dec. 9th. limited 10th. C. K Ayer,
P, & T, A.
PLOWMAN-ALDRICH CASE.
Fourth Alabama District Contested Elec,
tion to He Decided.
Washington, Dec. B.—The three
house committees on elections are be
ginning to map out their work with a
view to determining contested election
cases at the earliest possible day. There
are 21 of these contests pending. Some
of these will require extended hearings,
bnt quite a number can be disposed o.
without much delay. At best, however,
it is not expected tint any of the con
tests can be brought before the house
before the holidays.
Chairman Taylor of committee No. 1
said that there was nothing in the cur
rent reports that these contests would
be brought before the house with a view
to occupying time and thus limiting
work on general legislation. He pointed
out in this connection that even when
reported to the house.election cases take
little time for consideration, seldom
more than a day or two, so that they
could not postpone other business for
any material length of time.
Mr. Taylor feels, however, that the
right to a seat in the house is of pri
mary importance, both to the sitting
member and the contestant, ana for
that reason he will use every effort to
have cases d sposed of Dy the house at
the earliest moment.
The contest of W. F. Aldrich against
T. S. Plowman for the Fourth Alabama
district has been set for Dec. 21 before
committee No. 1.
A chlng Joints
Announce the presence of rheumatism
which causes untold suffering. Rheu
matism is due to lactic acid in the blood.
It cannot be cured by liniments or other
outward applications. Hood’s Sarsapa
rtlla purifies the blood, removes the
cause of rheumatism and permanently
cures this disease. This is the testimony
of thousands of people who once suffered
the pains of rheumatism but who have
actually been cured by taking Hood’s
Sarsaparilla. Its great power to act
upon the blood and remove every im
purity is the secret of the wonder
ful cures by Hood’s Sarsaparilla.
TO OPPOSE THE TREATY.
Arrival In Washington of a Delegation of
Native Hawaiians.
Washington, Dec. B—A delegation of
native has arrived here to
oppose the ratification of the annexa
tion treaty. The delegation is com
posed of Colonel John Richardson, J.
K. Kaulia, William Auld and David
Kalauokalant
An effort will be made to have the
delegation given a hearing before the
senate committee on foreign relations,
but it is doubtful if this can be accom
plished. The Hawaiians expect to re
main here until the treaty has been rat
ified or rejected.
Another party_of natives is enroute
and will arrive in time to antagonize
ratification.
Colonel Richardson said that he ami
his associates represented the 33,000 na
tive Hawaiians who do rot favor nor
desire annexation to the Lmted States.
They naturally bring no credentials
With them, as he government under
which they live is seeking admittance
to the Union.
Mrs. M. BJFord, Ruddll’s, 111., suf
fered eight years from dyspepsia and
chronic constipation and was final y
cured by using DeWitt’s Little Early
Risers, the famous little pills for ail
stomach and liver troubles.—Curry-
Arrington Co. ,
HOW HAYTI WAS HUMBLED.
German Warnlii|)i* Wer<* Preparing to Act
When Blnck Kepublic Yielded.
Berlin, Dec. B—The official account
of the collection of an indemnity from
Hayti, accompanied by a salute of the
German flag at Port au Prince, on Mon
day last, owing to the alleged illegal ar
rest of Herr fcmil Lueders, says that
after the ultimatum of Germany had
been delivered to the Haytian govern
ment, the German cruiser Stein cleared
tor action and took up a position close
to the Hay tian war vessels.
A diplomatic request for delay in the
execution of the ultimatum was refused
and half an hour before the expiration
of the stipulated time, all the demands
of Germany were conceded and the
sum insisted upon as an indemnity
($30,000) to be paid to Herr Luedr s
was on board the Charlotte.
The Hay tian government’s letter-oi
apology to Germany arrived suort>y
alter.
Arnold’s Bromo-Celery. The greatest
remedy of the 19th century for headaches,
lOcts. For sale by Curry- Arrington-
Company.
flard«r«ra .Attempt to K.totpe.
Gadsden, Ala., x Dec. B.—Tnree pris
oners—Dick Harris, John Burton and
Alex Williamkin, each charged with
murder, and confined in what was sup
posed the securest of steel cages—
effected an escape therefrom by prizing
the top of same off with their hands.
They then descended to the ground tier
of cells and began extracting brick-i
from the wall of the jail enclosure. Just
as they were about to get out the sheriff
and his poss-i, who had become aroused
by the noise, appeared on the scene and
the prisoners' were driven back to con
finement.
Mrs. Stark. Pleasant Ridge, 0.,
says: "After two doctors gave up my
boy to die. I saved him from croup
by using One Minute Cough Cure.”
It is the quickest and most certain
remedy for coughs, colds and all throat
and lung troubles.—Curry-Arrington
Co.
Fruit (in iruisors Tor
London, Deo. 8. According to a
special dispatch just received from Paris
the French cruisers Jean Bart, Isly Al
ger and Pascal have been ordered to be
prepared for immediate dispatbh to
China.
Cascarets stimulate liver, kidneys and
bowels. Never sicken, weaken or gripe.
10c,
GOLD DUST
■ Lgfefcj? |
Old housekeepers will tell you that hot water “rots”§
] S glass. You know it breaks glass. ~
{Gold Dust|
! Washing Powder |
15 makes glassware brilliantly clean in warm water or cold. <3
i ? Delightful to use for glass or silver, tin or wood or paint.
12 Saves your hands—saves your time, your strength, your Q
| < temper. Sold everywhere. Made only by m
9 THE N. K. FAIRBANK COMPANY. Q
I J Chicago, St. Lon**, NeW York, Boston, Philadelphia. X
TAYLOR & NORTON,
The Druggists.
Properly fit the with spectacles. Every
pair is guaranteed to fit and give absolute
satisfaction. We sell only the
Best Crystal Spectacles 4 Eye Classes!
Give us a call and we will fit your eye and
make you see as clearly as the noon day sun.
I
TAYLOR & NORTON,
THE DRUG GISTS.
t
Art and Precious
Stones and Metals.
Are striking combined in my stock, Collected in the art centers of
the United States and Europe, lam showing something very new and
pretty in Vases, Clocks, Pocket Books, Combs, Brushes, Mirrows,, Solid
Silver
Cut Glass and
Silver Novelties.
My entire stock is the season’s latest productions selected with
great C<re, My purpose is to give my customers the best va.ues foir
the money, lam admirably equipped for displaying a beautiful stock
and 1 extend a pressing invitation to my friends and customers to exam*
ine and buy.
JV. C. Stephens,
Jeweler, 218 Broad Street, Rome,
* Good JiMfco irf Coal
U never burn anything but
w our high-grade Jellico coal.
HOT.. It is not only satisfactory for
I cooking and heating purposes
IllwitA’ intense heat and long
Lt continued combustion make
LO econom i ca i i n th o house-
I I l ™ hold* Time to put in your
I 111- furnace coal now, if you have
’ ,B ” WF I -* not done it already .
Robt. W. Graves & Co.
Yard, Southern Rad way.
JOHN H. REYNOLDS. President. B. I. HUGHES, Cashier.
P. H. HARDIN, Vice-President.
FIRST NATIONAL BANE
ROME, GEORGIA. ‘
Capital and Surplus $300,000.
All Accommodations Consistent With Sa's Banking Ex
tended to Our Customers.
—— - ■
Tyner’s Dyspepsia Remedy cures Indigestion, Bad
Breath, Sour Stomach, Hiccoughs, Heart-burn.