Evening Star Newspaper, November 27, 1896, Page 12

12 —_. | ®BE EVENING STAR, FRIDAY, NOVEMBEK v1, 1896-16 PAGES, €668999 00958 65600006 DRESS SUITS TO-ORDER, *25. You’vealwayswanted to wear a made- to-order dress suit, haven’t youP But you thought the tailors charge too much, so you con- tented yourself with a ready- made one. Did you ever get a ready-= made suit that you were really proud of? That had a style and “‘set’’ to it? Then here’s your chance We’re making a superb dress suit, silk lined, for $25. MERTZ anno MERTZ,° Makers of Dress Suits @ That Fit, S 906 F Street N.W. 4 SVE 28eeees AFTER THE HONEYMOON. He Told Her the Truth at Last and Wickedly Axserted His Independence. From the Chicago Post. It was shortly after the Loneymoon, and he had grown a trifle weary of a super- abundance of sweetness, as men will some- times. He was tired when he got home, but he | kissed her affectionately. Even a tired man can hoid up his end in a kiss, or too frequently repeated. So the kiss was all right. Then she kissed him, and that was all right, too. She had been brought up very strictly and had been taught that all debts should be paid wich the utmost prompt- ness, so that it was only natural that she should return his kiss at once to avoid Temaining in debt to him. A little later she kissed him again, and that was different. Before and during the honeymoon it would have been all right, but there had come to be a degree of mo- notony about five-minute wifely kisses that is never experienced previous to marriage. Consequently he was desperate when he got the fifth kiss and she put her arms around his neck and asked: “Am I the first woman you ever kissed?” He had answered that question six or seven hundred times before, so there was no particular novelty about it, but he felt now that it was about time to give his conscience a little consideratio. Any one of his previous answers would have ruined George Washington's famous cherry—tree reputation, and he felt that he could not afford to lie more than six or seven hun- dred times about a little matter like that. Therefore he replied coldly: “Not on your life!” “George!”’ she cried, breaking away from him, “do you dare stand there and tell me— “Now, don’t get excited,” he interposed. “I might as well square this thing with my conscience now. And besides, you have no kick coming. You're the only one out of the 432 that ever got such a breach- of-promise cinch on me that I was afraid to try to break the engagement, and you're playing in pretty good luck at that Then he cocked his hat on one side and started for the door with the air of a man who feels that he has won a great vic- tory, but nevertheless thinks it wise to go to the club for the evening. “And, by the way,” he said, as he paused in the doorway, “that question is a foolish one, anyway, and you ought to break your- self of the habit of asking it. What you are a lot more interested in when I come home at night is this: ‘Are you the last woman I ever kissed?” You young mar- ried women all make the mistake of con- terning yourselves with the wrong side of La roan He shut the door gently, feeling that had impressed a valuable jesson on her. i oe No Faith in Thermometers. From Harper's Bazar. After Mrs. Willovghby had engaged her new man-about-the-house, to do the heavy work and look after the furnace, she found that it was necessary to instruct him carefully in his duties. One of his legsons consisted in the use of the thermometer in indicate the tem- serature of the house. Michael knew nothing whatever about thermometers, and the instruction naturally took the form of @ complete course, beginning with a de- scription of the way in which the instru- ment did its work. “You see this fine line of mercu: in th glass tube, Michael?” os = do, mum.” ‘ell, when it’s warm the mercury goes up, and when it’s cold the mercury goes down. Do you understand that, Michael?” “Oi do, mum.” “Very well. Now I want to keep the house ‘as nearly as I can at 70 degrees, Michael.” inty dagrays, is it, mum?” “Yes, Michael. ‘Look’ at this thermom- eter and you will see that the mercury now just touches 65 degrees. That shows that ‘the house is not warm enough, and you must fire up the furnace a little. Do you understard?” “Oi do, mgm.” “And if the mercury goes up to 75 or the house is then too warm, and you m let the fire in the furnace slacken down a little, or let some cold outside air into the house by opening that window in the hall just a little way, and being careful to close it the minute the thermometer gets down to 70. Naw do you think I can trust yeu to look after the temperature care- fully?” “The timperature, mum?” “Yes; the heat and cold of the house, you know. . “Indade you can, mum.” Mrs. Willoughby went about her social duties, and late fn the afternoon returned home. Her first leok was at the thermom- eter. It indicated 69 degrees, and she con- gratulated herself that Michael was doing his work well. Michael himself had mis- givings, however, not about the .manner of his work, but of the reliability of the thermometer as an indicator of tempera- ture. Mrs. Willoughby saw him go outside and then come back and gaze at the ther- mometer in the hall with a troubled ex- pression of countenance. “Is anything tNe matter, Michael?” she asked. Michael skook his head. “Sure, mum,” he replied, “it's mesilf a: is afraid thim thermometers 1s no good.” “What makes you think that, Michael?” ‘Well, mum, thot one in the hall points to sivinity, whotle the one out on the porch says only thirty-foive. Which av them am Ol to belave ———__+os__——— Eternal Bliss. From the Cleveland Leader. Mrs. Flinders—“John, you must put an ad- vertisement in the paper for another girl tomorrow morning. Mary is in paradise now.” . Mr. Flinders—‘What! Did she start the fire with coal oil?” Mrs. Flinders—“No; she’s got a chance to work in a crockery shop.” HISTORIC PITCHERS. an Has One Formerly Owned by Queen Mary. From the Chicago News. locked behind glass doors and standing among a Ict of cups and saucers of the modern pink-tea variety, there fs, in the apartments of Mrs. Dabb, at one of the city hotels, a -ream pitcher that figured in Securely | the historic supper which Mary Queen of you | know, provided it is not too long drawn out | Scots took the night before her execution. This pitcher, now more than 300 years old, and originally owned by the ill-fated Mary Stuart, in spite of its ancient name and fame, is a very unpretentious-looking affair. It is of thin white china, on which is traced a very unobstructive de- sign in blue and gold, and does not look unlike the delft ware popular fifty or sixty years ago. Mrs. Dabb has had the pitcher but a short time, having received it from her grandmother, while on a recent visit to her home in the east, but it has been in the Holman family, Mrs. Dabb’s ancestry, since the sixteenth century. The Holmans are descendants of the Plantagenets—the line of kings that suc- ceeded the Normans—and during the middle ages the Holmans were quite an illustrious house. Among scme old family papers which are still in existence is one referring to the tea set of which this pitcher was a part. This says that the tea was brought from “a certain Mistress Kennedy,” and that it had formerly belonged to her mis- tress, the Queen of Scots. Mrs. Kennedy, it will be remembered, was the queen’s faithful servant. On the night preceding her execution, the queen, surrounded by her weeping servants, supped in her apartments at Fotheringay Castle. “She supped sparingly and sober- ly, as her manner was,” says one historian. When she saw her servants weeping, she cheered them and then assigned to each that portion of her personal belongings she wished each to have. After this [ttle feast was over and on the following day, this pitcher, which is now in Chicago, with the other things that were not given away, was doubtless turned over to Mrs. Kennedy and faithful cld Melvil, for a letter from one of the offi- cials connected with the execution says that_this disposition was made of all the dead®queen's effects, except her papers. ‘Through all vicissitudes the Holmans clung to this memorable set of dishes, but in the course of centuries some have been broken, others lost, until the little blue- and-white pitchers that Mrs. Dabb cher- ishes so fondly is the sole survivor of its historic family. ———_+ o+—___ Autumn Fashions for Men. From Harper's Bazar. There are fewer modifications in men’s dress for the autumn and winter of 189@7 than there have been for several years. Golf and cycling, perhaps, have had the lion’s share of these. The Norfolk jacket has been replaced by the sack coat for both the pastimes, and a man may leave his office and with a zew changes of costume can emerge from, say, Wall street, as an example, to the downs of Long Island a full-fledged golfer, or be fully equipped for his afternoon spin-on his wheel. As in previous years the knickerbocker was gradually discarded for riding costume in the city during the afternoon, so will it disappear from the cyclist’s wardrobe. The “knicker” is picturesque in summer, and in the vacation season it has been the pre- dominating feature of man’s sporting and neglige costume. In winter, unless one lives in the country, the prevailing American idea is to change rapidly, without any ap- parent effort, from every day dress to that adapted for any pastime or specialty. The leather strap vsed to keep down long trousers in riding has also found its way into the outfit of the wheelman and golfer. In fact, unless one belongs to a club and is obliged to don a dress of a peculiar cut, it is considered only the mark of an amateur and a greenhorn to appear in a rig for the occasion. At a match this is another story, but ordinarily the very caddies will laugh at you. The club uniforms are, however, quite varied. The cloth which is to be used for lounge, morning or business suits this autumn must therefore be appropriate for golf or wheel- ing as for the office or the street. Tweeds and cheviots still lead, the colors in favor being grays and browns and the ever-useful shepherd’s plaid. In London the browns have had their day, and the prevailing note in color is gray. There have been already seen in this country some very smart lounge suits made of gray worsted. There is no change in the shape of the sack coat, which is, as it was last year, rather loose to the figure. The trousers are ordinarily wide. The official measurements are about nineteen inches around the knee and about seventeen and a half at the bottom. ; ee Pat in the Dock. From the London Figaro. . The other day an Irishman, who was charged with being drunk and disorderly, nearly drove a magistrate mad. The fol- lewing colloquy took place between the two: Magistrate—“Will you sign the pledge if I let you off this time?” Prisoner—“Shure, Oi can’t wroite, yer honor.” Magistrate—“But you can make a mark.” Prisoner—“Phwat koind av a mark, yer honor?” trate (testily)—“A cross, man—a cross’ Prisoner—“Across phwat, yer honor?” Magistrate (out. of all patience)—“Ten shilli and costs, or seven days’ hard labor Prisoner (aghast)—“Tin shillin’s’n’ cost! Sure, Oi havn't cost anywan anything, yer honor; Oi paid fer all me dhrinks.”” Magistrate (severely)—“Stand down, sir— stand down!” Prisoner—“Oi always shtand up when Oi nee ae all. Is it sit down yer honor manes Then the jailer took the prisoner in hand, and the magistrate mopped his moist brow. MONUMENT OF BOOKS Mr. Bernard RB. Green Describes the Congressional Library. ITS BEAUTY AND PERFECTION Mechanism Hitherto Unknown in the Care of Books. IT COVERS THREE ACRES ‘The Washington Library Association listened last evening.at the Columbian Unit- versity to a paper by Mr. Bernard R. Green, describing the new Congressional Library building. As Mr. Green has since 1888 been in charge of every part of the coretruction of the buildirg and has de- signed most of its essential features. adopt- ing it to library uses, his account of the structure was most thoroughly interesting. “The building is already practically finished,” said Mr. Green. “Many a build- ing is considered completed long before it is so near it to the minutest detail as this one is. In the most comprehensive sense, it is the largest, most beautiful, monu- mental, best appointed and therefore the grandest structure that the world has yet erected for the purposes of a library. There will doubtless be improvements on this building, for it was preceded by few or RO gocd examples of library construction.” The lbrary was suggested by Librarian Spofford’s annual report in 1872. In 1886 the act adopting the Smithmeyer plan and designating the site now occupied was passed. Mr. Lamar, the Secretary of the Interior; Mr. Spofford and Mr. Clarke, ar- chitect of «he Capitol, were appointed a commission toshave charge of condemning the site and erecting the,building. The clearing of the seventy houses on the site took up the first year. The excavation of the foundation octupled another. In the third year x part of the foundations were laid. In 1888 Congress placed the work in charge of Gen. Casey, then just appointed chief of engineers of the army. He was required to prepare a new plan, which could be carried out within a cost limit of $4,000,000. “The original plan,” said Mr. Green, “be- ing good, if not perfect, without more ado, we adopted it as a basis and worked up the $4,000,000 plan called for, but took the op- portunity to place with it before Congress @ modification: of the original plan, re- | taining practically its full dimensions, and giving a complete description and esti- mate of cost. Congress adopted this en- lerged plan with a cost limit of $6,- 250,000, and eight years’ time in which to construct the building. Mr. Pelz, Mr. Smithmeyer's partner, was employed in the architectural part of the work for about three years and a half. Then Mr. Edward P. Casey of New York was employed as the supervisor and designer of the artistic work of the interior, as well as the ex- terior grounds. The Octagon Rotunda. “The great central feature of the building is the octagon rotunda, crowned by the dome, and constituting the public reading room, 100 feet diameter in clear by 125 feet high. It contains the center of administra- tion of the brary proper, and is surround- ed with alcoves in two tiers, surrounded by @ spacious public gallery, the entrance and exit of which is by way of the main stair hall, independert of the entrances to the reading room. The three inner wings ad- Joining the octagon on its north, east and south sider are devoted entirely to the storage of books and are, therefore, con- structed especially for,and filled with, shelv- ing on the stack plan, This shelving ex- tends from the basement floor level, in nine stories or tiere, to the roof. As will be ob- served, the plan of the building is perfectly symmetrical on its east and west axis, the north and south halves being precisely alike. The exterior dimensions are 470 feet by 340 feet, and the area covered is three and three-quarter acres, exclusive of np- proches and boiler house. The basemnt story is fourteen feet, the first story, twen- ty-one feet, and the second story, twenty- eight feet high, floor to floor, all being mul- tiples of the stack story height of seven feet. The main floors of the building thus coincide with the corresponding stack decks, and a door is placed at each junc- tion therewith, north, south and east. La- vatories are placed in the four corner pavilions, the main stair hall and the base- ment of the octagon. “The plan especially provides for the so- called ‘central system’ of administration, or. that system whereby, as in the British Museum, the general readers make all ap- plications and receive and return their books at the desk in the center of the read- ing room. In this butiding the whole work- ing portion of the library will be operated and managed from the central desk. The latter includes the catalogue counter and contains the attendants, with all requisite apparatus for communication and trans- portation at hand, and an elevated station from which every reader in the room may be observed at all times. “The reading tables are arranged around the central desk in three consecutive cir- cles. The inner one is a combination of reading tables, settees and standing writ- ing desks, or counters, containing shelves for printed catalogues, etc. The other two circles of readers’ tables are double faced, permitting readers to sit on elther side. Allowing four feet of width to each, 246 readers may be accommodated at one time and more by seating them closer. “This concentric circular arrangement is a uniform distribution of space, gives a more symmetrical appearance to the room, and places the greater part of the seats around the more quiet margin, remote from the central desk. “Shelving is placed in the two tlers of alcoves surrounding the reading room, sub- dividing them into spaces wherein special students, or readers desiring privacy and quiet, may be accommodated. Forty-three such spaces, each from eight to ten feet square, are thus provided, and each reader therein may have a table and facilities for writing and extended investigation. A stairway in each of the eight great piers, which surround the reading room and car- ry the dome, gives access to every tier of the alcoves. “The reading room is lighted mainly by eight semi-circular clere story windows, each thirty-two feet wide, occupying the arches between the main piers above the public gallery and above the adjacent roofs of the building. The sills of these windows are about fifty-five feet above the floor, ad- mitting the light so high that they are more effective than skylights without any of their evils. No shadows are cast in any direction, the amount of daylight is sufti- cient in the darkest days, and the reader's eye meets no direct light unless cast up- ward at an angle of thirty degrees or more. The interior is yellow sienna and quiet red African marble up to the gallery, above which the color is lighter yellow, merging into ivory and gold in the vault of the dome. “The central desk contains a set of twen- ty-four pneumatic tubes, one to each desk of the north and south stacks, four to the east stack, one to the librarian’s office and one to the Capitol.’ All carry messages swiftly, and all but the last one are speak- ing tubes of the best quality. The central desk will also contain the terminals of mechanical book carriers to the north and south stacks, and telephonic communica- tion with the librarian’s office, the terminal station in the Capitol and both houses of Congress. Wires are also laid, by means of which any electric communication may be had at any time with any part and between all parts of the building. “The construction of the building is mon- umental and anent, being heavy and solid, and, of course, fire-proof through- out. The exterior walls are of New Hamp- shire granite; the court walls of English enameled tricks, trimmed with Maryland granite; the upper portion of the octagon or rotunda entirely of Maryland gran- ite; the roofs and dome of iron, steel and terra cotta; the body of.all walls of hard brick, and the floors of brick and terra cotta. Many of the floors are carried by brick-arches and vaultings, with no metal incorporated. The remainder of the floors are carried by iron beams and girders of heavy proportions. Practically no com- bustible material is used. A skin or carpet of boards is laid on the solid masonry floor- ing in the office and working rooms only. The window sashes (those parts only which held the glass) are of mahogany, and the Gcors generally of mahogany and oak. The readers’ tables and central desk in oak, as a decorative finish, occurs in the reading rooms for members of Congress and in the librarian’s office.” AN! hall, museura and lavatory floors are of tile or marble mosaic, and so is that of the main reading room and the basement under it. The book stacks are entirely of steel and caet iron, with marble deck: The Book Stacks. “To ibrarians on@ of the most interesting departments of the building is that of the bock stacks and tile provisions made for their future extension. When the building was begun, eight years ago, book stacks, properly so called, Were few in number and small in extent, probably the best ex- isting example was that of Gore Hall ex- tension at Harvard University. Its funda- mental principles were excellent, and in its dsy, a quarter century ago, it was a great- ly advanced design in storage shelving for books. With this exception there was lit- tle to pattern after, in designing the best Possible stack—one ‘which would provide the gréatest secuHty, convenience of ac- cers and classification of the books, as well as the maximum storage capacity— and it was necessary to investigate the needs of the librarian, the readers and the beoks themselves. The increasing rapidity of growth of collections of books, and, for the Corgressional Library, the broader function as a national library likely to be assigned to it, had also to be borne in mind, while the shelved capacity of the new brilding was to be some 4,500,000 of vol- umes. Thus the following requisites of such a stack were arrived at, namely: il. Ready access to all the books. “2. Close proximity to and intimate com- munication with the reading and catalogu- ing rooms. . Accommodation of books of all kinds, sizes and conditions, in every sort of bind- ing, or no binding. “4. Arrangement and classification of beoks variable at will. “5. Shelves readily adjustable, removable and interchangeable. “6. Shelf supports of plain and simple form, occupying least space, absolutely rigid and substantial and easily removabie. “7. Convenient and rigid support of books on partially filled shelves. “8. Conveniences for every kind of appro- priate work in the stack, including the di- rect handling of books by searchers. “9. Passage at will through any part of the stack in any direction, including ready vertical communication and passage from deck to deck. “10. Thorough illumination by daylight. 1, Moderate and even temperature and ood ventilation. “12. Perfect cleanliness and freedom from dust, with absolute security from damp- ness. “13. Maximum capacity and compactness, with capability of indefinite extension. “14. Fire-proof. “15. All surfaces in contact with books permanently smooth and protected from de- terloration. “16. Complete ventilation through the shelves, with minimum of lodgment for dust or insects. “17. Protected from leaks in roof or over- head floor. “18. Light and simple construction, with minimum of dissimilar parts. ‘ “The stacks are nine tiers, or stories, in height, with white marble decks seven feet apart, as before stated. The construction is such that for all practical purposes the stack could as well be of twenty or more stories without changing materially the bulk of the supports. Good walls and a good foundation make a complete inclosure for such a stack, and if, as in the Congres- sional Library, the side walls may admit ample daylight, vertical openings of three feet in width, extending from the bottom to the top of the walls, will give excellent windows for the purpose. These windows are sealed permanently airtight. “Liberal electric illumination 1s provided for night use. In the ‘construction of this stack the element.or unit is a steel -col- umn composed cf a pair of 2x4-inch bars of T section set face to face and ex- tending from a foot{ttg at the bottom of the stack to the tof With a half-inch space between to admit at each of the seven-foot storles a skeletoy flat cast-iron partition, or shelf support, at elther side, to make @ doubie-faced range of shelving. This cast-iron partitidfi bears on its front edge a series of blunt teeth, and at its back, near the ernlumn, a corresponding vertical series of short 2 or_projections, on which the shelf rests. It cannot acci- dentally slip forward’ or tip in any direc- At each deck “level two horizontal lnec of light iron bers, one parallel with the shelves and-the other at right angles across, under the deck, extend in both di- rections through tle stack to the walls of the building, to Whfeh they are anchored. They are also conygected to the respective rows of steel columps in the shelf ranges both ways. A thin steel diaphragm plate fs firmly secured at the deck level in each of the shélvyiig. And the decks consist salia ‘white mazbie slabs; ‘rubbed on top nd polished benesth:to reflect light, rest- ing or and between the cross bars referred to. The diaphragm plates and marble slabs, together’ with the inherent rigidity of the riveted connections of the steel framework, furnieh all needful lateral stift- ress without the use of upright diagonal braces or webs. The great advantages of doing away with these are that two oppo- site shelves of any range may be set at the same ‘level to receive a book too wide for one, and the shelves may all be removed in any bay in a moment to open a passageway through. To do thts the shelves may read- ily be disposed’ of by stowing them over- head in the regular notches. Such things cannot be done with shelves that are not Properly flat and free from sides or end Pieces, like those ir this stack. They may also be set close together to admit atlases and large books on the flat. By removal of the shelves an additional aisle may be made through the stack in any direction in a few minutes—through one rarge, two ranges, or the whole length of the stack. An open slit of five inches’ width is left in the deck along the front of every range, protected by a slight curb, serving to admit Hight from he side windows, free circulation of air for warming and ventilation, and furnish- ing convenient communication between the stories Books may, when necessary, be handed upward or downward through these slits at any point. They are too narrow and too near the shelves for danger of stepping into them, and the Mability of dropping articles through is very slight. If necessary, they may be protected at any point by a covering of wire netting. The Steel Shelven. “The shelf itself is composed of a set of parallel longitudinal bars attached to an end piece which carries a pin and a notch for engagement with the shelf sup- port or partition. Its length is 38 inches and width 12 inches. The bars composing it are about half an inch wide, spaced about a quarter of an inch apart, and are made of cold rolled sheet steel, very thin, and’ bent into an inverted section. They are highly polished and treated to perma- nently guard agairst rust. In general ap- pearance the shelf 1s about the thickness of a thin board shelf and quite as flat, with no flanges, rough or sharp edges or points of any kind. It is also quite as light as a board shelf and much stiffer under a load of books. In fact, it carries, without per- ceptiole deflection, double the weight of any possible loud of the heaviest books. It is removed and adjusted In its supports more conveniently and expeditiously than any other shelf; this is easily done even without removing the books from it, for all that is required is to tilt up the back about a quarter of an inch, draw the shelf forward about an inch, raise or lower it to its new position and push it back to place. No key, screwdriver or other im- plement is needed for moving a shelf. You simply lay hold of it, with the hands and move it in a moment. This open, .parallel bar shelf is naturally dust and vermin proof, and a thorough ventilator for the books, while it furnishes attachment for the most convenient and efficient adjusta- ble book support, yet devised. This book support consists of a;thin vertical plate of such size, say 5 inches by 7 inches or larger, as may be desirable, having a short back brace from which depends a toggle passing between the shelf bars and catching un- derneath. A set; screw enables it to be permanently locked to the shelf when de- sirable, but it acts;as an efficient stop without locking and may be slid along the shelf at will.; It,is equally applicable attached to the ghele above and hanging downward. In thig.position it may hold the tops of tall béol “The skeleton form;of the shelf supports and the teeth in their front edges lend themselves readily to the attachment of convenient movable ledger boards along the front of the shelving, on which to rest books, make notes, &c., while working in the stacks. By removing the shelves in any bay, not only may a passage be made through the range, but a desk, case of drawers or closet placed therein, anywhere in the stack. “In every range @ board seat is placed in the window for the convenience of the attendants and others who may be ad- mitted to work in the stack. In the mid- dle of the stack is an iron stairway and a hydraulic elevator of sufficient capacity for three or four persons, or one with @ truck load of books. By the side of the elevator is a shaft for the mechanical book carrier, with its receiving and delivering pockets, and also the set of pneumatic tubes for messages and speaking communt- cation with the central Gesk in the reading “This stack was designed six years ago. The experience in out its con- gine akin ot Mine's tae a system she its eq e though several have been devised in com- petition with it in the market. All others are sheet iron or constructions, some of them rickety, and all more or less in- convenient and lac! in the merits of this one. The stack and shelving in the Congressional Library is square, solid, plain and in every detail the most appro- priate and natural holder of. books of every size, shape and kind, and, all in all, one which librarians find no fault with, ex- cept, naturaily, that it costs somewhat more than less complete structures.- It ful- fills all the requirements that have been specified by Nbrarians themselves, the lack of which in the past they have great- ly lamented. The Book Carriers. “A mechanical book carrier to accomplish more than the old, simple dumb-waiter 1s @ novelty because never before called for, nor have the conditions for its satisfactcry operation existed in libraries heretofore. In this building accommodations for such Qn apparatus were incorporated in the foundation plans. The carrier will consist of a series of trays suspended between a pair of endless chains, the route of which is downward from the central desk in the reading roém to the cellar, thence under the ceiling horizontally to the fout of the shaft in the middle of the book stack. thence vertically upward to the top of the stack, passing through every story. The details cannot be made clear without a working model, but the principle of opera- tion will be apparent when I say that the trays and the receiving and delivering slides may be likened to combs engaging with each other. The back and two ends of the tray are solid plates, while the bot- tom and front are a set of long teeth whose ends turn upward to form the front of the tray. The action may be. imitated in general by passing the bent gingers of one hand between those of t! ther. “The machine is almost entirely automatic. To send books from any story of the stack the attendant places them on the toothed receiving plate, throws over a short lever and goes about his business. In a few seconds one of the carrier trays on the con: tinuously moving cables comes along, picks up the books, carries them to the central desk in the reading room and lands them on a delivery slide, whence they drop into a padded box near the hand of the attendant, who may pass them at oncc to the appli- cant. The volumes are returned to -heir proper story or deck of the stack by a similar operation, the only difference being that on depositing them on the receiving plate the attendant must set the lever at a number on a dial corresponding with the stack deck for which the book is destined. Failing to correctly set the dial number will result in no damage to the book, but only cause it to be carried to the wrong deck. About eighteen trays will be used, Placed equidistant along the endless cables, which will run at a speed of about 100 feet per minute. At this rate a book starting from the lower deck of the stazk will reach the reading room in three minute: the top deck in two and onc-third » The trays will carry anything up io the size of a quarto, and a thickness of about three inches. Thus a single volume, or sev- eral, held together with a rubber band or other strap, may be sent in one tray, and very delicate books, pamphlets or other paper matter may be readily handled by placing them ‘: simple pouches or en- velopes of canvas, leather or other ma- terial, as may be found convenient. “Intercourse and service between the cen- tral desk and the stacks is arranged for as follows: The applicant for a book may write out his ticket at the standing ¢esk outside the catalogue counter and hand it to the attendant, who may place it in the proper pneumatic tube carrier, which 1s shot in a few seconds to that story of the stack where the volume is shelved. ‘The stack attendant receives the ticket, takes the book from the shelf, places it on the carrier receiving-plate and turns the lever. “The carrier transports the book to the reading room. Ordinarily not more than five or six minutes, including the time necessary to get the book from the she'f in the stack and start it on its way to the reading room, will be consumed by the whole oneration. Oral communication be- tween the attendants at the central desk and those in the several stories of the stacks is had through the pneumatic mes- sage tubes by means of mouthpieces pro- vided. “Volumes exceeding the quarto size will, of course, have to be carried by messenger, who may use the stairs cr elevator, taking with him, if necessary, by :he latter con- veyance, a rubber-tired wheeled truck for loads greater than he can handle in his arms. Capacity for the Future. “Future growth and expansion of the li- brary and all its co-ordinate branches has been so liberally provided for by the size and arrangement of the building that some’ surplus space will exist at first. i “The spaces already assigned by their spe- cial arrangement and construction are, be- sides corridors and lavatories, the main stair hall, public reading room, three book stacks, two special reading rooms for mem- bers of Congress, librarian’s office, museum halls, ‘wo rooms for the custodian and captain of the watch and a restaurant. “The librarian proposes to occupy certain of the remaining spaces as follows: In the basement story, bookbinding, printing, stamping and packing; in the first story, catalogue room, copyright office and work, copyright archives and reserves, Toner col- lection, Smithsonian, special researches and Washingtoniana; in the second story, ex- hibition of Americana, art books, early rrintad books and a gallery of the graphic art. “The werming and ventilating apparatus has been specially designed for the pe- culiar requirements of the several parts of the building, because the great rotunda reading room, book stacks, museums, halls, offices and working rocms require each their own means of separate control. In general terms the object is attained as follows: Indirect radiation—that of warming the fresh air in the cellar and passing it up through flues to the several apartments is almost wholly used. The radiators in the cellar are hot-water coils. The Water is warmed by steam heaters, the steam for which, as well as for power to run the machinery, is all made in a battery of boil- ers located guite outside the building un- derground in the east front. Here also are the coal vaults and steam pumps. ‘There will be no fires in the building, excepting when mace in the three fireplaces in the two congressiona] reading rooms, which, however, are independently warmed by the general apparatus. High pressure steam is made alike in all the boilers (sixteen in number), of which as many may be used from time to time as the needs of the build- ing require. The steam runs the pumps, air compressor for the pneumatic-tube sys- tem and dynamos for illumination and power and heats the water for warming the building. “Elctric motors will drive the book-carry- ing apparatus and ventilating fans, of which a few are placed in the cellar under the book stacks and reading room for use in mild or very warm weather. These fans may readily be applied in these or any other parts of the building in future should they be needed. “Not only has a complete apparatus been provided for the internal service of the li- brary itself, but the same has been extend- ed to the Capitol, nearly a quarter of a mile away, through a subway or tunnel. This is large enough for a man to walk through, and extends in a straight line between the buildings, from the middle of the west front of the library to a small room in rear of the old Hall of Representatives. From a station in the basement story of the library, immediately beneath the reading room floor, an endless wire cable will run through the tunnel to the terminal room in the Capitol at a speed of sixty feet per minute, carrying two holders, which will automatic- ally pick up and deliver parcels up to the size of bound volumes of newspapers. “Through the tunnel will also'run the pneumatic message tybe and telephone wires, by which communication may be had at any moment between the members’ of either house of Congress and the librarian. By these means, and with an attendant at the terminal station in the Capitol, mem- bers of Congress may communicate quickly and fully with the librarian, and promptly get such information and books as the li- brary can supply, so that the library will, in effect, be nearer to Congress in its new quarters than it now is in the Capitol itself. “The building is ornamented and enrich- ed in all its principal halls and apartments by the works of the most eminent artists of the country, of which twenty-three sculptors and twenty mural painters have been employed, and their works, together with the architecture of the interior, have @ magnificent setting of the most beautiful and appropriate decorative ee country. All suitable spaces are fill SOG0S 06068600 080952 O9GeCCe @ ous. . Coughs and Colds. The radical cure for these is TERRALINE. __ Where cod liver oil has been administered with the usual nauseating effects, Terraline will prove palat- able, with far greater assimilating properties. Terraline has the indorsement of actually thou- sands of eminent physicians, who have prescribed it in cases of throat trouble, bronchitis and consumption. Terraline will cure consumption if taken in the early stages, and will effect wonderful relief in all cases. Terraline is NOT a patent medicine. Terraline should be insisted on, ONLY accepted at drug stores. Terraline is no unknown quantity from its use by physicians have approached the marvel- Sold by all Druggists in the United States, THE TERRALINE CO., Weshington, D, C. and Terraline The results DDHBIOOOHS OOOH OHGOSSOOHHS OHO OHO9OOO LRE led with | “What ENN NNO & Accommodating CREDIT. =pc.. Tapestry Parlor Suites (Solid Oak Sideboards Solid Oak Chamber Suites = ‘Splendid Brussels Carpet, yd (Good Ingrain Carpet, All Carpets bought of us are made, laid and lined free! AUDIDEE 513 Seventh Street. 2 | @ ‘ There was atime when buying Furniture, &c., on credit was a very disagreeable task—that was before our Modern Credit System was inaugurated, though! It’s just % as pleasant buying on credit here as it is to pay cash else- J 2 where! Prices just as low as the cash stores. For in- @ ( stance: $301 $8) $5 50c. 35C.! s % 4 N USE | occasion, but they are fixtures in the bulld- ing to be the permanent delight and edifi- cation of visitors for generations to come. In short, the whole structure, with all its appointments, 1s, in every particular, an ex- mple to be followed rather than avoided, for it is a success in economic building, as well as the art and design.” —_—>——_ STEALING ELECTRICITY. Current is Taken From Trolley Cir- cults and Used in Houses. From the Chicago Record. It is asserted that the stealing of current from trolley circuits for use in houses, sa- Iccns and stores is becoming very common. This is not surprising, in view of the ease with which the tapping of the circuit can be effected. A simple test for determining the source of any suspécted electric light- ing was put in practice recently with con- clusive results. A station superintendent, in passing a saloon, noticed the electric lights go out, and then start up bright again, as the incandescent lights in the ley care sometimes do. He thought lat was a queer way for the lights sup- plied by his station to behave, and he de- cided to investigate. Being familiar with the technical differences between the cur- rent system for lighting and the method of supplying electric power for the propul- sion and illumination of cars, he knew that by a very simple experiment he could find out something more as to the source of the supply of the current. A lighting com- pany wires a building so that any incan- descent lamp in it can be shut off or taken out without affecting the others. In a railway plant the lamps are fed in such a way that if one is shut off all cease to glow. The superintendent passed into a side room of the saloon and quietly un- screwed one of the incandescent bulbs. As he expected, all lights on the same wire went out. On the following night the cur- rent supplying the electric Ine on that street was, by agreement, cut off at a cer- tain time. At that moment the fllumina- tion in the saloon ceased. When the cur- rent was turned on again, the saloon was again,lighted up. Examination showed that the wire had been tapped near the saloon, the connection with the feed wire “being made by means of a nail. A large number of similar “taps” were found. In some cases the job had been done by a bo- gus “station man,” who had called regu- larly for payment of the current supposed to have been consumed. This, at all events, was the story told by some of those who were found using the stolen current. ee He Founded a City. From Harper's Weekly. ‘One of the strange pioneers who have been beyond the reach of civilization for over thirty years has just returned to San Francisco on his first visit. This is Joseph Juneau, the founder of the Alaskan city which bears his name. Juneau is a French Canadian; who caught the gold fever in 1851, and came to California by the old overland trail. He tried mining, but failed, and then became a hotel keeper. Three years later, when the Cariboo gold excite- ment came, he joined the rush to British Columbia. From that place he went still further north to Alaska, and settled on the site of the present city of Juneau. Like all old prospectors, he has never been able to cvercome his passion for mining. His uncle Solomon gave his name to Juneau, Wis., and also-was one of the founders of the capital of Wisconsin. A Life Saved. From the New York Weekly. Mr. Simpkins (wildly)—“You must be mine. Say ‘yes,’ or I will drown myself.” Miss Prettie—“You will at least wait un- til I have had time to think it over, I am sure.” Mr. Simpkins—“‘How long? It is now Sep-. tember. Will you give me my answer in ” OStiee Prettle—“ will if Ican. If not, you will have to wait longer.” Miss Prettie (the following December)— ! Still in the land of the living? It y fused you, fitting instructive quotations and names of | is a month, nearly, since I re! the world’s greatest men in all depgrtments | and you know you were to drown yourself of knowledge, genius and human endeavor. ‘A mere enumeration of the interesting and instructive architectural and artistic details if I said ‘no.’”” ‘Mr. Simpkins (despondently)—“Yes, but you waited so long that the—the water got would occupy too much time on the present | too cold.” = NOVEL IMPORTATION METHODS. Why Japanese Matches and Tooth- picks Are So Cheap. From the Jewelers’ Review. It has often been a matter of wonder to casual purchasers that small articles of Japanese manufacture, such as toothpicks and fans, could be sold at such low prices. The small fans are sold at a cent apicce, while the dainty little toothpicks command the same price per bundle. When one examines either of these prod- ucts and speculates upon the amount of labor that must be spent to make them in any quantity, the natural inference is that the well-known smaliness of Japancse wages contains the explanation. At a first flance this seems to be the natural ex- planation. Such skilled workers as watch- makers get but a trifle more than a dollar a week for their services, and the less skill- ed and more mechanical trades command @ pittance that to our western ideas seems incredibly small. But small as the wages of the Japanese worker may be, there are considerations that indicate at once that some other cause must be found. There is a duty on both the articles mentioned, and in addition to this it must be remembered that Japan is a good piece away, and that, in the natural course, freights would give a considerable price-in this market to articles that were entirely without cost in the orient. A visit. to several Japanese importing houses which deal exclusively in fine Sat- suma and other native wares and in Japan. ese curios revealed the secret of the prices at which the small wares coull be offered here. The large vases which form the sta- ple import of the concerns called upon re- quire the most careful packing, lest on their long journey they come to grief; and here is where the toothpicks and fans not only work their passage, but legally escape duty. Packed in and around the vases are many thousands of these articles, and by this use they lose their character as merch- andise and become merely so much “pack- ing.” It would be difficult to estimate the enormous quantities of this “packing” which would be required for a single ship- ment of vases. The market here is con- stantly glutted, and New Yorkers can pur- chase+here at home these trifes at the same prices that are asked in Tokio, and their wonderful cheapness makes American competition totally out of the question. 2+ A LIFE PARTNERSHIP. From the Providence Journal. Oysters have a well-known habit of taching themselves to any object they may come in contact with in the water. An old shoe or boot, a bottle, another oyster or a small quahaug are familiar examples, but in almost every instance where an oyster and quahaug are found grown to each other one is much smaller than the other, Exceptions to this rule are so uncommon that when an oysterman of Pawtuxet found -an oyster and quahaug attached to each other and of the same size recently, the oldest clammers and oystermen in Paw- tuxet said they had never seen the like be- fore. The oyster was a large one, at least six or seven years old, and the quahaug, to which it was attached at the hinge of the shell, was within a year of the same age, and had also attained its full growth. handsome specimens, The two united, yet were placed on exhibition in the window of Green’s fish market, where @ large part of the male p lation of the village assembled at some time during the day or evening. There they were viewed by men with many years of experience in handling quahaugs and oysters, who all said they had never seen another instance where a full-grown oyster and quahaug had united. Now, alas, only the shells remain to tell the tale this natural curiosity. Fred Remington, a clerk in the market, both bivalves last week, and ext treat without breaking the hinges or sep: rating the shells. With the edges of exc! shell slightly apart, showing the interior, the two are more of a curiosity than be- fore.