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About The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 4, 1904)
r3T THE - SUNDAY- OREGONIAN,- PORTLAND. DECEMBER --'1904. Work of Getting the Capitol Ready for Congress When the Members Meet Tomorrow They Will See a Good Job of Housecleaning. WHEN Congress assembles tomorrow the members -will find their great marble -workshop as spick and ppan as soap and water and paint can make It The annual bousecleanlng at the United States Capitol has been un usually thorough this year arid It Is not too much to say that the great -white-domed building at Washington is just now a little cleaner and more attractive' than It has been at any previous time in history. The legislative headquarters Is more modern, too. for many improve ments have been made in the big struc ture since the National lawmakers -went home, last Spring. Few persons, not excepting the Senators and Representatives themselves, have any conception of what a herculean task it Is to put the Capitol in apple-pie order for a session of Congress. The huge building has an area of more than 3& acres, and Inasmuch as It Is three stories In height there Is an aggregate of more than ten acres of floors to be scrubbed. There are 480 separate rooms, the -walls of which have to be cleaned and the .-woodwork touched up, to say nothing of the renova tion of carpets and upholstered furniture, and during the past few -weeks 28 apart monts all committee-rooms of good-size have been completely transformed, the work embracing the Tedecoratlon of walls and ceilings and refurnishing with new carpets and new mahogany furniture. Lot the average housewife try to imag ine what it would mean to wash 700 win dows each twice as large as any window in an ordinary house, and to clean the woodwork of 550 doors, and she may gain a slight conception of the immensity of houscclcanlng at the Nation's Capitol. .And In addition there is more than- an acre of glass skylights to be washed in side and out; 140 fireplaces to be set in order: 2C0 wash basins to be scoured and an Infinite number of other tasks calcu lated to keep a large force of workers very busy for weeks before the date for the assembling of the legislators. Better Food for Representatives. One of the most Important "Improve ments" which will be disclosed to the Representatives when they assemble to morrow will be found in the restaurant. For several years past there has been a groat hue and cry regarding the meals served to Congressmen. The manager of the restaurant, which is a private enter prise, endeavored to provide menus in keeping with the dignity of his distin guished patrons, and, owing to the wide fluctuation in patronage on "dull" and "busy" days, lost about $3000 during the last session of Congress. The Represen tatives, on the other hand, were not at all satisfied with the food nor the service, and threatened to have Congress conduct the restaurant. A committee of Congress wrestled with the mooted question this past Summer and have a solution which they believe will please everybody. Uncle Sam will not go into the restaurant bust ness, the establishment remaining a pit vate enterprise, but there will be abolition cf the old-time elaborate repasts, and in stead the Nation's servants will have an opportunity to enjoy simple fare, well win 171 JLJSssir". i sss cooked, such as Is the delight of the Yankee business man, .who must content himself with a "quick lunch." When the members of Congress come back to work this week, after their long vacation, they will find that electricity is, to a greater extent than ever, king of the Capitol. The "magic current plays the most Important part in heating, lighting and ventilating the monster building and has lately enabled marvelous advances In the facilities for quick communication between the various parts of this official city under one roof. Just a hint of the conveniences afforded by the utilization of the 20th century power Is found In the operation of the new electric bell system, which has been installed throughout the big building for the benefit of members temporarily absent from the floor while the legislative body is In session. By means of one or another of these 100 bells a lawmaker, no matter in what part of the building he may be, is warned when any important action is to be taken in the legislative chamber, so that it Is his own fault If ho does not vote on every measure which, comes up. The visitor to the Capitol under this new regime may be surprised to note the total absence of lighting fixtures,' and yet at the first suggestion of dusk tho cham bers of the Senate and House of Repre sentatives are flooded with light. More than 23,000 incandescent lamps, each of 1C candle power, tucked away In unob trusive places, give the illumination. Similarly, not a single coll of steam pipe nor so much as one radiator is visible, and yet no person can ever complain of cold so long as he is within the walls of the huge pile on Capitol Hill. Finally, 75.000 cubic feet of fresh air is poured into the hall of the House and 20,000 cubic feet of clean atmosphere Is forced Into the Senate Chamber each minute, and yet the novel task is performed so scientifically that there is not the suggestion of a draught In any part of these vast rooms. Equable Heating. One of the innovations designed to help make comfortable the men who make our laws Is an Ingenious apparatus which enables the engineers deep down In the sub-basement of the Capitol to tell at a glance the temperature In any part of tho big building. Thus If more heat Is need ed here or less heat is desirable there the matter can be attended to before the Congressmen or their guests are conscious of any discomfort. "With all the perfec tion of the heating, lighting and ventilat ing plant as it now stands, still further Improvements are being planned. Work will begin next Autumn on an enlarged power plant which, when completed, will furnish light, heat and ventilation not only for the Capitol, but also for the Congressional Library and the new office buildings now under construction for the Senate and the House of Representatives on sites adjoining the Capitol grounds. In this betterment of things In general at the Capitol there has. as may be Im agined, been no special effort for econo my. The men in charge have gone on the theory that there can be nothing too good for a "billion-dollar Congress" and the men who, as the result of the recent election, are to come back to Congress after an absence of some years will be very likely to open their eyes In amaze ment. The 20th century Congressman sits In a chair that cost $25, has his shoes shlned free of charge at a bootblack stand that cost $55; and Is served with drinking water from coolers which cost 526 apiece, and each of which will hold 517 worth of mineral water. The Speaker of the House of Representatives has a new mahogany desk that cost $120, and may rest on a leather couch for which Uncle Sam paid out 560. There are 90 toilet-rooms in the Capitol, and 14 bath tubs have been Installed for the use of Congressmen. These tubs are all cut from blocks of solid marble, and ' are equipped with shower apparatus and oth er up-to-date adjuncts. Enlarging the Capital. This coming session of Congress will in all probability- authorize an extension ot the.. United States Capitol which will cost several million dollars and Increase the size of the building fully one-third. Un der the old conditions such an expansion of the already spacious structure would probably have appalled the men who are frequently called upon to communicate with widely separated points in Uncle Sam's biggest office building. Now they can regard the growth with serenity, for the Capitol has, all Its own, as complete a telephone system as Is to be found In the average city, of 10.000 inhabitants, the exchange being connected with more than SCO telephones throughout the building. Steps are also to be taken to give the Capitol a more efficient system of fire protection, for, whereas the' massive structure is In Its construction, well safeguarded against fire, its rooms con tain vast quantities of records, books and documents of value which would be rap Idly consumed were not means at hand for quickly extinguishing the flames. The provision of a modern fire department Is all that Is needed to make the Con gressional community a little city In Itself, for It already boasts of a police department that numbers more men titan are on the payroll of the average small city; a postoffice that does a tremendous business, and an Institution the office of the 2ergeant-at-Arms which performs alt the functions of a bank. "When the new office buildings are completed the Capitol will also have Its own under ground railway system. WALDON FAWCETT. HETTY GREEN TALKS ABOUT MONEY-MAKING Richest Woman in the World Tells Why She Desires to Pile Up More Wealth Till She Dies. NEW YORK CITY, Nov. 29. (Spa- clal Correspondence of The Sun day Oregonlan.) It was in the Chemical National Bank, on lower Broadway, that I had my second Inter view with the richest woman of tho world. The first was held seven years ago, when Mrs. Hetty Green, in the midst of the hard times, was worth perhaps $50,000,000. It was then esti mated that her Income was $5000 a day, more than $200 an hour, and more .than $3 every minute of every day -and every night. Since then she has (prospered with our prosperity, and what she is worth today no one but ierself knows. I doubt if even she could tell off hand. She is so busy watching those who are trying to get what she has, and Investing the sur plus to make more, that she docs not stop to take account of stock. She said to me today that she found it far easier to make money than to keep it. and that she kept on making because she liked the game and wanted to be in the thick of things. "When I asked how long she would continue at It she replied just as long as the dear Lord save her the mental and physical strength, to do so. In the Chemical National. "When I called by appointment at tho bank today I was told to present my card at the last window in the brass network which walled the customers out of the millions behind. I did so, and thereby disturbed Mrs. Green's confidential clerk, who was busy tear ing off coupons by means of a little steel square, a miniature of that used by a carpenter. He fitted the square so that the coupon lay in tho inner right angle, and Jerked It off as though it were waste paper, instead of a green back worth many dollars. He was working faster than the crack type writer girl in the civil service who writes 23,000 words a day when I handed him my card. He shoved the bonds aside like so much straw, and took it to Mrs. Green. A moment later he returned with a reply that I should go into the second office at the right, and that Mrs. Green would be with me in a moment. I went and waited. The office was not bigger than a hall bed room, and its only furniture was a desk and two plain bent-wood chairs worth a dollar apiece. I took one of these, and within a few minutes Mrs. Green entered, and, after shaking my hand, took the other. She began to talk at once, and for an hour, in answer to my questions, chatted most Interest singly about tho business woman and women in business. Hetty Green's Business Training. Tho world has a wrong idea of Mrs. Hetty Green. She has been represented as illiterate. She is not. She comes of a very rich family. Her father, grandfather and great grandfather were all among- the rich men of this country. She was raised in the lap of luxury; her home had 22 rooms and two bathrooms. She was well educated and can speak several languages. She got some of her schooling In Boston, where she was taught by a relative of James Russell Lowell. She was a not ed social figure during her young ladyhood, and was celebrated as a dancer and as a horseback rider. She had all the athletic tendencies, In fact, of the present twentieth-century girL She traveled in Europe, and after her grandfather's death lived for a half dozen years in London, while her fath er was operating in stocks and bonds of that country and this. Indeed. Mrs. Green may be said to have had the disadvantages of. wealth toward becoming a practical business woman. What saved her was her (grandfather's poor health and poor eyesight, which were -succeeded by similar weaknesses on the part of her father. She read the papers to her grandfather, and especially the finan cial news and the stock reports. She sometimes acted as his confidential clerk, writing his letters for him and attending to some of his business. He was a man of many investments, and he told Hetty what was good and why. She learned the fluctuations of the markets, and at 15 knew all about bulls and bears, and much better, then, she thinks, than many a man who is oper ating in "Wall street today. She did the same work for her father, both in this country and in Europe, so that when her father died she was ready to manage for herself the property she Inherited. Her father left altogether seven or more millions, and of this Miss Hetty received one million. There was a law suit begun shortly after as to the settlement of the estate. Hetty Green thought then, and thinks still, that the lawyers and others have been trying" to defraud tho heirs, and she has been fighting that suit from that day until now. The Business Training of Girls. During our talk I asked her whether she thought that girls should have busi ness educations. She replied: "I do. Every girl should be taught the ordinary lines ; of business investment. This is especially so if she is likely to Inherit money. It' is also the case If her parents are poor, for no one can tell what may be her -future -through marriage or the changes of .fortune. She should-.be made to understand what a bank account is, what Interest means and how - it - ac cumulates, the character of mortgages and bonds and how to know whether they are good or not. I think fathers should always talk such things over with their daughters, as well as with their sons. If they did so for a short time each day the girls would learn to think along business lines, and they would not be at the mercy of the money sharps who prey upon the weaker sex. How Widows Can Learn to Invest. "But suppose a woman has no such training," said I. "Suppose-her father or husband dies leaving her something, more or less, how can she go about to make the most of -it? Suppose It Is only $5000 or $10,000, or perhaps a million, what can she do?" "For a large sum," said Mrs. Green, "there1 is nothing better for such a wo man than Government bonds, and after that good mortgages. I Invested the greater part of my inheritance in Gov ernment bonds and Rock Island Railroad stock. Government bonds at the present market value bring but a low rate of in terest, but they are absolutely safe, and for the woman who has enough money to bring her a living income from them they are best." "The woman with five or ten thousand had better put her money Into such bonds at first, or into a good savings bank. She can then know it is secure, and go about learning how to make more out of it." In order to do this she roust not rely merely upon tho suggestions of her mas culine friends. - There are many -wolves In sheep's clothing, .and a good propor- HETTY GKEEK IX 1D04. -Photo by Holllncer. tlon of them are male. Besides,' if the woman Is to do anything she must learn to do It for herself. If she lives In aclty she can study real estate and play at In vestment. Let her take what she con siders a desirable, locality and pick out several pieces of renting property, such as her money could buy, and note down from time to time what they sell for. She can pretend to herself that she has bought them, and when the nieces sell again can play whether she has made orvj lost. Of course this is all pretense, just as children will stand outside a store win dow and each claiming to own certain of the objects within, trade with one an other. By this means, however, the wo man learns the trend of the market, she gets an Idea of values, and If she buys rented property only she Is pretty sure to have her Income and at the same time the benefit from the growth of the city in which she lives. That Is one way to learn how to make money In real es tate." "How about stocks and bonds In "Wall street, Mrs. Green?" said I. "Wall street Is no place for the unso phisticated woman, and I doubt whether It Is a good place for any woman. I do not believe In speculation, and as for my self I try to steer clear of Wall street Any woman who has not a big fortune -to back her and at the same time excellent judgment and knowledge of all the- se curities dealt in and Influences at work had better keep, out." The Business Woman a Permanency. "Are not our women learning more about business every year, Mrs. Green? The m'odern "business woman Is a20h century product. Has she come to stay?" "Yes. The world of today could not get along without Its business women. They are rapidly taking the place of ihen as bookkeepers, stenographers and type writers; they' act as cashiers In manyfof the stores, and new fields are steadily opening.- I bell'.'e that women wlll'jdo j more arid more as time goes on. Never theless; it seems to me that the -claef ' sphere of woman. Is home, and that her most important duties are those ofwfe and mother.. Every girl should be taugut that; although she should at the same time have her business education. There is no reason why the. married woman should, not also be a business woman." Don't Want a Woman President. "What do you think of women in polI- tics? "Will we ever have a woman Prijsi- J dent?"-. . ' ' "I should hope not, I don't believe much In so-called woman's rights. I ant willing to leave' politics to the men, al though' I wish women had more rights In business and elsewhere than they now have." ! "But do not women have an equal chance' with men In business?" "No they do npt. I could have succeed ed much easfer In my career had I been a man. I find men will take advantages of women In business that they would not attempt with men.. I found this so In the courts, where I have been fighting men all my life. It Is difficult to get lawyers, upon whom one can depend, and although I have a great respect for our Judges, It seems to me that the wom an sometimes, has .the .odds against, her with them. I don't want to say any thing against lawyers "or Judges. I re spect both, and especially the latter, al though I can't say I like 'religious law yers,' such as my friend Joseph Choate, now Minister to England. I have had many a tilt with him, and I shall prob ably have more before I die. Advice to Judge Gresham. "Yes," continued Mrs. Green, "I have a great respect for Judges. I think an honest Judge Is the noblest work of God. and It seems to me a high position on the bench is more to be desired than the Presidency of the United States. In fact, I told Judge Walter Q. Gresham that once. I had a case before him In Chicago. , You must remember him. He was Secretary of State in Cleveland's Cabinet, and he was spoken of as a pos sible candidate for the Presidency. It was at that time that. I met him In his private office and said to him: 'Judge Gresham, you are.aool to let the Pres idential bee get into your bonnet. The man who Is stung by It never recovers; and the place you have today Is higher than that of the White House. Your decisions here are independent. If you become President you will be bossed by Congresses or you. will get. Into trouble. I advise you to shoo that bee out of your bonnet.' "I don't think Judge Gresham liked It very well," continued Mrs. Green. ' "He rather frowned as I spoke, and when he accompanied me to the door and I went out he slammed the door. I had to pass through another door before I got to the hall, and I slammed that door twice as hard as he slammed his. to show him there was no doubt of my opinion." "Mrs. Green," said ' I, "you have made more money by your Individual brains than any woman since time began. You have made millions. Some people believe that one cannot make a million dollars honestly." "That Is a ridiculous Idea," replied the great woman financier. "I have made a million several times, and I have never done a dishonest act in my whole life. I have never Intentionally wronged one poor person and I have helped thousands. No! I do my workMn the fear of the Lord, and I believe that the good Lord has blessed me In the success I have had. Why, do you suppose ! could have gone through all my troubles If-the good -Lord had not helped-me?- -1 can-see his -work all along the lines of my life. He Is helping me now. I have learned to trust him and do not worry about small things." . . ... "Then you believe in Christianity?" "Of course I. do. and. I .try, to practice it. My parents were Quakers and I was brought up with a fine sense of right and wrong. I was taught to believe that he who condones a felony Is hair felon, and that he who allows others to rob or Is a receiver of stolen goods Is himself half robber." "Then, Mrs. Green, If you believe In the Bible, how about the difficulty of a rich man getting into the kingdom of heaven? The word man in that sense Is a general term. Will rich women go there?" "I believe that the honest, truthful and deserving rich has as fair a chance of get ting to heaven as the poor," said Mrs. Green. "T,he Bible does not preach against riches, but against the evil use of them and the sins arising out of the desire for their accumulation. . It denounces those who are rich in their own conceit and the rich who oppress the poor." "What are the duties of the rich as to the poor, Mrs. Green? How do you regard such charities as those of Andrew Car negie and John Rockefeller?" "I do not want to criticise individuals. I believe in discreet charity, and I have mariy calls upon me. I wish I could show you the begging letters I receive. Within the past month my mail has been full of them; not only from this country, but from all parts of Europe. Indeed, It seems to me as though my dear friend, Joseph Choate, had been advising all his Euro pean friends to write to me." "I sometimes wonder Mrs. Green," said I, "why a woman of your education and social qualities keeps on working after your fortune has become so great that neither you nor your children can spend Its income, much less the principal. Why Is It?" "It Is because I enjoy being In the thick of things. I like to have a part in the great movements of the world and es pecially of this country- I Hke to deal with big things and with whom, the world .calls big men. I would ratr.cr t.j It than play bridge whist which other womqn so much affect. Indeed, my work Is my amuse ment and I believe It Is also my duty. You may remember the parable where the man gave, to each .of his servants a certain amount of money and then departed to a far country. When he returned he asked each to give an account of his steward ship. He commended those who had in creased their trust and denounced the timid one who had buried his talent In the sand. The fortune which was left me I have always looked upon as such a trust one which I was to care for and increase. Suppose you should give me two or three hundred thousands dollars for me to Invest for you. and I should put it In the safe deposit or let It be frittered away, what would you think of me?" "No, I feel that I am doing my duty In taking "care of and Increasing the t.rust left me by my family, and the 'fte Lord Is blessing me- In It." "What, Mrs. Green, has been the. secret of your success?" "I cannot say, save that I have tried to use common sense in my business. Be fore deciding upon an Investment I have sought out every source of information, and have only acted when I knew the facts. Having decided upon my course I have stuck to It. There Is no great secret in fortune making. Success is based upon the principle of buying when things are cheap and selling when they are dear. When good things are so low that no one wants them I buy them and lay them away in the safe, and when, owing to some newe development, they go up and my shares -are so needed that men will pay well for them I am ready to sell." "But how is one to know when stocks are low?" ."By their history, their dividend-paying possibilities, and what they have sold for In the past. If one can buy a good thing at a lower cost than It has ever sold for before he may be fairly sure of getting It cheap." "How about railroad stocks?" "There are some few good ones." .''Banks?" ... "I don't believe In investing in bank stock, as a rule, although I have some. I would rather have mortgages or bonds." "What do you -think of industrials?" "I don't iknow anything about them. As soqn as I was told that $5,000,000,000 worth of such stock had been sold' I replied that my arithmetic did not go into the billions, and I stopped figuring upon them." (Copyright, 1904.) FRANK G. CARPENTER. Gentlemen: I suffered with Eczema on the hands and face for over a year. It was not only annoying and painfnl, but very unsightly, and I disliked to go out in the streets. I tried at least a dozen soaps and salves, which did me abso lutely no good, and became very much discouraged, until I read in the papers of the cures per formed through the use of S. S. S., and determined to give it a. month's trial at least. I. am pleased to state that I soon no ticed a slight improvement, sufficient to decide me to keep it up. After the use of six bottles my skin was as soft and smooth as an infant's. This was a year ago, and I have never had any trouble since. Miss Gexeva Briggs. 216 S. Seventh Street, Minneapolis, Minn. I tried doctor's medicines, salves, washes and all kinds of local applica tions, treating Eczema of long stand ing, but with only temporary relief. The itching and burning from Eczema was more than I can describe. Many nights I was unable to sleep on account of the awful itching. Seeing S. S. S. adver tised I began its use, and after taking it for some time tbe dry eczematous eruptions disappeared and I was entirely relieved of this awful itching and burning. It is a boon to Eczema sufferers and I can conscientiously recommend it to them, believing confidently that a permanent cure will be effected in all such cases where it is taken according to directions. Urbana, Ohio. R. F. D. No. i. C Orro. All skin diseases have their seasons; some are active in the summer, -while others lie dormant until cold weather, when the first breath of winter brings them to life and they remain to torment us until spring. Through the long hot months Winter Eczema sleeps in the system, and -when cold weather begins it breaks out. The head, hands and feet are the parts usually attacked, but other parts of the body may be affected by this "flesh fire.' The skin becomes feverish, hard and dry, cracks open and often bleeds, and the itching is terrible. While the trou ble shows on the skin the cause is far deeper. This eruption is but nature's way of telling that the fountain of all health the blood is diseased and must have relief. It is filled with uric acid and other poisons which are forced through the pores, causing the natural oils, which should keep the skin soft and pliable, to dry np. These acid3 are constantly forming in the system to be absorbed by the blood, and thus the trouble is kept up. The treatment of this disease wjth local applications, such as washes, salves, powders, etc., is useless in effecting a cure, because they can not get to the seat or beginning of the trouble. The best they can do is to give the patient relief for a little while. The blood must be cleansed of all acids and poisons and the system toned and built up before a cure can be had. S S S cures by Eoing into the blood, searchine out all foreign matter, and mnVinor if strong and healthy again. S. S. S. is a purely vegetable remedy, and therefore cures this disease safely as well as sorely, and from a condition of torture the patient is brought to one of healthful pleasure Book on Skin Diseases mailed free, and our physicians will give advice, without charge, to all sufferers. THE SWIFT SPECIFIC COMPANY. ATLANTA. GA jJBSi ,4SB iBB t