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
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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
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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
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The itching and burning from Eczema
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eczematous eruptions disappeared and I was entirely relieved
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Urbana, Ohio. R. F. D. No. i. C Orro.
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the long hot months Winter Eczema sleeps in the system, and -when cold weather begins it breaks out. The head,
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