Assignment Iowa Classics; 203; State Capitol

Adam. We. Are. In 1857 the capital of what was moved from Iowa City to Des Moines. But it was another twenty seven years before the Iowa legislature conducted its business under this. The golden dome. And even then the interior was not completed. Since the doors of the Capitol burst open to the public in 1884. Millions of us have come to Des Moines to savor some of Iowa's history embodied in the state house. But many

Iowans have not been able to make this pilgrimage. So tonight we're going to tour. I was capital. And our guide is George mills. For 40 years George Meles has worked under the Golden Dome covering state house happenings for various news services. Twenty eight of those years were with the Des Moines Register. He's a recognized authority on Iowa history and he served on the State Historical board since it was created in July of 1974. Jones we're going to talk about those 27 years. But first of all there were some very interesting flaps that went on about deciding where the capital should be. And I wonder if you would tell us about that little episode. Well the legislature first looked into the possibility of locating the Capitol at the Rose City which was southeast of Prairie City and that was at the time of the movement. They already had reached a decision to move the capital away from Iowa

City. And they decided they set up a commission. And the commission. Recommended Monroe City but then the commissioners made the mistake of acquiring property personally around that. Which was anything but the thing to do and the legislature just canceled that all together and started all over again. OK so then they finally decided well what they did they passed an act saying that the Capitol shall be located within 2 miles of the junction of the Des Moines River any place within 2 miles of that junction down there then. Then there was a great huge fight was there about whether it should be in the east or west. There sure was. East side the west side set up offered $200000 in property and I believe 10 acres of land to locate the capital over there in the area around. Well you know where the

American Republic is around 60 and that was called Capitol Hill on the old maps I've got an old map that lists satyrs Capitol Hill but the east side got busy and the east side offered to build the Capitol free of charge. To the state and to donate a lot of land over here to the state as a matter of fact they did donate the land on which the capital is located. But the original brick Kapolei built was down to me down by the present Soldiers and Sailors Monument yet you know I was I was reading at a little booklet and there were a lot of promises made there was excessive wheeling and dealing and lobbying and so forth. And but this was the interesting thing. Corroboration is what it was no question about it. Oyster suppers were used to influence the choice that was the report that was the least. Emoluments the most important one historian flatly says that the that the capital commissioners were promised fifty thousand dollars in lots

around here. You believe that. I believe it yes. In fact one one the commissioner did get 50 lots it was established that he did. You see the reason they wanted it over the reason they thought that it would be a great boon for the east side was that they thought that the business district of Des Moines would move over around the new capital. And that they were wrong on two counts that proved a bust for the east side is for two reasons. One was that the business district of Des Moines did not move over here. And secondly the Crimean War of 1834 had created a tremendous demand for Midwestern crops corn wheat and so forth worldwide and that because a Crimean War had halted the export of Russian grain. Well when the war ended that ended the boom temporarily for the demand for Midwestern crops soul. This part of the country went into a sort of a depression. In fact there was a depression coming anyway

and 1857 was a very bad year and the property the value of property around here just sank to nothing. Well it was a rather hollow victory for the east side to get there. Yeah that's right. Well the first building that was built was called in the long run just look at it. Is there a better possible location for the capital via within this Capitol Hill. I don't care how they managed to engineer to getting it over here 50 lots or no 50 that's right. You know the interesting thing one of the interesting things to me was the fact that it had to be built without cost to the state. OK. It only cost thirty five thousand dollars incidentally. We're talking about the real capital capital. It was too small and it was poorly constructed and they borrowed the $35000 and they weren't even able to pay that in the long run the state paid for it anyway. The legislature eight hundred sixty eight 1868 they didn't pass the first resolution creating a commission to look into and

start the process of building the building and run it right. OK so then what happened because these plans met great resistance. Well in 1870 that's when the real fight took place and the people of the mine were very aware of the fact that they might lose the capital. Because a lot of other forces in the state wanted the capital the railroads for instance the Burlington and Northwestern they'd be tickled to death to have the capital on their lines and they were both powerful railroads and then also the Congress or the various legislators would love to have the capital in their districts. And then on top of that the legislators who represented districts with large state institutions were strongly against building a new capital here if they could avoid it because they were afraid that such a proposition would soak up the appropriations and there wouldn't be any money left for their institutions. Twas ever thus it was ever thus. That's right and you know as a matter of fact

this might be a good time to point this out. You could almost say that this didn't cost anything even though it did cost two million eight hundred thousand dollars originally because it was billed on a pay as you go basis and the taxes never were raised to cover the cost of the building. Much or tell the story. When the legislature was voting. On the building. And there was a missing legislator or and they wanted to find him. Well. The. The division was so even. Then in the legislature for and against for and against the construction of the new building there were some real heat against it. There was one guy from Oskaloosa got up and painted a very dire picture of farmers the little children running around with ragged clothes while the father was at the court house paying the tax to build a new fancy golden dome which would enrich Des Moines Des Moines was the target. So the legislature.

It was evenly divided the house was and. There was it was there was a test vote to come up it wasn't on the final vote although the vote was just about as close on the final vote. And every vote counted. And the night before the anti golden dome people if you want to call it that. Got this one guy plastered. And he wasn't here when the vote for the when the chips were down. So John who was the representative from Des Moines and very great I won and the elected to the legislature purposely to. Keep the capital here. John Chrysostom was a great friend of Father Brazill who was a beloved early Catholic priest here down St. Ambrose. And he was strong for Des Moines so he got John cosign got a father. Get a hack and go downtown looking for this guy and father Basil found him sitting on a

log in a river and the Raccoon River Bank. Getting over a hangover. Well father does grab the guy and put him in the hack and hurried him over here and. Got him up in the House chamber and stood behind him. And then the fellow hesitated when his name was called in the roll call and father. Brazill said something to the effect. Stand up and be a man something to that effect. And he did on that particular issue. The day was saved. Actually on the final vote. The final passage of the bill if it did get 52 votes which was one more than necessary 51 was the constitutional majority. In the house. But it was that close. Getting back to the building of this golden dome there was because you know we think we have political problems today I can imagine that you are at that time

going on between the people who didn't like the idea of it being built in the first place but then they wanted to admit the thing. That's right. First of all after it did pass the people of Des Moines were so grateful to John to sign that they went down to his home down on Seventh Street right north to Grand Avenue and serenaded him and gave him a gold headed cane and a gold headed cane is over in the history building. But what did you. Well they wanted to admit the dome and I wanted they didn't want to admit it. The thing was that they just weren't going to be able to get it constructed within the financial limits. So they were planning on building it without a dome but the thing was that the farther they went with this project the more acceptable it became to the people of Iowa in fact the people of Iowa became impressed and became very proud of what was going on. And the legislature I think they started out with $150000 appropriation and the legislature did vote.

I think it was three hundred seventy five thousand dollars and eight hundred seventy four 350 or 75 and they voted a substantial sum. Seventy six. That might be the accumulated figure for those two years but you see they really were rolling pretty good incidentally the original plans called for a much higher dome than we've got now. But the architect who planned it a fellow by the name of Cochran and pick when he died in 1876 or maybe it was 79 that there are two dates on the thing. And after that the subsequent architect a fellow named Hackney decided that large the larger dome was not feasible. But. Now we are sitting right now in the library which is a gorgeous room my beautiful. Yeah. With all of the grill work and it's right winding stairways history. This particular room that we're sitting in I was threatened by the fire burned

here a 904 was and certainly was. The fire started in the House chamber which is northeast of here. And there is a brick wall between the House chamber and this chamber. And the fire started in. The north part of the House chamber. There is some discussion as to exactly where it started. You know I heard it was a workman's candle that's that's right workings candle in an air vent and that seems to be the best evidence but the workman strongly denied the individual strongly denied that he had left a candle in the air. But anyhow the fire started and it was a bad fire. January 4th 904 and it burned out the House chamber. A beautiful house chamber and it was and it started about 10 o'clock in the morning in the State House barber gave the alarm and governor was in there trying to help run the governor up here to the governor was wearing rubber boots and they thought the library was threatened.

So they put shoots out these windows and they sent some 30000 books down those chutes. I believe one hundred seventy five two hundred thousand volumes here and they were afraid this was gone and they had the firemen play water they could they had an awful time. Incidentally for getting enough water up here because of the high location and the lack of available water so the water pressure situation was bad and they thought the building was gone. Everybody did. And but the law library was was was that the fire out in the same day but it was a tragic thing and there was some firemen were hurt a little bit but one of the workmen around here a guy working electricity and electrical part of the state house fell through the ceiling into the House chamber and was killed. But they did get the House chamber in shape sort of. For the legislature which met in a few

weeks to put tarpaulins over the holes in the roof to keep the weather out. But the legislators complained that they didn't complain so much about the lack of heat as they did about the dirt. They said they got so much that they had to take a bath every day. And. That in an age when taking a bath on Saturday night for church Sunday was what people did they didn't bathe any other time as a general thing. Let's talk about the return a little bit. Now does that look today as it did originally. No. The sayings around it for instance of the portion of the Gettysburg address that was. I believe put in by Governor Cummins after the 19th floor fire in fact there was various statements around there very interesting. Governor Cummins was a progressive governor and he and a stand patters at each other's throat. That was a split within the Republican Party. And the railroads before that

pretty much had dominated government and Governor Cummins was the first to challenge that rule and to upset it in the end he broke their power and he was really at swords points with them so when they redecorate it he decided to put some Sainz up around that would sort of throw down the gauntlet to them. Do you have. Yeah I have read them but I can't remember what they're. That's the trouble with this type of thing is that. If. You couldn't do this five programs here I'm going to write here of course you had this nation under God shall have a new birth of freedom the government of the people by the people and for the people not shall not perish from the earth. That's around the right time to have them over the law library door is a phrase where law and care only begins. Then down on the first floor is justice is the idea of God. The

ideal of man. And there also is this little commercial for Iowa Iowa I have been permitted to behold all need to beginnings of her glory. Then This one's definitely at the stand patters stand patters government are the blessings of liberty can be preserved to any people but by a firm and Terence to justice moderation temperance. Notice the word temperance frugality and virtue and by frequent recurrence to fundamental principles. Well it's really beautiful. Yes it is it is it's it's quite impressive as you look at all of the. Statues and the frescoes. Yeah and that's the story of governmental story of government the first is of dissent. The second one of charities are welfare.

The third of the executive the fourth legislative the fifth of the judicial and the sixth of education. And that's the story of government from Roman times Greek times right up to the present. This about covers and incidentally there are over the over the picture. Called westward that huge mural out there that twenty six foot mural and those mosaics were designed by a man by the name of Frederick Dielman and they were done in St.. In Venice Italy. Let's talk a little bit about the house. And the Senate. Chamber. Well the House chambers it's I think it's forty nine point nine feet high it's a beautiful place. Forty years of my life in there that's what I covered all the time I was in the legislature and the Senate is about 42 feet. The Senate is pretty much the way it was originally. The house that was changed a lot by after the fire in the reconstruction of

decorations. I saw one reference which indicated that they had pictures of individuals painted on the ceilings in their grand General Grant for one President Grant. Yeah. Now that's I've only seen one reference on that and I haven't been able to research the research to find find it. The gallery is always there. Yes they fell in of course in the fire. Yeah. But they always had. Yes yes that's right. And I've seen those galleries. As a matter of fact we've had as many as we had a march of 8000 filling station operators on this place protesting back in the 30s protesting the passage of the chain store tax bill. Now of course we had irate farmers we had a thousand irate farmers in here in 1931 protesting the tuberculosis bill which really followed the war which you're too young to remember

how you remember when I was down there I covered it. And then of course we had the invasion of the farmers the irate farmers right in the middle of the Depression when they just came in and stopped proceedings in the house they just came in. And they chased one one guy they said they were going to hang him over the banister out here. Northwest was senator and he went up in the golden dome to escape and I never did find it very tame. Where is the Supreme Court chamber the Supreme Court chambers right down below here. Thanks. Yeah yeah. Yeah sure. Go right down here. It's really really to the north. But you go down the steps and you come into the back end of your flat footed for a minute I forgot my geography but you get on the steps and then it's. To the north. Very beautiful chambers. Incidentally there's a bench down there that's

carved Juanma. Name a William Metzger I think it was a story about 20 years old he carved that beautiful bench for the justices. But at the time that he carved it I think we only had six justices. Then when they enlarged it to the court to nine why he came back in 61 years of age and he carved the rest of it and really matches perfectly. We talked about did we talk about the mural the grandstand. No that said when blacks feel it's a covered wagon the family of a covered wagon depicting a pioneer family going west it's a late afternoon time if you look at the thing and it's a very glorified thing it's twenty six feet and it's really kind of beautiful in light of 19th century art and it's got some angel shall we say proceeding in the air and some

afterward coming afterwards or for female figures in the air and front and one carries the shield of one of them carries a book. Carry. A basket and there are sowing seeds indicating that the Prairie is changing into agricultural civilization. Then there are some. Female figures in the air and back one of which is carrying a steam engine as I remembered and the other one dynamo indicating. The. The. Coming industrial age. Incidently those women. There was a very beautiful Damone woman by the name of Jessica pin and they the artist used her in as a model and painted some of those women. That she bought 19:00. Remember. Yeah but the trouble. Who remembers it I mean everybody knows it now. There is so much in the building and it seems I haven't

been in it anywhere near the number of times that you have but something that I haven't seen before are you. Do you sigh. I think I think anybody does. Sure I do. I mean something will hit me. Every once in a while. I hadn't noticed before. And you know the thing sort of crystallizes the pride and solidity of this state and I think the people are very proud of it. They indicate that by the numbers who come here and the classes that come here are school classes to watch the legislature in session and go on these tours tours are very well conducted Incidentally the guides are good. George Where's your favorite spot in the whole building. I think maybe this room. The beauty of it and of course I spent much of my writing time right up the steps in a room right in there for. A generation I wrote my register stories up there. But then

what. The. Perfect spot. I don't know just. How can you beat the House chamber for instance. How can you beat that rotunda. And the vision and the power and the. Dedication that. Is evident. Thank you very much for talking to us about this gorgeous Capitol Building We appreciate it. I enjoyed it. Thank you. There is a little restoration going over now and yeah we're now going to talk to the man who is doing some of that. This young man is declared to who is doing some patchwork restoration on one of the ceilings here in the Capitol under the direction of Jerry Miller of color incorporated. And they've been working on repairs for two years. Gerri what are you doing here in the Capitol What was your assignment.

Our Simon is to cut out and restore any damaged areas in the ceilings to replace all stencil work. What does that entail where you get the stencils. We make our own stencil from the pattern that's on the savings no other way existing. Yeah this is from the original painting that was on the scene these are the original paintings and we do take an exact copy from these various patterns maker stands for and replace them. Yeah. So you actually have to do the plastering and then the painting we do it with yeah we did it all out and replaster re prime but many ground coats on color codes right. The business need to be done what was wrong. Well there could have been previous leaks above these savings or what we call call pops which is a call that COLA was in the center of the plaster and wood either grow or form a gas and just pop a piece of plaster. And we did

result in repose for them and there are a few cool pops in the building I didn't use and while I never heard of that before. Did I have had this happen to pretty much throughout the entire building throughout the building. Yeah there are many buildings in the morning that have the same problem. Are you particularly proud of any any one room that you've done. Of course you're proud of them all I realize that but let's put it now way way out of the whole building with a hand. Maybe the one of the wood graining news. Being as like wood grain and beautiful wood grain maybe Wood Green is my favorite Where's that oh it's on main floor the auditor's one of the authors offices. Do you think that's the most beautiful to your mind you know maybe not among the most beautiful but it's so. I think a lot of the men would like that women and the ladies would like the floral designs across the hallway. What do you think of the original craftsman couldn't be beat. I mean I don't I don't think they could probably even be replaced today. They

were from the old school where they spent hours at the trades and learning their trade. Oh of course. Friendship in those days was seven years our partnership was only three years we have come a long way in all technique. Oh there's been a lot of changes in our paints today and this is one of the one of the problems we might have a pair. You ask what maybe what the problems was just to match the old colors that are up there now. Oh we not only make our design and place it in there we have to match the surrounding or the existing color that isn't there now. So you have to mix the paint your limits or paint right up there and I thought maybe Dick was ready to do some of that but I see he's only doing this by twerking Oh yeah I don't you to get a stiff neck a lot of work in the first two weeks when we started two years ago we probably suffered a little bit in the neck but

it's like playing tennis or any other sport maybe you get used to those muscles that you use so we can walk around all day with her nose in the air and fortunately around here there's a lot of you know things. See I mean a whopping rabbit right now in this nest take infinite patience to do. Yes we don't have the patience we don't belong on the job. Yeah you have to have the patience and I might say for Dick he probably ought to have more than I do because he has to put up with me in addition to in addition to his work and Jerry will you be sorry to leave this to you. You've been doing some line that most of them in your lives. Yeah but there's always a possibility of coming back and doing more. Well where in the US Senate cloakroom Now tell me did you find out any secrets of what happens in Senate cloakroom sinéad. Why don't all the took the speakers with a modem when we came in that was quite better. Thank you very much. Well that and the tour. But a word of caution if you're planning to visit the

state house we suggest you do some stretching exercises because many of the most interesting things here to sea level. I'm married.