"Do I approve?" I said. "Why, every pot and kettle becomes a sanctified implement in your hand. The Master said: 'And whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all. For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.'"
XXIII
THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
The great necessity for a separate building for a Congressional Library was first urged by Mr. A. R. Spofford, in his Librarian's Report in 1872. An appropriation was made for the purchase of the ground in 1886. The site consists of ten acres of ground, facing the east front of the Capitol. The ground and the old buildings upon it cost $585,000, and the building itself, $6,032,124.34.
It is the handsomest, most convenient, and best lighted and ventilated library building in the world, and I believe it to be the handsomest building for public purposes in the world. The building is of the Italian Rennaissance order of architecture. It has three stories and a dome, and covers three and a half acres of ground. Its dimensions are 470 × 340 feet, and the height of the wall 69 feet.
The Library, or collection of books, was founded in 1800, Congress appropriating $5,000 for that purpose. When the Capitol building was fired by the British, this Library was nearly destroyed. It also suffered from fire in 1851.
The Library of Congress purchases rare books from all lands. Its chief source of supply is through the copyright law, which requires that two copies of every book copyrighted should be sent to the Library. It has acquired by gift or purchase the Library of Thomas Jefferson, of 6,700 volumes, for which $23,950 was paid, the Force Historical Collection in 1865, the Smithsonian Library in 1867, and the Toner Collection in 1882.
The Smithsonian division is largely composed of books on scientific subjects. The law library of over 92,000 books yet remains in the Capitol building.
The Force Library is a fine collection of books, manuscripts, and papers concerning the early history of America, especially of the Colonial times.
Every picture, photograph, piece of music, engraving, dramatic production, pamphlet, or brochure published in the United States can be found here in the copyright edition. The collection is the largest in the western hemisphere, comprising about 1,000,000 books and pamphlets. The Library has forty-five miles of shelving, which is more than twice its present requirements. There are in the book division 207 employees, and in the copyright-rooms 49. The caretakers number 116. The appropriations by Congress for service, and for the printing, binding, and purchasing of books, amount to not less than $1,000,000 annually.