Spending Uncle Sam's Money.

New York illustrator T. Dart Walker produced this image for the front cover of the December 23, 1899, issue of Leslie’s Weekly. The Senate now owns the original painting. Leslie’s technicians transferred the watercolor into a halftone image, a process that gained popularity among illustrated newspapers in the late 19th century. In the scene, Walker depicts the Senate Chamber as it appeared at the opening of a session of Congress. Senators have just introduced bills for consideration during the session, and the large number of papers suggests a heavy workload lies before them. The artist captured the view from the press gallery on the north side of the Chamber. In the lower half of the print, three Senate staff members sit in front of the presiding officer’s desk (not shown). Most likely these men are, from left to right, the secretary of the Senate, the legislative clerk, and the reading clerk. Senators discuss the business at hand, and two Senate pages can be seen–these young boys ran errands for the members and handled other minor tasks as assigned.