WASHINGTON - Even in the august company of the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights and the Constitution's Preamble, the second page of the Constitution is the most striking document in the Rotunda of the National Archives this weekend. The two-century-old parchment was on display Friday for the first time in 12 years. It's now in a state-of-the-art protective case that makes it crystal clear and reveals the parchment's true bone-white color. The other pages of the Constitution, not yet treated to the new technology, look crinkled, tea-colored and all of their 212 years. "The documents are in remarkably good condition," said Norvell Jones, head of conservation at the National Archives. "The Declaration of Independence is quite faded now, but we don't believe any additional deterioration has happened since they moved to the National Archives."

Over the last few years, document caretakers noticed the display cases beginning to wear out. So the National Archives, private companies and other agencies developed clearer cases with better protection. The results are sleek, titanium, aluminum and glass cases that will sit lower so people in wheelchairs can easily see the contents. The $200,000 cases will not only keep out harmful UV rays, but also monitor the humidity, pressure of the atmosphere and amount of oxygen inside the case, said Richard Judson, project manager for the National Archives. Before all the documents are fitted into the new cases, the Archives will close July 5, 2001, for two years of renovations. When the work is done, the Rotunda will feature all the documents - including the full Constitution - in the new encasements.

Currently, the Archives' display has room only for the first and fourth pages of the Constitution. Page 2, which was brought out for a day in 1988, will be on display in its new case through Sunday. Page 3 is in a storage vault and won't be shown until 2003. The Declaration of Independence and both pages of the Bill of Rights still can be seen in their old cases until the museum closes for renovation. While the second page - which includes most of Article I and the beginning of Article II - doesn't resonate as well as "We the people" in the preamble, it does include important provisions, such as Congress's powers, establishment of a Post Office and the establishment of a president. "Without this page," said Michael Beschloss, a presidential scholar of the documents, "Al Gore and George W. Bush might not be running for president, but king or chancellor or prime minister." And, as Beschloss said at Friday's ceremony, while the words of the past are one of the country's greatest accomplishments, the technological feats of this century have helped to carry on that tradition. "For 21 decades, this document has protected us, and we've protected it," he said. "Benjamin Franklin would be proud."

On the Net: http://www.nara.gov/charters_reencasement/home.html