The Hawk-eye and Iowa patriot. (Burlington, Iowa) 1839-1843, 1840-09-03

X
md removing furniture from the audience room
10 the Majors room, and from this room TO the
Audience rom; taking down window curtains,
washing and making them again, for the Square
room; taking down window curtains and TAX
ing up carpets, in the Circular and Blue rooms;
putting up window curtains in tho Major'srooa
and Mr. nj. Van Buren's room; making and lay-
Eg down carpets; making bell-pulls, purchas-
ing diyans cleaning and repairing chandeliers,
pier tables with French figures, column astral
lamps, cornucopia bracket branches, mantel
branch lamps, candlesticks and plateaus. /
think, sir, the farmers, mechanics, and laborers
will Judge the foregoing items to be very strange
kind Of repairs of the Presidents HOUSE. They
will have no hesitation in pronouncing that
there is scarcely single dollar included in the
foregoing bills which can with propriety be said
to have been expended in repairs for the Presi-
dents HOUSE" heard a gentleman remark,
with NEST cutting severity, while speaking on
the subject OF repairs of the Presidents House.
that it was the duty of the Government who
first built the house to keep it in repair, and
shelter its occupant from the rains and minds of
heuoen.' Don't you believe, sir, that the Pre-.
sidont adopts 4 most admirable mode to 'shcl-
ter" himself from the rain aud minds Of heaoen
by expanding the appropriations made by Con-
gress for repairs of the Presidents House, in
buying silcef paper, scarlet damask and green
silk; in fixing .bellpulLs,' cleaning or regilding
plateaus and cornucopia bracket branches; TAX
ing down and putting up window curtains; lay
ing down and taking up carpets, and IN remov-
ing the furniture from the Audience room to the
Ma or's room, and from the latter to the AUDI
ence room? The honest truth about the whole
matter is this, sir Scarcely $500 have been ez-
pended during the last twelve years in making
legitimate, real, permanent repairs of the Pro-
sdent's House, excepting on one occasion for
painting the entire building inside aHd outside
for which special appropriation OF S3,4S2 was
voted by Congress. The Representatives of the
People have been gulled-yes sir, actually gull
3D. with the idea that large annual appropria-
tons have been necessary for repairs OF the
Presidents House, that it might not fall TO
pieces and go to RUM and when those appro-
priations have been made for repairs OF the Pre-
sident's House, they have invariably been ex-
pended in the manner have indicated. sl
But sir, the phraseology of the act of Congress
passed Sd March, 1887, before mentioned,
embraces the word alterations as well as the
word REPAIRS What do you understand by
the term 'dlterdti0ns?' lean tell you what that
word signifies at the palace. If the broad walls
of the East room have been hung with paper
of the lemon color, arith rich cloth border, and
if the lemon color should be prescribed by the
palace dandies as questionable, the word IA
terations' would in this supposed case apply
with remarkable clearness, and would enable
| the master Of the House to substitute "a rich,
chaste and beautiful silver paper, with goi-
! den borders, for the questionable slemDn col.
or, with rich cloth border II sometimes hap.
pens that the alterations suggested to the Pre-
sdent are SO various in their character that hc
is unable to decide on their respective merits.
I In difficulties of this sort he has been known to
call in the aid of professional artist, by whose
plans and drawings the mind of the President
may be aided in arriving ut safe conclusions.
Hence, amongst the official vouchers before nae
was not surprised to find the following
sDr. the United States to Robert Mills, Or.
1887, July, for draining Of plans, &C. of
the Presidents House $40 90
i Received the above in full Of Thomas L. Smith.
ROBERT MILLS
The various suggestions, drawings, plans, &c.
submitted to the President, finally resulted in
the adoption and completion of some very ma
terial alterations in the palace; the specifica
tions whereof have been duly detailed in sever
al reports made by the Commissioner OF Public
Buildings 10 Congress. The report of that Off
Ger, dated in December, 1887, states, on the SUBJ
iect Of the Presidents house, as follows: a..
THE arcaded screen dividing the corridor
from the hall in this building has been complet-
ed, as also the screen at the north entrance into
the hall, both of which were so essential to the
comfort of the house. To add further to this an
air furnace has been constructed in the base.
ment story, and conduits formed from the same
so as to convey the heated air into the corridors
below and above, as also the great dining room
and other rooms.' ..saa4st f.g-
''Twas pitiful, twas wondrous pitIful,' that
none of the former Notwithstanding Gen.
= eral Jackson-never discovered that an 'arcad-
! I;,;J; fbo 6orf from hal
and screen at the north entrance into the hall.
were so essential tn the comfort of the House.
Twas strange, twas passing strange that an
'air furnace had not been constructed with
the;people's cash, at earlier day by the opera
ton of which the occupant of the palace would
have reduced his fuel bills. .s ias-
The Presidents commissioner, by his report,
dated in December, 1898, informs us Of sundry
other important alterations within the palace,
constructed during that year, amongst which is
the following ...e.t.. 50 ~ -,ga.se.s.
In the basement story areserroir has been con
structed, uuhich, by means Of a double forcing
pump, supplies the kitchen, pantry, BATHS, dc
j, ,rith fine pure ,Dater
All! sir, / thought we should soon arrive al
the Grecian Baths, for without them the luxu
, RIGS of the palace would be incomplete. As ear
, " as the days of Homer the delights of 1aiac
j bath were highly appreciated. He writes tina
a bath was prepared iof Ulysses, the son oil Lael
ties, at the palace Of Gree, and that, after h
} had enjoyed the luxury of the bath, he was an
J ointed with costly and delightful perfumes, an
attired in gay apparel am not a little surpris
} ed that Mr. Van Buren, is the FIRST President VIII
: made the dicovery that the pleasures Of th
555 warm or tepd bath are the proper accorhpani
ments Of a palace lfe For II appears that on
y former Presidents were content with the apPl
cation, when necessary, Of the simple shove
bath Albeit one Of them Mr. Adams) indulg
ed his aristocratic propensities, almost ever
morning, the weather being favorable, by arts
tocratcally making some go or 100 rods, be
m tween day-break and SUNRISE to the banks Q
W the Potomac, and then and there aristocratica
" lavng his aristocraic body after the manne
Of the ante6iluyians, in the acaters Of tie ficey
And on some occasions, more aristocraticall
still, swimming across the stream, about on
mile and three quarters wide. At the roya
baths. in some OF the palaces Of Europe, SCI
wants are in attendance who Immediately afte
" the princely bathcr leaves the layer, gentl
-, whip his back and limbs with wet birch rod
9 remove the hard skin from his feet with pumic
stone e, anoint his body with triple distillee Ar
: bic; and present little white wine. sugar an
. citron, TO invigorate him before he iapses in
y ~ sweet sumber. presume the luxury OF all the.
~ royal practices will be duly appreciated at tt