Southern Argus. [volume] (Columbus, Miss.) 1834-1842, 1840-09-01

ne Circular aad Blue rooms; puts Rp :
vindrw curtains in the Majors an ~. Fl
Buren's room !, making and lying !
lown carpets making beh-pnEls, pukeha- I
ing diyans, cleaning and repairing N
ieliers. pier tables with French figures. i
column astral lamps, cornucopla bracket
branches. mantel branches, mantel branch /
amps, candlesticks and pIaieaus. l 4
think, sir, the farmers, mechanics, and /
aborers 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 a single dollar included in he f
foregoing bills which can with pfopriety
be said to have been expended ia "Efpalfs
for the Presidents House. ! heaRd
gentleman remark, with the mos ting +
severity, while speaking on the
ssrepaiTs Of the Preslden
s.It " is the duty Of the t1oTernu1ent Nfta9 /
first built the house to keep II fsyepairs and |
shelter its occupant from the rains and
as;nds of hearen." Don't you believe sir,
that the President adopts most admirable
mode TO shelter himself from the rains
and winds Of heaven by expendlng the
appropriations made by Congress for re-
pairs of the Presidents House, in buying
silver paper. scarlet damask, and green
silk; in fixing 'bell-pulls,' cleaning or re-
gliding pateaus and cornucopio bracket
branches taking down and taking up
CARPETS. and in removing the furniture
from the Audience room to the Majors
room and from the latter 10 the Audience
room The honest truth about the whole
matter is this, sir. Scarcely $500 have
been expended during the last twelve years
in making legitimate, real, permanent
srepairs Of the Presidents House, excep-
| ting on one occasion for painting the en-
tire building inside, for which a special
appropriation Of $3,482 was voted BY
Congress. The Representatives of the
People have been gulled-yes actually
guzled, with the idea that large annual
appropriations have been necessary foI
"repairs of the Presidents House, that il
might not fall to peices and go to RUIN /;
and when those appropriations have beer
made for repairs of tie Presidents
House, they have invariably been ex
pended in the manner have indicated.
But, sir, the phraseology of the act Q
Congress passed Sd March, 1887, as be
fore mentioned, embraces the word alter
ations?' | can tell you what the wor
signifies at the palace. If the broad wal
of the East Room have been hung vii
paper of the fine lemon color. with nc
cloth border and if the lemon COLI
should be prescribed by the palace dal
dies as questionable, the word alter
tons would in this supposed case app
with remarkable clearness, and won
enable the master of the House TO subs
tute "a rich, chaste and beautiful SLY
!, paper, with golden borders, for the u
fashionable "Iemon color with a rich clio
, border It sometimes happens that
:, alterations suggested to the President
: so various in their character that he IS
= able to decide on their respective merit
y In difficulties Of this sort he has be
y known to call in the aid of a profession
: artist, by whose plans and drawings
. mind ofthe President may be aided in
= rivirg at safe conclusions. Hence,
. mongst the official vouchers before m
= was not surprised to find the following
n "Dr. the United States to Rob't. Mills,
q 1887, July, for draining Of
plans, &c. ofthe Presidents
n House @zu
y ROBERT MILLS
Received in full of Thomas L. SIN
N The various suggestions, drawn
= plans, &C., submitted to the Presid
&c finally resulted in the adoption and C
= pletion of some very material ''dtterdtsO
in the palace; the specifications whe
20 have been duly detailed in several rep
oo made by the Commissioner of Public b
90 90 dinns TO Congress. The report of
20 officer. dated in December, 1887, sis
on the subject of the Presidents house
M follows
M sThe arcaded screen dividing The c.
dor from the hall in this building has
so completed, as also the screen at the n
entrance into the hall, both of which
ne so essential to the comfort of the hous
To add further to this an air furnace
5us'' been constructed in the basement s.
W and conduits formed from the same.
to convey the heated air into the corr
below and above, as also the great d
room and other rooms.
"'Twas pitiful, twas wondrous pit
that none of the former Presidents
ding Gen. Jackson-neyer discovered
90 an "arched screen, dividing the cor
from the hail." and a screen at the
entrance into the hall, were SO essen
the comfort of the Homse. s''Twas ST
twas passing strange" that an @ai
mace had not been constructed, wi
peoples cash, al an earlier day, by II
- On Grafton of which the occupant of tas
- " ace would have reduced his fuel bills
~ ~ The Presidents Commissioners, !
. : - e. report, dated in December, 1888, IN
= us of sundry other important alter
within the palace, constructed during
N year, amongst which is the following
M I'm the basement story a reserUo
~ M been constructed, achich, By mean
- " double forcing pump, supplies the X
!, m pantry, BATHS, &c. Nth fine Pul
- ter"
90 90 All! sir, thought we should sos
20 them the luxuries Of the palace w0
eneIs' incomplete. AS early as the days
tSn mer the delights of palace bath
- 2. highly appreciated. He writes
which bath was prepared for Ulysses, the
ACT Of Laertes. at the palace of Gree, an
are de- after he had enjoyed he luxury