The Abbeville banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1847-1869, 1859-01-13
rrE PRESIDENTS DOMESTIC ARRANG rMyvr

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TIE PRESIDENTS DOMESTIC ARRANGEMENT.
y correspondent of the Boston tuuli,r
writing from Washington, tells how much
e Pr silrnt Euchanans salary vocs CIR
his expenses, ana how little don't. Ia
SAYS:
'lh" truth is. that up to the time nf
i Mr.. Polk the With House was not decent.
lv furnished. Congress then made an ap
preparation, which, being judiriousIy cx
pended, improved things somewhat. After
that, no considerable appropriation WAS
made till the year 1853, when some 500
600 was appropriated for heating, vcnri,.
ting, painting, cniarging and re furnishing
the house. The responsibility Of applying
tins appropriation to the purpose intended
by Congress WAS devoIved "n Captain L"e,
then os the Top"graph.:al Corps Of the
army, and we think the morcv wa, cx;cn-
'!cd to TIE satisfaction Of every body. For
III" first iiT:e the house WAS mad. comfnr-
table to live IN. The appliance FIR warm
ing the house " hot water, am: whic!
we:e furnished - Walwor;h & Na>"n, Of
Your city, cost, It is said, more than ten
th"usan! dollars, including expenses cr pwt
, ting up. The furniture Of the hous.. is
substantially the same carpets and all,
an! was purchased by Captain Lee, in
1888
The silver in Tie house, am told, is
! mostly that h"usEt in Paris, ,!uinc the
administrator Of Mr.. Monroe. There are
Lu, two or three pictures III the house. On"
in the rcd room, Il prtr:,it of WASHINGTON
which was cut from the frame al d secured
by Mrs. M"i>on when Washington was
occ''rcd hy Tic british, during tlc WAT of
1872. Another, in the Presidents Ollie.
potrait OF Ro!ivcr tie South American
ra'rcit. There arc no household ornament.
about the ;,or5c, except vase, catered
here and there on mantc!s anl articles
brought from Japan by Commodore Perry.
The White House, in word. is furnished
more like u first class hotel than first .c,as,
private residence. There are articles nf us..
in abnn''amcc. rich and massive. but no .r,i
clcs Of art or adornmcnt.
But to return to our question. What
does it cost the President each wear +, keen,
np The Executive ,aan.i.n ? First t,.
l'rcslicnt receives twenty five tllpmsanI dol
lars salary. Next, he received a house var
den and stables free of cxpcnse. The house
is furnished and the garden cultivated by
Government. Every article Of furniture
necessary is furnished hy Tie United States.
lhc Government also lights and heats the
house. ltpays for Il steward to take care
of the public property, and a fireman
and no other domestic servants. The cx
ccutivc Office is in the Executive mansion
Hnd !"r The former the government provides
private secretary, clerks to the secretary.
TWO messengers and n porter. For all do,
mcstic servants, however, except s,ew.rJ
and fireman, the President must pay out of
his own pocket. lie must pay for his table
servants, his female servants, his coach,nau
and grooms, DC. DC, as any person does
who employs such re,inue Of servants
lie supplies his table with the exception of
garden vegetables, as any other private
citizen does, by his own purse. So with
his stables. In short, the only things furn-
ished by Government are house and furni
ture, fuel and lights, steward and fireman,
garden vegetables and flowers. All else is
matter of private expense.
With these items as a basis of coIcul,-
ton, any gentleman who keeps eighteen or
more servants Of both sexes, who kecps =
stable filled with horses, as does Mr.. Bu,..
hanan, who dimes persons, besides his own
family, every day, and once week oivcs
Il dinner to forty invited guests, can form
some notion how much, ont Of twen,v-fvc
thousand dollars, remains at the end Of :,
year.