The weekly Portage sentinel. [volume] (Ravenna, Ohio) 1854-1861, 1859-01-20
How one Presldent Llve..

The correspondent Of the Boston Courier
furnishes an interesting account Of the PresI.
dents mansion, and bic mode of life, from
which We extract the following paragraphs :
"To a large majority of all the strangers
to the federal metropolis, who visit Wash.
ington, there is no object which excites so
much curiosity as the executive mansion.--
The truth is. that up TO the time Of Mr.. Polk,
The White House was not decently furnished.
Congress then made an appropriation, which
being judiciously expended, improved things
somewhat. After that, no considerable ap.
preparation was made till the year 1853,
when some fifty thousand dollars were ap.
propriated for heating, ventilating, painting,
enlarging and furnishing the house. The
silver In the house, ON told, is mostly that
bought in Paris, during the administration Of
Mr.. Monroe. There are but two or three
pictures In the house. One in the red room,
a portrait of Washington, which was cut
from the frame and secured by Mrs. Madison,
when Washington was occupied by this
British during the wor Of 1912. Another, In
the Presidents office, portrait of Bolivar,
the South American patriot. There are no
household ornaments about the house, except
vases scattered here and there on mantles,
and articles brought from Japan by Com.
Perry. The White House in o word, is
furnished more like hotel than first class
private residence. There are articles of use
in abundance, and massive, but no articles
of art and adornment.
The President receives twenty FIVE thou.
sand dollars salary. Next, he receives
house, garden and stables, free of expense.
The house is furnished and the garden cul-
tivated by the government. Every article
Of furniture is supplied by the United States.
The Government also lights and heats the
house. 1t pays for steward to take care Of
the public property, and fireman, and for
no other domestic servants. The executive
Office is in the executive mansion, and for
the former the Government provides pri-
vate secretary, clerks TO the secretary, two
messengers and porter. For oil domestic
servants, however, except steward and fire.
men, the President must pay out Of his own
pocket. He must pay for his cooks, his
butler, his stable servant, his female ser.
wants, his coachman, grooms, &C., as any
other person does when he employs such
retnue Of servants. He 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 furnished by the Government
are house and furniture, fuel and lights,
steward and fremun, garden vegetables and
flowers. All else is matter OF private ex-
pense. ......
With these items, as basis of calcula-
ton. any gentleman who keeps eighteen or
more servants Of both sexes, who keeps u
stable with horses, as does Mr.. Buchanan,
who dimes persons, besides his own family,
every day, and once week gives dinner
to forty invited guests, can form some no.
ton how much, out OF twenty five thousand
dollars, remains at the end OF o year. A
private gentleman who entertains freely has
only TO estimate the large expenditures
which the office imT oses, which are not d.
volved, even for the same ti:irgS, on citi.
zen, and fair estimate is reached"