The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-08-03
MILES OF GRAPE.
A Quarter of 7 Million Yards of Drapery-
What the Work Costs.

What the Work Costs.
Wilmington Del Special.
"How much material does it take to properly
drape the public buildings of Washington, on an
occasion like this.' your correspondent asked of
a prominent dealer, Of this city, who furnished
nearly all the goods used for this purpose.
"A great many thousand yards" he said. You
would be surprised to know how many. One
gets a pretty good idea of the size of public
buildings from the amount of material and labor
that it takes to drape them. Take the White
House, for instance. 1t took 5000 yards this
time to drape it. Part of this was black bun
ting, and part a cheaper class of goods. 1t re-
quired, also, a large force of men, to do the
work. At the Treasury the number of yards of
material was about 4, 900. The Interior Depart
ment, which is very handsomely draped. took
5,O0O yards. 1t is one of the hanGsomest jobs of
this class of work that / have ever seen. The
State, War, and Navy building took still more.
Probably 5000 yards.r
And the Capitolg'
drape it; perhaps there ought to be more than
that. We put 1900 yards on when Garfield
died. 1T is not so deliberately draped this time.
Had the remains of General Grant been brought
here for internent the draping would have been
much more elaborate, not only at the Capitol,
but elsewhere"
About how many yards do you suppose are
used FOR draping in the city on an occasion Of
this kindr
About q quarter of a million, Isuppose; prob
ably it won't run so high as that,this time, though
II the funeral and burial were to take place here
1t would surpass anything that we have ever
seen in Washing ton in this line
rs there any difficulty experienced in supply
ing the demand for mourning goods on an occa-
sion of this kindY
Yes; very serious difficulty. We have man
aged to meet the demand by making great effort.
We saw that this sad event was coming weeks
ago, and LAID In a large supply for this especial
purpose. Then on the morning Of General
Grants death our manager hurried over to Bal
timore and picked up all the lots of this black
material that he could find. The result is that
we have been able to supply all who called upon
US and help out our neighbors besides The,
stock of Black goods will be very low. however.
in this co1ntTyy~bythe end Of this week. The
Tdemand in New York for this class of goods is
something enormous, especially since it is
learned that the funeral and burial are to take
place there"
What kind of goods are used for this pur-
pose?"
BLACK calico is, mostly, though in some cases
black bunting is freely used. AT the Treasury
and White House there is a good deal of bunting
used this time. 1t costs more than double than
what the calico does, however, and so is used
sparlngly. The calico costs s cents ayard, while
bunting costs IL cents; quite a difference, you
see, when you come to take it by the thousand
yards"
of course the cost of draping a building does
not end with the materials"
mo, indeed. The work of putting it in place
costs a good deal. 1t requires skilled men-men
who are accustomed to this sort of work and who
make it a study. They are in most cases uphol-
sterers and professional diapers, assisted by a
large force of less experienced men,"
Where do you get these men who do this
class of work.
''They are usually the employees Of large fur
niture establishments and that class of business
houses. Most of this draping of large buildings
is done by contract. When an event of this
kind takes place the representatives Of large
furniture, carpet and upholstery establishments
go TO the department officials having charge of
the buildings and make their propositions for
the work. In many cases they are authorized
to 60 ahead and make a fIe job regardless of
cost. In other cases the officials set a limit ofcost.
Then when this figure is known the designers.
and chief diapers make their plans. sketch
them out briefly and set their men to work.
There is real art in this kind of work, and oeca-
sionally you find a man who has an especial apti-
tude for it. Such men command high prices on
an occasion OF this sort. Indeed, almost anybody
who can drape with any degree of skill is kept
hard at work now day and night"
$50 that it costs to drape public buildings
here"
"Well, a good many thousand dollars. To
drape the White House alone cost about $500
this time. That, of course, is the smallest of
any of the government jobs. The Treasury is a
much larger building, and takes a larger guam
tity of material and more work. AT the Int
rior Department the diapers have been given
carte blanche to 60 ahead and make a good job.
The work there will cost at least $1,000 this
time. So when you take this into consideration
and think of the number of buildings there are to
drape, including such immense structures AS the
Capitol and the State, War and Navy building,
you can see that it costs a great deal of money"