The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1889-02-02
A CRITICAL CHEF.
AN INTERVIEW WITH AN Ex-WHlTE
HOUSE STEWARD AND COOK.
Tho Kitchen of the Executive Mansion and
Its Anticipated Utensils-Eow President
Arthur Dined. and His Sons irregulari-
Especial Correspondence

Especial Correspondence
WASHINGTON, Jan. %. - There is one
man in Washington who feels pretty
sure of receiving an appointment under
President Harrison. He is Alexander
Forth, rotund, vivacious Frenchman,
who was chief cook ut the White
House for two years He has already applied
to Gen. Harrison for the stewardship of the
!. executive mansion and has in his possession
= such polite and satisfactory letter from the
president-elect that he reasonably entertains
hopes of securing the appointment The
present steward, a colored man named Will
Jams, holds three offices and draws three sal
aries. He is steward cook and messenger,
giving him pay of about $500 year
Mr.. Forth wants to be steward and chief
cook in one but says he could hardly afford
to take the stewardship alone. The salary for
that post is but 81 800 n year, and caterer
so competent and prosperous as Mr. Forth
deserves better pay. The cook usually draws
800 month, but as this comes out of the
presidents own pocket the salary depends
upon the liberality of the chief executive and
niis ideas as to the Importance of this secre-
tary of the interior, who has been sometimes
called the ninth cabinet minister, the presi-
dents private secretary of course taking rank
Is eighth. The duties of the steward are
almost entirely below stairs He has charge
,)f the kitchen and laundry, the private din
Ing room and state dining room, the servants
and the marketing. He Is also responsible
for the furniture and plate, which are owned
by the government, and must give bonds for
the faithful discharge of his trust.
Mr.. Forth says the official household con-
sists of sixteen or seventeen servants, all of
whom, excepting the cook and coachman, are
paid by the government There is the
steward, the chief cook, an assistant cook, n
butler, two dishwashers, three walters, three
laundry women, II chambermaid, coach
man, hoStler and two or three colored men
of all work. The pay ranges from So to $50
month The presidents wife usually brings
trusted servant from her home to take care
of the chambermaids work None OF these
, servants, except the chambermaid and stew
ard, sleep i'll the house. There are no quar-
tiers for Them They are not expected 10 eat
at the White House, either, but Of course do,
for it is not in the nature of kitchen
servants to take their meals at their
own expense None of the presidents
have made any objection to this,
though the maintenance of so large house
hold makes pretty large grocery bills. If
Mr. Forth shall be appointed steward under
Gen. Harrison says he will do all the
marketing himself, and is confident he
can save the president a good deal of money
III the course OF year. One OF the trSt
things the new steward will insist on is tEe
purchase of a new range. The cooking stove
now in use in the White House kitchen is an
Anticipated affair which was bought in the
administration of President johnson, nearly u
quarter of a century ago, and of course 1t Is
without modern improvements. Worse still,
says Mr.. Forth, it gets hot or cold without APP
parent provocation, and sometimes smokes
dreadfully.
Of course Mrs Harrison will not have
much to do with this stove, but she Is such a
tidy housewife and so fond of having every
thing pertaining to her household Just
I right" that Mr.. Forth will be sure 10 find
powerful ally in her on the question Of
kitchen reform The plumbing in the old
house is bad, too-not at all modern or eff
cient, and needs thorough overhauling. In
fact the whole house, up stairs and down, is
ill suited to the purposes for which it is de-
signed, and altogether too small. The home"
part of the building consists of but half a
dozen stiff, rather cherries rooms, with only
one parlor. and that the end of a corridor
lighted 10y but one window
Mr. Forth, very intelligent Frenchman
who has Travelled much in Europe, but who
has wholesome respect for American pride
in all things American, cautiously asked me:
"Why do not your people pay their president
q larger salary ana give him better house
to live nt have been in all the capitals of
Europe. continued the former chef of the
White House. land there is not one of them,
not even tho humoost, in which the head of
the state is 50 poorly paid and disposed as
in your great country. You pay your pros-
dent but $4,000 Il year, out Of which must
come many acknowledgements, The president
of the French republic gets salary or 100000
francs year, or $4,000, and Is allowed
100000 francs a year FOR household expenai-
lures LIo lives il the Elysee palace, twelve
times as big rs your White House Twenty
thousand people can be comfortably enter
tanned at Il reception in this palace, and |
have seen Tia, White House dangerously
crowded with 1000 persons.
"Every time there is a reception at your
presidents house | am nervous. fear dis
aster should there be a fire or even an
alarm of fire, bringing on a panic, many,
many lives must inevitably be sacrificed.
There are only two doors to the main floor,
one to the carriage entrance on the north
side and one { the grounds on the south
In the first are narrow storm doors which
would make it impossible for people to get
out rapidly The vesJIOule would become
blocked in a few minutes Escape by the
south door would be Utmost impossible. II
leads from the blue room, in winch the presi-
dent and party stand to receive their guests,
down a winding flight of steps. The blue
room is always as full of people as it can be,
and many chairs and sofas are put there for
their accommodation. These would impede
progress in that direction, and make the peo-
pie fall over each other.
''The only remaining exit is an improvised
one through window ard over wooden
bridge In a panic but few persons would be
able to get out by it. Some might escape by
the conservatory or the windows in the west
end of the building, but nearly all the guests
are congregated in the east room, whose win
dows are full story above the yard and
brick paved court. Jumping from these
windows would certainly result in many
deaths and injuries. Whenever receptions
x,,o,.n l,all !, tl, I-bita Houca during preSi-