The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1890-03-30
THE WHITE HOUSE.
The Important Question Now on
at Washington.
SHALL THERE BE A NEW ONEe
A Plain, Practical Description of the Home
ofPresident Harrison and
Baby Mckee.

"All houses wherein men have lived and died
Are haunted houses. Through the open doors
The harmless phantomS on their errands guide,
With feet thatmak on sound upon the floors"
There are more guests at table than the host
Invited; the illuminated hall
Is thronged with quiet, in offensive ghosts,
AS silent as the pictures Oh the wall"
SHALL We HAVE NEW WHITE HoUsEs
All Washington is talking about 1t.
Mrs. Harrison has expressed her senti,
ments as to the cramped condition Of the
present structure and subcommittee Of
the Senate with Spooner at its head is
considering plans and investigating the
condition of the present structure. There
Is a strong sentiment against changing
she present building, and the ghosts Of the
Presidents of the past are whispering
warming words into our statesmen's ears
rs they walk to the Mansion. Fat, pussy
Sald-headed John Adams in knee breeches
and CATERS is giving his experiences as
he opened the building in $500 and his prim
wife Abigail protests against the mutila
ton OF the East room III which she dried
her husbands shirts Red-headed, freckled
faced Thomas Jefferson seems ready to
3ump out of his frame in Elijah Haldord's
COON when the subject is mentioned in
his presence and the ghost of Dolly Madi-
son in high red turban and gorgeous gown
Changes its features form pleasant to severe
ut the thought.
The White House is part of the history
Of the country. Within it John
Quincy Adams schemed with Henry Clay
against Andrew jackson and before the
eaIne hreplaces that now warm the shins
of Harrison, old Hickory sat in wrapper
and slippers and smoked his corn cob pipe
1T was here that the Presidents grand
father passed his last hours and here foxy,
1apper, scheming Martin Van Buren, laid
his plans for reelection which he didn't
get; here Frank Pierce told stories and
here James Buchanan strutted through
his four short years Of greatness. 1t was
here that the great Abraham Lincoln
lived: upon these walls are photographed
the words of Grant and Garfield. 1t was
here that President Cleveland showed
himself man and here to-day President
harrison is making the history which
will tix the fate of his party at the next
presidential election.
Mo- The ghosts of the great statesman as
vel as those of Presidents and their wives
protest against the doing away of the
White House. 1t may be added to or it
may be turned into the business offices
Of the President, but it will never be de-
stroyed. There is no doubt but that it is
small When John Adams occupied it the
country had a population OF little more
than i've millions. The United States has
now nearly seventy millions and the bus
mess of the Presidents Office has so grown
that nearly the whole of the Executive
Mansion is occupied by it. When Abigail
Adams came into It she had too much room
Mrs. Harrison has barely space to turn
around in, and she has to receive her
friends in one of the halls.
THE WHITE HOUSE TO-DAY
e. J. :rrh 1-
Is the landlord. Every man and woman
who comes to Washington thinks he has
right to enter his house without knocking
They tramp over his carpets with theil
muddy boots, ask all sorts of impudent
questions of his servants and the chances
are that they carry away bit of the
furniture Every now and then piece as
big as your hand is clipped out of one of the
lace curtains by relic-hunter and during
President Llncoln's time a woman was
caught in the very same act Of cutting the
costly curtains Of the East room. Mr.
Lincoln looked at her sorrowfully anC
bold her that the best thing she could dc
was to leave the city. 1t is the same will
she cushions Of the furniture and it is py
no means safe to let sightseers move abou
save under the eye of a guide. These
guides are the Presidents servants ant
Bhey have all they can do to keep tn
crowds out of the most private parts Of tn
uOuSc- NOb 4u4ICQuCuIly NlolbOTS WANT
zee the kitchen, and all the home life tina
Mrs. Harrison gets must come from
klittle space on the second floor.
Let me give you
PLAIN, PRACTICAL DESCRIPTION
pf the White House as it is. The Presi
dents grounds cover many acres. They
are surrounded by an high iron fence witt
great iron gates and the grounds ar
dlled with fine old oak trees. On one side
of them is the Treasury, sombre and tomb
like, and on the other side is the bigges
granite building of the world, the thirteen
nillion-dolar structure known as the
state, way and navy department To tn,
south and back of the White House be
Fond wide park flows the muddy Poto
mac and in front runs the busy street O
Pennsylvania avenue. The White House
covers a third of an acre. 1t is long,
rectangular almost squatty two-story
structure with a wide porte cochere hav
Ing floor as big as that of the averag,
fwo-story house. This porte cochere i
upheld by Ionic columns as big around a
the largest oaks Of the forest and its roo
supported by these is of the Grecian order
Around the roof of the White House Their,
Is a marble fence about as high as table
and made of round marble pillars the siz
of baseball club. The building has
basement under it and two rows of bi,
rectangular windows, look out of til,
stories above this The basement win
6ows are square and the most of them lool
ss though they needed washing. Wild
walks lead up in the shape of half moor
from Pennsylvania avenue to the Whit
House and you walk half the length of tn
House. before you get to to the from
door. As you do SO you can look RICH
down into the basement and if your eve
are sharp about every other day of tn
week you will see number of colored girl
here with irons in their hands r0liShiu
the Presidents shirts and putting finish
ing touches on baby Mchee's unmentiou-
ebles. If on leaving the mansion you wall
over toward the state, war and navy depart
snents your nostrils may be saluted witt
the hog and hominy which is being cooked i
hhe Presidents kitchen aud you may SCI
ihe Presidents colored lady chief produc
ihg those exquisite dishes which are NAL
ing state dinners so famous. In othe
words you see directly into the kitchen G
hf the White House. II is not half bi
Enough for an establishment of our Pres
dent and it has none of the modern col
veniences for keeping dinners war;
which the best restaurants Of the countr
contain. There is big range at one sid
of the room and there is another lit
range in the scullery beyond. The cool
ing utensils are of copper and the wal
are plastered and not tiled.
The entire front Of
THE BASEMENT OF THE WHITE HOUSE
Is taken up with kitchens and laundr
The back has the store room, a furnac
and whisper it low in the ear of our Meth
dist brother, a billiard room. Billiar,
have been played in the White House ev