St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1892-05-27
The Presidents Abode One Of
the Most Unhealthy Of
Places.
Mr.. Harrison'S Pump Handle
Business Every Day at 1
So O'Clock.
Mrs. Mckee and Her Two
Bright Children, Benja-
min and Mary. u
Ten Per Cent and Lu1acy--
A Story About Congress-
man Johnson.
Special TO the Globe.

special 10 the GLOBE.
WASHINGTON, May 24.-There are
pleasanter places on this lovely green
earth to live III than the White house.
L suppose there are none of us but
would consent to overlook all the draw
backs of the house if the people should
rise ell maSSe and demand our accept
ance of the presidency. but till the
people do rise We may console ourselves
with the reflection that after all the
grapes are sour. In the first place the
presidents house is built where malaria
microbes, or germs, or whatever they
are, most do congregate. Its back
windows look across to the Potomac and
the Washington monument. and invite
the fell disease. That's one serious
drawback. Then. the house is not
nearly large enough for the dear public
and the presidents family both. The
| private apartments are very cramped,
and really till the president gave up the
old cabinet room for library there was
no private reception room. If you are
calling ON the presidents family. you
! meet them in one of the parlOrs down
stairs, and the dear public may come III
at any time. 1t usually does, too. and
it visits the White House i'll droves. !.
Three times week Mr.. Harrison
holds MONDAY reception. Precisely
at o'clock ne comes down the stairs
/ from his Office, and, pausing at the door
only long
Enough to Timber Up
his arm and adjust his smile, takes his
| stand in one end of the great reception
room. Then, for a quarter Of an hour,
| that right arm goes up and down like a
pump handle. People pass as fast as
they can, smiling their prettiest and
/ starring their hardest, and never day
passes but some old man pauses long.
Eenough to say, he voted for the presi-
| dents grandfather.
But, toreturn to the subject of calling
| on the HarrisonS. There has scarcely
! been time since the White house was
bnilt that the presidents family have
|, been so easy TO see. Mrs. Harrison is
not visible to any. one these days. Even
kinsmen scarcely ever see her, for
conversation brings Oh exhaust
Ling coughing. Mrs. Harrison is
| still ill, but is thought to be
improving slowly. She will remain in
] Washington until she RECEIVERS, as the
sea air has proved too damp for her. In
the meantime, she is confined to her bed
in the room in which Gen. Garfield lay
| so long. Mrs. Mckee does the h0nOrS
of the family in her mothers illness.
Now, when yOuhgo to call OIL persons of
Thigh station. You fancy there'll be a
-deaIof etiquette to- be observed, and a
| vast air or dignity about the whole af-
fair, but in the case of Mrs. Mckee
you're sure to be surprised. OF course,
etiquette demands that you rise when
she enters the room and remain stand
ing till she seats herself. but beyond
that you'd fancy you were calling on
/ your next door neighbOr, for her man
nerS are - 80. - -4' go, . ~ -
.,,~ simple in the Extreme. ~
Mrs. Mckee, like everybody about the
White house. is sallOw, and has dark
lidded gray eyes. Her mouth is deli
cate.and pretty in shape, ana her rather
square chin is indented with just the
hint of a dimpIe. She is an American
woman, with an anything but Boston
accent, and taste in dress distinctly
American. She wears heavy boots and
diamond earrings, withsan India silk
dress in the morning, and is charming.
She talks interestingly of the things of
/ interest about the hOuSe-indeed, it's a
| fad with Mrs. Harrison to find out the
history of everything i'll the Executive
J llto lOub many ehihEo
to say with maternal pride. concerning
Mary and Benjamin, the presidents
| grandchildren.
Benjamin is Baby Mckee, and is his
| grandfather's idol. He is droll little
! fellow, rather undistlnguishable in
color, and is absolutely like his grand
father. Indeed, two people could
scarcely be more alike. Baby Mckee
fwafks like Mr.. Harrison, and stands
with his stomach thrust out In way
that is a precise copy of the portly pres.
ident's usual attitude. For the rest, the
little fellow is quiet and well-bred, and
from long association with his German
nurse, understands German quite as
we'll as he does his mother tongue.
| Mary Mckee is the leader, and is as
| brave as lion and daring as a French
| soldier when her brother hangs back
and considers. She wants pony, but
is forced to content herself with the
goat, behind which she joys about the
! White house grounds.
Little Miss Elkins.
The particular little woman of the
| ADMINISTRATION whose procOciOuS savings
are quoted all over Washington is Miss