The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1892-06-05
8 very. fine one and all of its arrangements
are of the best
WORD ABOUT THE CONSERVATORY.

A WORD ABOUT TIE CONSERVATORY.
1t must take nearly half an acre of glass
/ to cover the flowers OF the White house
conservatory. 1t keeps two men pussy az
the time to take care of it. and the finest Oh
all kinds of flowers, from the orchids TO
roses, are continually in blooms mere. Lnere
are broad, India rubber plants Wnlcn are
worth from $50 to 500 apiece, ana tne i
are some flowers which are aeeoIu0eiy
worth their weight in gold. On the nlgh1
of a White House dinner or reception Tue
whole mansion is decorated with flowers,
and at one state dinner not long ago tner5
was floral piece on the table which used
| s. 900 flowers in its making. AT dinner
to the supreme court 1000 flowers were
used TO make q temple of justice, ana at
the last diplomatic reception the maniels
of the parlors were banked up with flowers
and at another time they were covered
with immense double tulips rising out OF
banks of green. Every state dinner re-
quires at least 1000 roses, and during one
winter {, 900 sprays of the liy-of-tSe-yaliey
and 400 strings of smilax were used.
ODD THINGS ABOUT THE WHITE HOUSE.
There are many odd things about the
White House of which the people know
but little which will be interesting to the
various candidates and their frlenos.
There is a very nice billiard room down IN
one corner of the basement which, IL Inc
next president can handle the cue VIII
give him a fair chance to play with MS
cabinet when the good people think they
are discussing the affairs of state, and there
are no end of good wine closets which can
be properly stocked for a consideration.
These closets have seen good liquors IN Inc
past 1t was in them Andrew Johnson
kept his favorite bourbon and the sherry
Of which he was so fond. Here John Tyler
stored away his Jamaica rum and the
Madeira which he imported himself, trad
ing ship loads of corn from his Virginia
plantation for it, and it was here tnat
Thomas jefferson bad bottled up the Sl1 900
worth of champagne and other liquors
which he served up while he was IN the
White House. Jefferson spent more on
liquors than any other president on record,
but Arthur was noted for his fine wines,
and Andrew Jackson spent pretty penny
on punch during his administration. Inere
are many odd things about this basement,
aud every inch of it is marked with history.
1t was down here that Andrew Johnson's
daughter had her dairy when her 1aVner
was president, and here she made her own
bitter and gave her guests drink OF put
termil5 fresh from the churn. AT Lhls
basement door, it was charged, that Mrs
Lincoln peddled out extra milk OF the
White House, aud down here Buchanan's
servants ate him almost out OF house ana
home and gave, so it is said, some OF the
best porterhouse steaks to feed the stable
dogs 1t must be odd to rummage through
the attic of the White House and look over
the old furniture used by the presidents OF
the past, and it is odd to go through the
second floor rooms and notice how the pres
ident does his business.
THE BUSINESS PART OF THE WHITE HOUSE.
The business part of the White House
has been entirely remodeled by President
Harrison. Private Secretary Halford has
the small room at the southeast corner and
the president has taken the room which
Dan Lamont used to occupy, which was the
Office of President Lincoln. The other
rooms, further on beyond the one in which
the cabinet meets, are all large and airy
and they are fitted up for the living rooms
of the family. In the presidents business
Office you will find half dozen clerks and
you can reach out your finger and touch
any part of the world. There is telegraph
operator whose key is connected with the
cable and telegraph wires of the United
States. and there is clerk who does but
little else than attend to the newspapers,
and the president gets his papers from
every where and all the leading journals are
to be found here. In one large room there
are number of clerks and among these is
Colonel Crook, the cashier of the White
House, and there are numerous typewriters
and other employees. There is an elevator
in the White House, and all in all, the old
mansion is packed full of interesting
things.
FRANK G. CARPENTER.