Evening star., 1896-09-26

-N& laid, many years
ago. this stO.-e about five feet long,
two feet broad and one foot thick The di-
mensi1ns remain the same at present but
that is 50 only because its surface has been
restored by the addition of a new fagstoae
which matches the original, and is SO clean
~ adjusted as to escape general notice. The
change was made about fourteen years ago
ard was necessitated by the condition of
the original stone, the upper surface OF
which had been worn away for about four
inches ard presenteCHan unsearnly concay-
ity. deepening toward the outer edge. The
damaged portion was followed out by ma
soEs To an even depth and an entirely new
piece Of stone put in, thus restoring the
step 10 its original condition so far as its
general appearance is concerned
Every ore who enters or leaves the man
sion by the front doorway steps upon this
thln strip of store, and ii has already
again lost its level surface. II is good
hard stone, however. and will probably out
last m!ch OF the material used in the orig
NAL construction of the mansion. 1t has re-
ceivei the full force of the constant stream
OF humanity flowing in and out of the Pres
- 1Ient S official home, and shows the effects
thereof probably more than any other COM
ronent part of the building
Considering its hard and constant usage
the White House shows less signs of wear
ana tear than is generally supposed. Ii is
the mecca Of all political pilgrims to WASH
lnSton. and the object point of ali ;our-
ISIS and siShtseers. \ visit to the national
capital without = personal inspection of the
home Of the President would be INCOMPLETE
and call upon the chief magistrate of tie
NATION mas come TO be regarded as an
sehtiaI feature of every convention. as
semnly or reunion held in the city. 1t there
fore follows that the house has many Wis.,
tcrs- Captain DUbois. the chief usher esti-
mates that an average of SEQ persons. most
h
every day, Sundays excepted. during the
Tour hours it is open to the public viz
from ~ to o'clock. During the eight days
session of the Christian Endeayor Society
:i2.''2 persons went through the public par
lCrS. and the Eurber of visitors was even
greater. IN Captain DdDolS' opinion. during
the reunion of the Grand Army of the Re
public in 1St2. and during the conclave of
the Knights Tenplar three years before.
Tri-WcekIy ReceptiOns
Naturally the influx of visitors is greater
in winter, hen the President and his family
are a home. than in the summer when they
are usually away at the sea shore or NOUN
ta!ns- When the President is in the city he
usually holds informal receptions IN the
east room three times a week These af-
fairs are exceedingly popular with the visit
ing public and are invariably well attended
They afford probably the only opportunity
that the Strangers within our gates have of
paying their respects to TIE President and
shaking hands with him. According to Cap
tam Dubois. the attendance a these recep-
tons averages about 20 persons in the
spring and autumn, and about 900 persons
in the winter months, when Congress is in
session 1t * not an uncommon occurrence
Tor the President to receive a thousand per =
sons in an afternoon, and on one occasion
within the past wear 1890 persons enjoyed
the privilege of grasping the hand of the
chief executive.
AS Captain Dubois puts it, during the four
hours that the house is open every day,
the east room is as free to the public as the
sidewalks of the city, and the only restric-
tion to persons desiring to come in is that
in rainy weather they shall leave their wet
umbrellas in the rack in the outer hall. No
change whatever IS necessary in the matter
CT SHOES or wearing apparel; but while not
required, visitors with muddy shoes are ex-
pected 10 use the mats provided for that
purpose, before crossing the threshold of
the beautiful east room. Once inside. visi-
tors are free to promenade or sit the
chairs or sofas their fancies dictate so
long as they violate none of the ordinar ary
rules of good behavior There is one thing
that many visitors from way back districts
seem to have a predilection for, that is
strictly prohibited. That is, using the
apartment as a dining room. 1t used to be
common thing for cur country cousins in
town for the day to eat their lunc heons in
the east room, and 1t became quite a rem
desvous with excursion parties for that pur-
pose
The practice found to be objectiona-
BILE. however. inasmuch as it tended to soil
the carpet and furniture. Nevertheless, 1t
was tolerated UP to three years ago. when
the privilege was so badly abused that 1,
was thenceforth curtailed. 1t was during
the annual Easter Monday celebrati ton in
the Presidents grounds. when the children
made bold as to extend their frolics tc
the east room There was no harm in that
especially. and the uShers and doorkeepers
really enjoyed watching the innocent pas
times of the children.
When the fun was over. however, and Il
became necessary to clean up the roon il
was found that several eggs had broken or
the hoor and made pretty mess. 1t tool
several days to get the stains out of thu
carpet, and since that time all visitors car
ryinS lunch baskets have been politely re
Quested to leave them outside.
The Wear and Tear.
1t is said that the carpet on the east room
suffers less from its use by s;ghtseers thai
1t does from the frequent decoration of tn,
room for the state dinners and evening re
ception5 during the social season. On thos
occasions the room is elaborately decorate,
with tropical and subtropical plants. all o
which are brought In from the outside /
usually takes eight wagon loads of plants t
provide the decorations for each of thes
functions. The plants are in large tubs AM
pots. and are usually rolled over the carpe
to their places being too heavy TO carr,
conveniently. A liberal supply of crash i
used, but 1t does not entirely protect tn
carpet These heavy plants are range
recesses. and despite all precautions. leav
uEsightly marks behind them. That thi
process should have wearing effect on tn
carpet is not surprising. when it is recalle
that there are three state dinners and fiv
levees or receptions every winter, at each O
which the heavy plants are hauled in an
out of the room. to say nothing of the effec
of the heavy tread Of the workmen engage
in their proper arrangement. Similar scene
are enacted, but on a much smaller scale
at the afternoon card receptions of tn
ladies of the house.
Notwithstanding the almost constan
use winter and summer. the carpets an
furniture show comparatively little NOR
wear and tear than similar articles in tn
houses of private citizens who entertain o
a large scale This IS undoubtedly due
the excellent care bestowed upon them, an
also because the visitors, a rule care
full and considerate In their treatment Q
the furniture. They are allowed perfec
freedom in the use of the sofas and chairs
and, with few exceptions respect the priv
ilege. There have been some acts of van
dalisn. but these are comparatively few an
insignificant, when 1t is considered that tn
house is open to everybody. Most Of tn
vandalism has been committed by reli