The morning times., 1897-03-04
FORTY THOUSAND FLOWERS
Their Fragrance TO Perfume the
Inaugural Ballroom.
MANY MARVELLOUS DRESSES
Hundreds OF Roses at Dollar
Apiece and a Forest OF Tropical
Banquet Etchings of the Seem
ery-The Electrical Display.

The bsllroom-the brilliant, beautiful a /
room-wili be the ambition and adn4ira
ton of thousands of the visitors ana oI
home people, who have been thinking anc
dreaming OF il for many months, Notwitlt
standing all OF the descriptions or it, moth
ing has yet done il Justice, because it is
unique. 1t has been easy heretofore TO de
scribe the red, white and blue. no matter
how lavishly the colors have been put on.
Tonight there will be new colors, and what
ever there is of new in the wonder working
OF electricity and its beautiful and cunning
surprises.
Last night at 1880 O'Clock all OF the
executive committee, numerous ladies'
many or the reception committee and OF
the bigger politicians, local and visiting,
were present when the flood OF light was
turned on for the final test Everybody
said il was beautiful and lovely and en-
chanting and everything else they say
when words don't flow fast enough for
sudden emotions OF delight and surprise.
Curiously enough, some people SAID that
the majestic drapery in yellow and white
from ceiling to floor looked better dur
ing the day than at night.
Some idea OF the completeness OF the
field OF view can be had from the fact
that there are OF yellow and white alone
more than a hundred thousand yards
ana these are IOoped anu curled and
crossed and barred and knotted or al
lowed to swing or fall or hang or droop
careleSsly, as If il Were all a natural
production. There are stars OF light,
bands Of light, clusters OF light, light
like ropes OF pearls and strings OF di.-
monds, light shining through yellow
gauze and white as the rays OF the sun
through the snowy folds OF gigantic cur
tains, light cleaning through red, white
and blue grounds, electric stars glitter
ing through devices in tapestry, light.
tender and soft, like moonlight through
lace curtains, and arc lights like the
sunlight in meridian glory.
Mention has already been made OF the
sparkling jewels III the names Mckinley
and Hobart of the scintinating star com
posed Of hundred lesser stars, in per
spective through the open Golden Gate,
and OF the riyulets of red. white and blue
flame that flow across the stars and down
the bars OF the American flag 1t only
remained for the magician workers last
night to throw their blaze of light over the
miniature forests of tropical plants which
surround the splendid interior pillars, fill
the fountain basin, line the walls, or throw
their rare foliage over the balconies. The
fountain comes very near being the realiza-
ton of the fountain in the gardens of
Armida, so rich is it i'll plants from the
soutblands and 50 variously bright with
the sheen OF little electric points playing
m Ipa al a flny No
that everybody said it was beautiful and
stopped there to think it over and call it
beautiful again.
1t is pity TO have TO get down 20 the
realistic n this picture, but without it the
story might be incomplete. Here are some
Of the items concerning the flowers and
palms: American Beauty roses, for ex-
ample, retail at 81 each.
Snlilax, gathered in Evergreen, Ala, $50
cases This amount OF evergreens will cover
about 80, 600 feet of wall space.
Asparagus vines, from nearby green
houses, 500 strings, each string about ten
feet long; laurel roping, from Virginia,
5000 yards, laurel wreaths, 300: Napoleon
wreaths, 30; made of about 900 rhodo-
dendron leaves, each leaf giIded; victor
wreaths, 7S, made Of box wood leaves,
with sprays OF dandrOmedia; rhododen-
dron wreaths, each eight feet in diameter,
sabaI palm leaves, 5000, gathered in
Florida palm crowns, 200. Added to
this, fifty wagon loads OF set palms, twelve
palms 10 a wagon load.
AZslea plants. 4C0 of white, pink and
red shades; genesta plants, SEQ; spirea
Iapoaica 1white flowers, 600; yellow
acacia plants, 30, rhodOdendTons, 100,
IN flower
American Beauty roses, ! goo; Brides
maid, Bride, Meteor snd AIrs. j. Pierpont
Morgan roses, 10000: Lilies OF tie valley,
5000; cattleyas (orchids), l 900; bloom
ing orchid plants, 400; green orchids
300.
Yellow Joncuils, 10000; tulips, 10000
Tie flowers come fIom greenhouses, the
palms fTom Florida, the evergreens from
Alabama, tie laurel flom Virginia and
the lockwood leaves from the old Calvert
homestead in Maryland
The following figures speak Of the
volume Of light
From the tniTd balcony VIII hang fifty
1000 candle power arc lamps Among
the plants and flowers $500 miniature
lights OF six candle power
VIII be dist Tibuted.
On the Mckinley and Hobart design,
which is four feet three inches high and |
five feet three inches wide, 200 lamps are |
used.
The total electric illumination used in the |
ballroom on the night OF March viii |
amount 70 over 20O,000 candle power
When President Cleveland was inaugu-
rated four years ago the floral decora-
tions cost in the neighborhood OF So. 600. |
At the bah this week the decorations will |
cost about twice as much. j. H. Small &
Sons, the florists who officated four years
ago, and who also had charge of the
decorations at the recent Bradley Martin
ball, were awarded the contract.
Another OF the material aspects is the
supper. The kitchen is 200 feet long and
26 feet wide, and within are two ranges.
each thirteen feet long, 50 that the entire
stove length will be Just twenty-six feet.
Here the cooking of the vast supper will
be done, though q great deal Of the food
viii be finished before it leaves Phila.
ielphia or Baltimore. There are now 100
cooks on hand and dseyeral hundred walters,
most of them having been brought on from
other cities.
The tables are set in the main build
ng in the lower corridor running along the
north side, and in the rooms as well as
n the halls The length Of each table is
lbout twenty-four feet, so that there will
'e enough to accommodate at one sitting
It least 300 people. The bill of fare
viii consist of
Raw oysters on ice
Consomme in cups
Boiled oysters.
Oysters d la Poulettc.
Chicken outlets