The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1897-02-24

SIGdtlI shS
past few years, writes Frank
G. Carpenter in the Detroit
Free Press. All kinds of improve
ments have been made, and the white
hair of John Quincy Adams ghost
must rise in holy horror as he looks at
the magnificent furnishings. Mrs.
President Harrison expended some
thing like $52,O0 en- improvements,
and a number Of changes have been
made by Mrs. Cleveland. The Harri-
sons spent lot on the kitchen. When
they came in the basement was full OF
rats. One kitchen floor had been laid
on top of another, and they were all
rotten. Mrs Harrison ordered the
wooden floors taken out and had the
ground covered with concrete. Upon
the top of this she put porcelain tiles
and walled all the rooms of the base.
>ment as high as ones shoulder with
the same material. The White House
is now lighted with electric lights.
The chandeliers have electric globes
and the lights are kept burning in the
basement and in most of the rooms of
the building all night.
I think it was Martin Van Buren
kwho was denounced all over the coun-
TRY for buying set of gold spoons
5fcr the White House. The new china
+ which has been recently bought is
worth almost it's weight in gold. l
know nothing about the late purchases
of Mrs. Cleveland, but there is
q new set of cut glass in
the cupboards Of the executive
mansion which cost $l973. and /
happen to know that Mrs Harrison
sent one order to Europe for twenty
four dozen china plates and five dozen
coffee cups of special design. Con-
eress allows each President something
like S40,O year and more to run
the White House, and large part OF
this goes into new furniture and
dishes. The linen costs small for
tune. The table cloths are of the finest
damask, and the napkins shine like
silk.
New carpets are bought about every
six years, and though the ones which
l found on the different parlors are
good, Mrs. Mckinley will probably
have chance to select new ones.
don't believe she will care to redeoor-
ate the rooms. When the blue room
was last fitted up the artists received
more than $4,000 for the work. The
walls OF the blue room are now padded
and draped with silk as fine as that
of the ball dresses of the ladies VIII %
will come here to shake hands with
President Mckinley. The silk is of
the most delicate blue. and it is inter-
woven with silver. 1t is the same
with the red room, which is also hung
with silk and whose furniture has been
designed and cushioned to match.
The carpets of all the ground floor
parlors are fine. That on the east
room is so soft that ones foot sinks
into it as if it were q bed of moss. 1t
takes almost 500 yards of carpet to
cover the floor, and the one now
tackled down cost $3.50. 1t takes more
than thousand yards to carpet the
White House parlors and dining rooms,
and the carpets everywi ere match the
furniture and hangings.
But let me tell you just how the
White House looks in this year of our
Lord 1897. 1t is bigger thanit seems,
for it covers the third of an acre. You
do not see the basement as you look
at it from the street, and the base
ment is almost house IN itself. Its
rooms are high. and, with its recent
improvements, it is now as dry as
bone. The White House is some dis
tance back from the street. A big
park surrounds it, and going up to
the front door you walk about drive
which leads in the fhape of half
moon to Pennsylvania avenue. On
one side of this drive there is flag
pavement, and in coming into the
side of the yard nearest the Treasury
you walk half the length of the build
ing before you reach the front porch.
AS you do this you can look right
down into the basement and see the
servants at work. The room below
you is devoted to the laundry, and
you may see colored women here al
most any day of the week rubbing
away at our Presidents shirts. Passing
these you reach the large porte
cochere. The columns which uphold
this are as big as the biggest oak tree,
aud the stone platform within them is
so large that regiment of soldiers
could be stationed upon it and have
room to spare. You reach this plat