The times., 1899-03-19

| satisfies the sightseer, and after expressing
their opinion of the President and every
body connected with the house, who should
deprive them OF their rights. they go away.
| Occasionally aggressive persons who have
/, been informed that they cannot enter the
Mansion will hang around on the portico.
and look daggers at the officer on the door,
| If, during this time. a Congressional caller
| should visit the President and being known
| by the officer is admitted at once then the
| sghtseer who has been standing on the
portico and has seen the proceedings at the
door, will Immediately strut to the entrances
and demand that he be allowed to enter.
| The officer then has to go into further de-
| tails and occasionally has to forcefully
| eject the intruder There is another class
of people who. while they are not SO un-
ruly, are just as hard to convince that the
| sign CLOSED" means business.
| An Old, Old tory.
Many years ago when rules were first
made governing the admittance of visitors
to the Executive Mansion, a party arrived
after hours. When they were informed
that they could not get in, they asked to
have an exception made in their case as
they came from California and were going
| home that night. This would be the only
opportunity they would have of seeing the
| inside of the Presidents residence and
could they not get in. 1t is unknown
whether this story gained them admission
or not, but it is known that the same
story has been told every day since that
time and often by dozen visitors a day,
until it has been christened the White
| House story. In some few cases it may
be true, but when a person whose face is
known by nearly everyone in town, stands
| at the open door allowing the cold winds to
penetrate the hall and chill the officer to
| the marrow, starts to tell the old tale, it
requires more than the ordinary man. to
express sympathy with their disappoint-
ment and assure them that IL they had the
making of the rules they would of course
be admitted, but under the circumstances,
| they would advise the visitor to call to-
morrow, which they usually do.
| While the East Room is the only one
| open to the public it abounds with inter-
esting details. A fayorite feature with a
guide who has bridal couple under his
wing is to request the lady to stand on a
particular spot half way down the room
close to the middle windows, and then tell
her she is standing in the place where
Nellie Grant was made bride Frequently
| when this is told the groom will immedi-
| ately step beside his wife and take hold OF
her hand. Mr.. Stelle says that to finish
| the effect you should turn your head at
this stage Of the proceedings, as he does,
when there is no one else in the room.
| There are also many things to be en-
dured by guide. Some persons are very
hard to interest. and then there is the class
| OF people who endeavor to do all of the
| talking themselves. That sort who take
the words out of your mouth, when you
| have half finished the sentence. Stelle
| says that several times in his experience
he has been so annoyed by persistent talk
ers that he has lost the thread of his story
Often. too. these newly married couples
show more interest in each other than in
| the tree, which was planted by President
| Mckinley or the date of the laying of the
cornerstone of the White House. Then
again there is the smart young man, who
annoys the guide with his side remarks un-
| til he gets into deep water or is placed in u
| ridiculous position by the pilot which is
sure to happen if he talks long enough.
A Smart Young Sightseer.
Stelle tells good story on a member OF
a party under his guidance from Chicago
There was one rather fat young man who
took upon himself to bargain with the
guide regarding the amount to be paid for
| his services. and made himself generally
obnoxious, after an agreement had besn
reached and the party started on its tour
!
pertinent, superclious young chaps" said
stelle, in telling his story, "and was such
a smart Alick that I determined to get
back at him before the day was over.
When we were leaving the White House
| to go to the Treasury Department l stop
ped to explain the nature of that Cabbage
| palm standing over there. The tree de-
| rives its name from the peculiar quality
/ of its foliage.
| THE inside OF those punches of leaves Is
sweet and tender and in the country where
| the trees abound the natives use it as q
food. 1t tastes very much like cabbage.
and was given that name in this country.
''Smarty' turned to me and said: Why,
| that's quite wonderful-can't you show US
a tree that bears pork, to go with it?' l
| said that l was sorry, but l could not.
| Then he asked II the natives ate the cab
bage without pork. 1 looked the fellow
| straight in the eye and told him that
| there was no reason for the natives to go
| without pork, as all hogs did not remain in
| Chicago. l had no more trouble with
him.
! Florence tells story of a visit he made
to the Dead Letter Office with a party Of
women from Ohio when l said, this is
| the Dead Letter Office, one woman turned
to another and said: oh, just see the
number of letters written by dead peo-
| pie p"
| The Washington Monument.
| "Just to show you how little you know
of Washington" continued Florence, tell
me what you know about the monument
standing over there" The Times reporter
knew that it was sos feet high, and was
decorated with stones from the different
| States on the interior wall.
| That's a whole lot isn't it?" said he.
| In the first place the monument is $50
| feet 5 1-2 inches high. Now I'll tell you
| what l know. The cornerstone was laid
July 4, 1S4S, and the monument was fin
ished December 6, 1884. 1t was dedicated
on February q, of the following year
it is 55 feet l 1-2 inches square. Interior
at the base is % feet square. The founda-
| tion is 3S feet deep and I26 feet square
AT the top it is "a feet inches square
THE weight of the capstone is 1890
pounds. The walls at the base are Is feet
| thick and at the summit Is inches. The
| sides of the Monument taper a quarter of
an inch to the foot. The weight Of the
| whole Monument is 81. .120 tons. The ele-
vator was made by Otis Bros, of New
York, and will hold about forty people
| The safety appliances were tested by
| dropping the elevator while loaded with
| ten tons Of stone 1t takes nine minutes
| for the elevator to ascend and eight to
| come down. Commencing at the 30-foot
| landing there are 179 memorial stones
running up to $50 feet on the east and
west walls. The cost of the Monument was
| 81 300 Geo."
Curious Luncheon.
| (From the Cleveland Plain Dcaler.)
| Queerness in taste is nowhere displayed
| in more startling ways than at the restau-