The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1900-12-12

work for the Archifect's EIabora-
tlon-Praise for Mansions BuiIder.
''The history of the Executive Mansion
During the Century 1Se0-19e0" was thu
subject upon which Col. Theodore A
Bingham, u S. a, dicouIsed at the
White House Colonel Bingham intro
duced his address with the following l nes
from Addison's Cato"
It's not in uortals to command success;
But ven do more, SemproHius, vel deserve il
He then continued:
Mr. President. Ladies and Gentlemen:
In the spring of 1892 the Commissioners
of Public Buildings and Grounds, under
the immediate direction Of the President,
undertook the preparation of plans for
the Presidents House. The house was
occupied in November, 1860, although it
was not then entirely completed. The
room IN which we now are was not I'm
ished; there was no north portico, nor
any graceful south portieo. and the north
door was approached by narrow wooden
steps
IN December. 1900. the Commissioner
of Public Buildings and Grounds pr, sen S.
20 you a plan for charging the Presi-
dents House.
'.In 1860 the population of the country
was FIVE and quarter millions. ana there
was more than room enough in his house
for all the purposes for which II was
then required In 1860, the population OF
the country has increased TO seventy six
and a quarter millions, and it has long
been practically impossible fcr this hOCS :
to answer the purposes for which it is
intended.
In the spring OF 1897, 7 began to study
the question OF the enlargement of the
present Executive Mansion, with view
TO satisfying myself as TO whether il
should be enlarged, and. If so, how. AS
I became familiar with the daily life of
a President, the conclusion was forcibfy
presented TO- my mind that he would be
more comfortable. both IN mis- prHa,e
and official life, II both Office and home
were under one roof How, then, could
an extension OF this house be best accom-
plished since there is sufficient ground
fcr the purpose? Five guiding principles
<Sere adopted as necessary to be follow ed
In any design for an extension, not only
On account of their own propriety, but
also 20 meet the wishes Of the great ma
jority Of the American people. These
were:
Il The present Executive Mansion 10
remain absolutely unchanged and. if pos
sible. not an outer door or window to be
closed up.
80 The addition to be Of such a char
seteT as not TO dwarf or obscure the pres
ent Mansion; rather. If possible, TO ae-
ce1tuate it.
''s Architectural harmony. to be abso-
lutely preserved.
-. The additions to be such as to re-
lieve the pressure upon the present build
ing for, say, twenty-five or thirty years,
ard permit OF still further extension in
the future as may be found necessary,
while ct the same time presenting the
appearance OF a finished building
.. Reasonable expenditure.
Of all the records I was able to find
OF extensions which had been proposed in
the past to the Executive Mansion, that
prepared under the supervision of the late
Mrs Harrison came nearest to fulfilling
the required conditions as just stared.
This plan, as many of you doubtless
know, consisted in q word, of buildings
about the size of the present house, one
on the east side and one on the west side
OF the White House grounds, connected 10
the present Mansion by curved wings
the quadrangle being completed by re-
building the Conservatives at the south
end OF the grounds Perhaps the most
striking advantage Of this plan is that If
quite maintains the present OpenneSS 10
sun and air toward the south and south
west-a vital necessity, and preserves the
beautiful view to the south as uncbstTuct-
ed as it is today. Such a quadTanguiaI
plan, of course. involves large expsndi-
ture for its completion, but 1t seemed
worthy OF adoption in general outline
zone of the conditions by which | lin
tied myself being reasonable expenditure
which / assumed at about one million
dollars, study was then made Of the ques-
ton: How much of Mrs. HaTrison's Plan
could be completed for that sum? 1t was
found that the two wings, one on the east
side and one on the west side, could prob
ably be built, though in the completed
plan these wings were intended rather as
connecting passages than for daily occu-
pancy. Study was next given TO the Ques-
ton Could these wings be utilized until
such time as further addition should be
made and the wings could revert 20 theiI
intended use? A satisfactory solution, Il
IS thought, was reached.
cit then became necessary to have these
studies worked out For this work, l natu-
rally turned to Mr. Frederick D. Owen, the
architect who had shaped up Mrs. Harri-
sons plans and who was already familiar
with the limitations which surrounded this
question Of extending the Executive Man
sion The results Of our studies are pre-
scented TO you to-day in part. In the short
time which has passed since the first OF
last July, il has only been possible to COM
plete what you see before you. Much 9th
er work has been done in the study OF de-