The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1902-07-13
SOME WASHINGTON GOSSIP.
TUE BUSIEST PLACE AT THE MA
TIoNAL CAPITAL.

white House, Where Improve
,ents Are Being Made, Seeking
something Which They Can Carry
.~vay-The White Wall and Red
Roof About All That Remains or
the Historic MansiOn-An Account
Of the Special Library of the Unit
ed states Senate--An Interesting
account of It-NewIy Elected Sena-
,ors Request a Guide to Find 1t.
The Ex-Queen of Hawaii on for
Her Native Land-Other Matters OF
General Interest.
washington, D. c., July 1.-THE
,,siest place in the nations capital
,,st now is in the vicinity of the old
,vacutive rnansion-not only by reason
~ an army of carpenters at work there,
hut because of the legion of curio-
hunters that besiege the premises at
overv point. In spite of a Gordon of
oorcemen, and the stern mandates of
contractors, the public gets in some
how and at all hours of day and night
wsll-dressed men and women may be
seen poking about in the piles of debris,
dress-suit cases. with pieces of brick,
hits of plaster, rusty nails, lath splint-
ers of wood, anything movable. Last
week one enterprising hunter from Bos-
ton discovered a pair of brass brackets
that were formerly part of the fittings
of the Blue Room-Mrs. McKinley'S
favorite parlor. He promptly carried
them away, avowing his intention of
nutting them up in his Back Bay home,
to be proudly exhibited to friends by
his children's children as the delicate
work of artists in past century. His
fortunate find gave a mighty i'm
petus to the relic-hunting business
but nothing else Of consequence has
been found. OF course the contractors
and workmen have the first chance,
and any article they do not care to
keep however valueless in itself, will
readily sell at high price.
Col Crook, the veteran disbursing
officer at the White House, has secured
for himself the identical board in the
floor of the cabinet room upon which
President Lincoln stood while address,
ing his advisors Immediately after his
first Inauguration. Col. Crook was in
the room at the time the martyred
President made his first address to his
cabinet, and has turned the bit of floor
ing into walking stick. Poor old
White Housed Four white walls and a
dark red roof are about all that re-
main of the historic structure, which
should have been cherished as long as
America belongs to Americans. The
center of the beautiful park, filled with
majestic trees and tropical plants, with
a fountain playing among the flower
49,
numbered with piles of rubbish, broken
bricks, boards, scantling, splinters of
all sizes and varieties iron ratings
in every form of crookedness. with
here and there a yawning excavation,
the picture of dissertation. The once
handsome and stately interior of the
mansion looks like the track of Kan
sas cyclone-far worse than it looked
In 1876, after the British entered the
city and burned the building. 1t is to
be practically reconstructed, on brand
new lines. and will then be used ex-
clusively as a residence for our Presi-
fdents-untH some other Strenuous"
4 executive desires to have it remodelled
to suit his own particular fancies.
The contractors expect to have the
new White House completed by Oct. 1,
and to do this keep their men working
from sunrise to sunset on extra pay.
To the west Of the great conservatory
foundation for the temporary exec
utive office has already been dug. All
the offices that were formerly in the
White House proper will be accommo-
dated in this new building, which is to
have a frontage of one hundred feet
and depth of fifty feet. The structure
will be built of white brick,
one story in hight, with an
immense round room in the center to
be used as a reception room.
The office of the President and the
cabinet room will occupy the entire
eastern half of the building; and the
President and his secretary will also
have small room in the rear of the
great reception room. In the south
west corner of the building the tele-
graph room will be placed, and in
front of this long room to accom-
modate the White House staff of
Clerks assistant secretaries, etc. There
Will be several smaller rooms for
clerks; and a room for newspaper
correspondents, close to the main en-
trance, where every convenience will
be afforded them for getting the news
ana transmitting it to uttermost parts
OF the earth, so to say. The entrance
nall will be very large and wide and
handsomely decorated as will all of
the apartments. The basement of
rooms, engine room, etc.
AS to alleged improvements in the
white House proper-the architects
remain silent as the grave regarding
tnelr plans. Certain it is that there
VIII be such radical departures from
me original order of things that for
m III, occupants will never recognize it.
ihe matter was left wholly to Pest
i uent Roosevelt and his wife, and to
architects employed by them. Long
Selore the work began, the President
mad made up his mind as to just what
ne wanted, and had given explicit di-
1gcuons before a plan was drawn.
me decorations were Mrs. Roosevelt's
"urK. They will lbe on very elaborate
seaie In all the rooms, and absolutely
nothlng of the old decorations will re-
main in the building.
80 nave lived in Washington score
e. years and had more or less of "a
nnser in the pie" of current events;
set until yesterday 1 never knew that
t sucn thing as a special library of
Ie United States Senate existed. OF
Nurse l lost no time in going over 20
b hue capitol to hunt it up-and will you
Deni9eVe l actually asked four different
bbUnIc,emen and attaches of the Capitol
4 tSuliuing before one was found who
n n nie" anything about it. Probably
W., W. one out of ten thousand of the
btsilors to the National Capitol ever
d DIS OF the Senate Library. or
Iteahs that there is such a place.