Omaha daily bee., 1902-07-14
BITS OF WASHINGTON LIFE.
Minor scenes and incidents sketched
on the spot.

The White House, tenantless, is as much
a Mecca for visitors ne when II Is the CEN
ter Of political and social life. Souvenir
hends are numerous in the crowd which,
even in the hottest weather, gather about
the building watching the workmen tearing
away the interior. Very few leave the
grounds without carrying away some scrap
Of material. Wrought iron nails found stick
ing In pieces OF wood are much sought after.
THE improvements of the White House
proper" says the Washington Post, will be
such a departure from the old order OF
things that the former occupants OF the
building will hardly recognize Il. The
architects are not yet ready to make known
just what is to be done. because they have
not finished all the plans. nor have they
definitely settled on the details Of decora-
ton. This matter is left wholly to the
president and the architects employed by
him.
THE decoration OF all the rooms will be
on an elaborate scale. There is absolutely
nothing Of the old decorations left remain
ing in the building. The walls, floors, stair
ways, ETC.. have all been removed, and the
plans Of the various floors have been
changed to meet the new conditions. Since
the White House was built 1t has served as
an office, as well as a residence, and there
fore little could be done toward identifying
I've " hpWSNNAp NhdN IA OAlNt ZIG " bV
removed to a separate building and the ex-
ecutive mansion is to be a show place OF
the republic, the architects are sparing no
pains In making 1t the most beautiful resi-
dence In America, as far as is possible with
the old building as a groundwork.
"At the west OF the conservatory the
foundation for the temporary executive ONCE
has already been dug, and the work OF con-
struction will be begun within a very short
time. All Of the oflces that were formerly
in the White House proper will be accom-
modated in this new building, which is to
have a frontage Of 100 feet and a depth Of
fifty feet. The structure will be built OF
white brick and will be one story in height,
although the ornamental work will make It
look higher. The office Of the
president and the cabinet room will occupy
the entire eastern half Of the new building.
"In the center will be an immense round
room, to be used as a reception room. The
secretary to the president will have a
small room directly in the rear Of the re-
ception room. In the southwest corner Of
the building the telegraph room will be
placed, and in front Of this will be a long
room to accommodate the White House
staff of clerks, assistant secretaries, etc.
There will be several other smaller rooms
for clerks. and a room for the newspaper
correspondents to the west of the main
entrance, where every convenience will be
afforded for getting the news and sending
1t to all parts Of the country. The entrance
hall will be very large and wide and hand
somely decorated, as will all of the apart
ments. In the basement of the building
will be situated the engine room, store
rooms, etc"
The sum of S45, 900 is in the hands OF Sec
rotary Shaw, waiting the claims Of the
doctors who attended the late president
Mckinley at Buffalo, and of the persons
who had charge Of the funeral ceremonies.
This money was provided by a special
appropriation that was passed during the
last days of congress, and the secretary
Of the treasury was charged with the duty
of disburslng It. So far, no claims have
been filed, and none of the doctors has
submitted a bill. A time limit OF two
months is placed on the appropriation, and
II the claims are not all in within sixty
days the money is to go back into the
treasury. It is understood that the doc
tors concerned are comforting and that they
will present their bills at once.
Secretary Shaw has notified customs col
~lectors that cats OF the varieties known as
Angora, Persian, Siamese, Manx, Russian
and others imported into the United States
for breeding purposes shall be admitted
free of duty. Feline pets of common va
rieties shall be taxed 20 per cent ad valo-
rem.
The evident purpose Of the order. for
which 1t is alleged Secretary of Agricul-
ture Wilson is responsible, is to do away
with the thousands Of common cats which
belong to nobody and which occupy their
time fighting on back fences to the de-
struction OF sleep of many citizens. He
believes that this can be accomplished by
levying a prohibitive duty upon ordinary
cats and admitting aristocratic felines
with long pedigrees free, which will tend
to elevate the standard Of cat excellence
In this country.
An inglorious fate has befallen the war
balloon which rose above the timber line
before Santiago and drew the Spanish fire
on the American troops. That monster
gas bag, with a number of others, was
stored at Fort Myer, but the heat OF past
summers melted the silk and rubber so
that the whole bunch are ruined. It was
the intention of General Greedy to have a
detachment Of his men participate In the
coming army and navy maneuvers at the
eastern entrance to Long Island sound,
and he wanted them to put up a war bal
loon as part of their work. Owing to
scarcity Of men In the signal corps 1t has
been impossible for the officers to get any
practice with these balloons for the last
three years, as every recruit enlisted in
the corps has been sent to Manila as soon
as equipped for duty. The balloons have
been stored away In barns at the fort, but
it was not supposed that they would de-
teriorate. The heat Of the sun, however,
got in some deadly work and when the
balloons were oyerhauled they were found
to be practically useless. II possible one
OF them will be patched VI and put into
shape for the coming practice, but it is
more than likely that they are too far
gone ever to be utilized again.
MUNICIPAL HOME RULE.