Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-09-29
VISITORS COMMENTS
{
What is Said Of the Capital
and Its People.
PRESIDENTS OFFICE
NEW BUILDING IS CONSIDERED
TOO SMALL AND SHABBY.
Question as to Filtration Plant-sur-
prise That Potomac Flats
Have Been Buried.

an the Hobbies Of big hotels, which are
now filing rapidly with the annual fall
hegira to the capital. one meets many visit
ors, and their comments regarding US and
our city and its Institutions, to which we
become oblivious or Indifferent by associa-
ton, are often as interesting as they are
divergent" said well-known Washington
correspondent this morning.
I'm my contact with our visiting friends I
usually ask them what features Of the capt.
tai they like the best, and what features
they would change to a different mold and
color IL they had the necessary trowel and
masonry. and the bucket of paint and brush.
Few have fault to find, though Washing
tonians arc not so conceited that we are
not aware that there is now and will al
ways be room for improvement. and as a
rule their comments are pleasing and lauda-
tory.
II have been recently struck, however,
by the almost universal remarks of regret.
hrst. that they cannot enter the White
House by reason of the improvements at
present in progress, and, second, the ex-
pr essions of surprise that Congress would
authorize an appropriation for an executive
office for the President which would pro-
duce such a small. temporary, makeshift of
a structure which is undergoing the finish
ing touches on the east side of Executive
avenue.
1T is quite astonishing to note the very
evident intense desire of our visitors from
home and abroad to see the interior of the
White House. and may be partially account
ed for, no doubt, by a sense of interested
patriotism in the one case, and in the other
partaking of the same curiosity Americans
exhibit to enter the palaces Of foreign poten-
tates while abroad. 1t seems to me that
the desire manifested to go inside of the
White House Is stronger than to enter the
Capitol.
The Latest Public Building.
1.-THE remarks anent the diminutive execu-
tive office building are equally interesting.
Nearly everybody speaks of it. and they
weep the same figurative tears that we all
wept when Congress suddenly shelved the
Lodge bill appropriating 100000 for that
only few thousands The explanation
Washington voted thesAnds seems to mys-
tify most visitors, especially those from
foreign shores, and the expression Of SYM
pathy for the city and the President are
universal. When 1 exRlained to an English
man the seeming imposs6bility to secure from
our law-givers enougtsinoney to house the
government and its executive and clerical
forces. and that Washington today needed
at least two large. muflern Office buildings
to accommodate this force. he said
" The growth Of thasaffairs of your gov
eminent is evidently 10 rapid that new
building should be Rddfd every five years, a
one is completely The pub lie buildings in
the capital are fine and statdiy. but it is ap-
parent even to an outsider that they are in
adequate and very much overcrowded. The
building L saw today 1in\the White House
grounds reminds me lotSA teynpgrary struc-
ture such as would be tsAd by an architect
who was experimenting a big contract
nearby. Surely 1t cannot be for the use Of
the President? Yes? Really? How very
extraordinary! IA
The more attempted to explain that we
were glad to get anything in the building
line for this city the more our visiting
friend IN Scotch tweed shook his head and
fntertected sentences filled with words
about hundreds of millions Of gold surplus
lying Idle IN the treasury, hundreds of mil
mons OF exports over the imports billions
IN corporation capital great navy world
power. and so on. until I fed when he
asked the cost Of the latest and lttlest pub
tell him. ..
What 0fho,. Set M