The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-04-04
WHITE HOUSE ExpENsEs.

WAA4& hOOSE EATEN SEES. During the current fiscal year there was available $6o,oO0 for the .'care, repair ant, refurnishing of the White House" This must not bs taken to mean that there was & complete refurnishing of the Pres idential mansion. Several hundred thous- and dollars has been expended for this express purpose since President Roosevelt came into office, including several hun dred thousand for remodeling the struc- tIre. The suadry civil bill now pending in Congress contains an item appropriat- ing $S5.o00 for the "care. repair and re. furnishing of the White House." The es- timate was for $6O000. When the Super- iEtendent of Public Buildings and Grounds in Washington was before the House Committee to defend the larger sum, he gave a brilliant example of how not to explain. The Chairman of the Commit tee. MT. Hemenway of Indiana, asked Colonel Symons. the Superintendent, if hs could not get along with less than $eO, 900:
 ''No, sir" replied Colonel Symons, "and not do what we want to do. It is a very expensive place to maintain, and there is great deal of furniture needed"
 What part of the care does this mean?" inquired MT. Giliett. This does not mean any of the servants or any, thing in the houseT"
 Tt means the ushers and the heating and the plumbing and everything" said Colonel Symons.
 And the coal?'
 No, sir" added Colonel Symons, "bsit it. means pay of engineer and the fre- man and the running of the After i,, both the office building and the White House ttseIf."
 You had s35,oOO for the last fiscal year" suggested Mfr. Benton and last year s1s eap2nea why f0 ,S Soo wanted the rent fiscal year. Do the same reasons iMpei you to ask for $60.000 now?''
 Yes. sir" replied Colonel Symons
 caused by the absolute expense of run nlng that house properly"
 The Committee naturally on this show inS refused the increase. It would be in- eiesting to learn just what sort of a filter Is used there. There are two fil- ters. to be sure. but they must be mar vels.
 Another matter before the sub-eommit tee at the same time was the enlarge ment of the White House stables. Sixty thousand dollars was asked for this pur- pose. and here is the colloquy: The conditions down there" said Col ore. Symons to the subcommittee, have become so very bad that 1t seems to be an absolute necessity to improve that stable this year. if possible. The horses have been ruined by simply standing in that miserable stable"
 Is not S6O,0O0 a large amount7' asked Mir. Gillett
 We have to provide for thirty horses and vehicles answered Colonel Symons.
 We expect to spend $30.000 for land" Why do you have to care for thirty hcrsesH' continued Mir. Gillett
 There are the horses for the Presi- dent and for his secretary and the ex- ecutive office horses, and all the horses we use in the public buildings and
 How many horses do you havea"
 There are seven or eight now, and they are increasing all the time-the work horses and all sorts of horses"
 Some kind soul must have intimated to the President that a ss0,oOo stable would not be needed or the eve of a campaign. Ia any event. before the subcommittee completed its work a minute showed that by direction of the President, Colonel Symons had withdrawn the estimate.
 Colonel synons has been put forward in a special bill that will permit him to remain on the engineers roll of the army and at the same time superintend the construction of the greater Erie Canal. This would mean to him $s0O0 annually mere than he now receives. Let us hope that the gallant Colonel can dig canal more sensibIy and effectively than he can run an extravagant White House item over a Committee of the House of Rep resentatives.