The Morris County chronicle. [volume] (Morristown, N.J.) 1877-1915, 1908-05-12
WASHINGTON LETTER
rspeclal Correspondence.l

Dental china, which has come to be
great attraction of the home of pres
: dents, has received another valuab
addition, this sine of several pieces
/, the state dining set of the Pierce a,
mlnistration. The newly acquire
china Is among the rarest Of this hi
toric collection, and for long time
seemed impossible to find any of it e.
cept few pieces in the hands {
wealthy curio collectors who did M
wish to part with it. Two years ag
Mrs. Abby G. Baker, who is in charg
of the presidential ware, went to Ne1
Hampshire to see Frank Pierce, tn
nephew and one of the few remainin
Immediate relatives of President Pierce
but found that there was none Of th
famous china in his family, although
authentic records describing it ha,
been preserved.
White House China.
Some months ago a friend of Mrs
Roosevelt, through a curio dealer, Sc
cured teacup and saucer of the Pierc,
set and two cups and saudArs Of tn,
Buchanan china, and these she present
ed to Mrs. Roosevelt, who turned then
over to the White House collection.
Through the dealer of whom the
china was purchased it was learned
that William T. Crump, who was stew
ard of the White House under Presl
dents Hayes, Garfield and Arthur, now
resident of Washington, had some OF
the most valuable White House relics
in the country Mr. Crump was SEEN
and through the generosity of his
daughter, Mrs. Harriet B. Crump, to
whom he had given the china, the col
lection is enriched by four pieces of the
Pierce set, a gift which adds inestima-
bly, to the cabinets.
Odd Pieces Discarded.
Mr.. Crump's account Of the china is
most interesting. When President
Hayes came into the White House
there were great many odd pieces be-
longing to state sets Of china which
dated from almost every administra-
ton from Jefferson's day, and the old
original kitchen in the basement, the
present boiler room, was stored with
cracked, nicked and injured tableware
and other discarded articles of the
house, These things continued to ac-
cumulate until President Arthur came
in, and then, as the dining table was
well supplied with the many pieced set
which Mrs. Hayes had ordered, he,
without realizing their historic WORTH
discarded the odd pieces in the china
closets.
Sold as Rubbish. fE
He directed that they should be sold
and that the rubbish should be dis
posed of in the6eld kitchen. At that
sale Mr.. Crump purchased many piedes
of the historic ware, and it Is the.
pieces Of the Pierce set which were
thus secured which his daughter has,
presented to the White House. They
consist of a covered vegetable dish, an
exquisite fruit compete on standard,
a breakfast plate and a small sauce dish.
Each piece is banded with the we'll
known red border and outlined with
gold. The bowl of the fruit compete
is of openwork and bears the red
bands, gold lines and dots which char
acterized allithe Pierce state dining set.
Descendant of Famous Tree.
The descendant of famous tree has
been planted In the White House
grounds, and there was an interna-
tional interest in the planting. Ethan
Allen Hitchcock, formerly secretary of
the interior and in the early years OF
President McKinley's administration.
ambassador to Russia, was responsible
for the planting. Three or four years
ago MIR. 20 Hitchcock planted in the
White House grounds !, a young oak
tree which was raised from an acorn
brought from the Peterhof gardens,
where one of the -royal palaces .is-lecAt-
ed in st. Petersburg The acorns came
from large tree which grew from an
acorn carried to st. Petersburg by d
brother of Charles Sumner some time
in the fifties and were from the famous
oak near the tomb of Washington at
Mount Vernon.
The Washington Oak.
When Mr.. Hitchcock was ambassa-
dor to Russia he procured a number OF
acorns from the tree in the palace
grounds and took them to his home In
st. Louis. Six saplings were grown,
and it was one of these that was plant
ed in the White House grounds, but
that tree died. Mr.. Hitchcock has two
of the trees in vigorous growing condi-
ton on his country place in New Hamp-
shire, and he sent one of these to Wash
ington for planting on the east terrace
of the White House grounds. This
grandson of the famous Washington
oak, which is, so to speak, Of Rus
sian birth, is a fine specimen about
ten feet high. The grounds around the
east terrace do not seem to be friendly
to young trees, as two planted there
by President and Mrs. Roosevelt at
different times have died. The con-
lecture is that the network Of gas and
other pipes running into the White
House from this direction may have
something to do with the trouble.
Smithsonian Institution Prize.
The statement is made that IN con
nection with the international congress: