Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1910-11-18
How the President Lives.

A correspondent of the Boston Cou-
rlcr furnishes an interesting account OF
the Presidents mansion and his mode
of life, from which We extract the fol-
lowing paragraphs: =.
To large majority of the strangers
to the federal metropolis, who visit
Washington, there is no object which
exeitcs 10 much attention as the Exc
cutivc Mansion. The truth is, that IN
to the time of Mr.. Polk, the White
House was dcccntly furnished. Con-
gress then made an appropriation which
being Judiciously expended, improved
things somewhat. :, After that, no con-
fsiderablc appropriation was made till
the year 1858, when some fifty thou
sand dollars were appropriated far heat
ing, .ventilating, painting, enlarging,
and rcfurnishing the house. =, -,
- The silver in the house; am told, is
mostly TINT bought IN Paris during the
administration of Mr.. Monroe. There
are but two or three pictures in the
house. One in the rcd room, portrait
of Washington, which was cut from
the frame and secured by Mrs. .Madi-
son when Washington City was occu-
pic,l by the British in the war of .lSl2;
another, in the Presidents Office, por.
trait of Bolivar, the South Americah
patriot. There arc no household orna.
tmcnts about the, house, except vases
scattered here and there on mantlcs,
aAf articles brought from. japan by
Commodore Perry. The White House,
ID word, is furnished more like no.
tel than a, first class residence. There
are articles Of use in abundance, rich
and massive, but no articles of art or
i aJonmcnt. s, -, 81.
Tho President receives TWENTY-FIVE
thousand dollars salary. Next, ic re-
ccivcs o house, garden, and stables, free
Of expense. The. house is furnished
and the garden is cultivated by the
government . Every article of. furni.
turr necessary to bc supplied by the
United States. The government also
lights and heats the house. It pays for
Stcwarls 70 take care Of thu public
property; md o fireman, and for NO 9th
e. domestic servants.. The Executive
ofksc "a in the Executive mansion, and
for the former the government provides
In prisatS sccretaEy, cicrlts to the secrc-
tary, tw0' messengers, and pertcr.-
] For all domestic servants, however, ex-
cept steward and. fireman, the Presi-
dent niustpay out of his own pocket.
lie must pay for his cooks, his butler,
las stable servants female servants,
coachman, grooms, kc., rs any other
pcrs99n does when he employs such a
retinuc Of servants. Z lie supplies his
table, with the exception Of garden
Vegetables, as any othcr.pflvate citizen
doos, by his own. purse. y So with his
stables4 ! In short, the. only things fur
nishcd by government arc houscs' and
Furniture, fuel and lights, steward and
fireman, garden vegetables and flowers.
] Au else Il matter Of private expense.
.::.With these items rs Basis for calcala-
ton. any gentleman who keeps eight
cen or moro servants of both sexes, who
keeps o stable with horses, as docs Mr..
buchanan, who dints persons besides
HIS own family every day, and once a
1 week gives . dinner to forty invited
guests, can form some notion how
much out Of twenty-five thousopd dol
lars remain at the end Of the year
Most of our Pre1de,its, however, con-
trive to save money during their term
Of Office.