The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1917-02-08
Uncle Sam at Home.
By FREDERIC ]. HASKlN

on the Capitol, and the White House
was left unfinished for awhile because
the necessary funds were lacking. Fin
ished or unfinished, however, it was
decided that the President had 70 live
IN it, SO the Adamses came to Wash
! ington.
In those days candles and CRATE fires
took the place of steam heat and cleo
tricity, and Mrs. Adams was sorely
tried in keeping them all burning. The
house. she said, required about thirty
servants to keep it in order, but ser
wants were not to be had. Although
surrounded by forests, no one could be
found to cut the wood and cart it, and
everybody caught cold. In writing to
her daughter, Mrs. Adams said: 1--WE
have not the least fence, yard, or other
convenience without, and the great I'M
finished audience room make drying
room of, to hang up the clothes in.
The principal stairs are not up and will
not be this winter"
Later. in Jnfferson's administration
the Presidents house was still in
poor state of repair, and was openly
ridiculed by foreign visitors. One ac-
count says: 1.-The ground around the
house instead of being laid out in a
suitable style, remains in its ancient
rude state, so that in dark night, in
stead of finding your way to the house,
you may, perchance, fall into pit, or
stumble over heap of rubbish. The
fence around the house is of the mean
est sort, common post and rail en-
closure. This parsimony destroys every
sentiment of pleasure that arises in the
mind, in viewing the residence of the
President of nation, and is a disgrace
to the country"
Today the White House is pointed to
with pride by every American, and
picture postcards of its interior and ex-
terror are sent broadcast through
out the country. In the many years
since 1850 Congress has managed
to house that executive part of the
government in suitable quarters. Give
it time, and every government bureau
will doubtless have its own appropriate
little niche. We may still have picture
post cards of the Bureau of Chemistry
and the Coast and Geodetc Survey.
There is one factor in connection
with the present headquarters of the
government, however, that cannot be
overlooked in an optimistic discussion of
the question. In leasing private
residences for the various govern
mental bureaus, Congress has at last
selected historical houses. The Coast
and Geodetic Survey occupies the old
General Butler residence opposite the
House Office Building; the Public
Health Service is in a residence for
merly used by President Arthur, and
heretofore the Department of Justice
was scattered among several historical
houses on Lafayette Square and X
Street. The central K Street house
was built originally by Senator Pal
mer of New York, and was the first
house in Washington to have
kitchen on the top, instead of the bot
tom floor. This was done to keep all
cooking odors upstairs, and because
the senator wanted the ground floor
or basement for billiard room. Later
the house was turned into a hotel, and
the kitchen brought down to its proper
level, but it is still the talk of the
ancient buffers and liverymen of the
capital.
Lafayette Square. of course, is one
of the most historic places in Wash
ington, since every house facing it
has been occupied at one time or an
other by some famous parsonage, such
as Daniel Webster, Henry Clay, John
Quincy Adams, Stephen Decatur, or
General Sickles. The Sickles resi-
dence, which was the scene of a great
domestic tragedy, is now the head
quarters of the Home Club of the De-
partment of the Interior. Here you
are shown the window where, says
tradition. Mrs. Sickles used to signal
to the young district attorney Key,
in his clubhouse on the opposite side
of the square, until the General dis
covered it and shot Key in front of
the suffragette headquarters, which
used to be the old Comeron House. The
three houses on this square from which
the Department of Justice has Just
moved were all built long before the
CIVIL War; one was occupied by the
Rathbuns, the young married couple
who were in the box at the theatre
with Lincoln the night he was murdered.
This last house was especially well
built, had a splendid view of the
square and was furnished with de-
lightful old mirrors and carved man
ties over old-fashioned fire-places that
gave the offices of the solicitors quite