Evening star., 1917-03-07

! United States seal.
| There are a number of chests of
| silver. and these will have to be added
| to. 1t takes about ten dozen of every
| article need ID at the table, and IT now
| is necessary to mix pieces because
| there is not complete set of anything.
Fund of 100000 Asked.
| Col Harts asked for 100000 for
| extraordinary repairs and refurnishing
| of the Executive Mansion. explaining
| that it was to make repairs that have
| been necessary for the past four years
| The repairs, he said, are required more
! and more as time goes on. and are
| made necessary largely because OF
| damage inflicted upon the property by
| the public. Between 1000 and ZOO
| persons go through the White House
| every day except Sundays, and the
| lower floor and the main floor have
| been worn. With the $500 annually
| appropriated. Re said. it has not been
! possible to keep up with the wear, 50
| that many of the furnishings have not
| been restored or repaired tha. We're put
| in when the White House was re-
| modelled by President Roosevelt.
| The people, said Col. Harris, sit IN
| tha chairs. pull at the hangings and put
| their hands on the walls. so that they
require painting and retouching al the
! time in order to keep the White House
| clean. The White House is the subject
| of special scrutiny by everybody who
| comes here, and in order to keep up the
| standard number of extraordinary
| repairs are required every four years.
Made Specially for White House.
practically all of the furniture at the
White House are extremely expensive.
Almost all of it is made specially for
! the White House, and the hangings on
! some of the walls, particularly in the
blue room, are very beautiful. For
the blue room the hangingS were made
specially, and they are hand embroid-
cred throughout: that is. the small
tracing around the edge. SO those things
| which go in that room cost a great deal
| The public take great pride in the White
House and want it kept in good condl-
| ton"
| Col Harts said that the window cur
tains have been refined again and
again, have been turned from end to
! end and inside and out until now noth-
! ing more can be done with them. Peo-
| pie, he said go in the White House,
| grab at the curtains in order to look
out, and as high as people can reach
| the curtains are worn to tatterS. On
the furniture the edges have been worn
through and the plush seats are worn
| off by people constantly sitting on
| them. 1t Is mainly 1OF the use VI tHc
public that these repairs are necessary
! Describing the curtains, Col Harts
said they consist of two parts. There
are the very heav! silk plush outer
| curtains and then there are lace cur
tainS on the inside, and all OF those
| things are very expensive. Everything
| about the rooms is plain with the eX-
| ceptiou of the blue room, which alone
has any embroidery in it: New dra-
peries in the east room will cost 81, 500,
/ ireupholstering of Settees, $500; regild-
| ing 400 chairs for musicals. $500,
aud for painting walls and ceilings
| $500. 1t will take $500 for recover
ing the walls in the green room. The
walls are covered with silk plush.
Some Idea of Cost.
Some idea of what it costs to refur
nish only a part of the White House, in
Guiding linen, china. glassware, etc,
may be obtained from the following
estimates submitted to Congress re-
Gently by Col Harts:
"In the green room, for recovering
walls $500; for new draperies. 5000.
and for reupholstering furniture. $500.
making a total of $l,S00. In the blue
| room. for recovering walls, Sl,SOO; for new
draperies $4,000: for reupholstering furni-
| ture, S7OO, and for painting wainscot-
ing and ceiling, $500, making total
of $4,000. In the state dining room,
for new draperies, Sl,2O0; Tor reup-
| holstering chairs 50, 900; for refinishing
| chandeliers 5000 and for new rug,
$4,000, making a total of $1,f00. In the
entrance hall and lobby, for reup-
holstering settees. Sl3o; lor ne" ara
| peries. $l.500; for new rug, $1,000, ana
! for painting walls and ceiling. Sl200,
making a total of $3.50. l might say
that the big rug in the hall in the cor
riuor, fourteen years ago cost S?.ooo;
USherS' room, for new rug. 500, ana
for new furniture 800, making 500.
| For basement corridor, for new rug,
$500. and for reupholsterIng furniture
$500, making $500. For the Presidents
study, one new rug, 600; reupholstef-
ing furniture, $50. making $3.50.
For the library reupholstering furniture,
$500, and for new draperleS, a4oo, max
| ing 81 900. For the mountain roon west
of the library, repaperInS walls, Sloo for
| Mrs Wilson's room, reupholsterng. furnl-
tur, $500: for new draperleS, $500, and
for new rug, 5000, making $.oo; fof
private dining room, new rug, Sl,oVo Iof
pantry and dining room. new CHINA, Ss.ouo
That is one of the most important items
! in the whole list. 1t is impossible now to
have single state dinner without mixing
up china from two or three difterent presl-
Dental sets New glassware, $4,000 new
silver. $4,000, and ne" linens, Sz,uoo,
making a total of $4,000. For new avn
ngs for entire house $500 for new shades
a storage room under north walk $500.
For painting exterior of the Executive
Mansion and Office. $4,000 for painting
interior of east terrace. 5000: for painting
interior of executive office. $4,000 making
| $500. The total estimated cost of re-
pairs and refurnishing is $4,000. The
$4,000 is for contingencies and overhead
charges"
/, The government is not in any way waste
ful. Some of the articles in one part of
the house are renovated to an extent and
used in other parts of the mansion and
nothing is thrown away unless it is abso-
lutely worn out and beyond any kind Of
| repair.
No Money to Carry Out Plans.
But these plans made by Col. Harts
for refinishng and refurnishing the
White House cannot be carried out
because the sundry civil appropriation
bill, which provided for them, was
not passed by Congress. II special
session of Congress is called to con-
slider the appropriation bills which
failed of passage. it was sad at the
public buildings and grounds office
today that the estimates again Will be
submitted. In the meantime tne