Evening star., 1934-12-09
CHAPTER XXXH.
BY FRANK G. CARPENTER.

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ROVER CLEvELAND'S boy
4 hood was spent in the eco
I 7 nomical quarters Of poor
mans cottage His early
manhood was passed at Buff
falo, where he lived part Of the time
in the Jail, as its keeper, and the re-
in bachelor quarters back OF
his ONCE, taking his meals at one OF
the Buffalo hotels. For the past year
or so he has inhabited the big guber-
Material mansion at Albany. and for
the coming four years he will fill the
White House. He has had life of
changes, and 1t is question whether
his last state Is better than those
which preceded it.
The White House with all its beau
ties Is by no means a desirable resi-
dence for quiet man. Its occupant
has no privacy, and such moments as
he has are always spent with guards
at his doors amid an unavailing
clamor Of those who want admittance,
but must necessarily be refused. The
Presidents every action is watched.
Crowds come to his back doors and
peep into his kitchen; they inter-
view his servants; and the good public
has the right at any time to walk
through his great palace and make
their remarks about his furniture and
the way he keeps it.
The full half OF his big house is
given up to Offices and he has his work
always with him. He can't get away
from it, it haunts him day and night.
He has also to entertain, and at his
entertainments. which he pays for out
OF his own pockets, he has to invite
people for whom he doesn't care a
straw, people who will eat his terrapin
and drink his champagne tonight.
then go of and plot to break down
his reputation tomorrow. The Presi-
dent of the United States has not an
enviable position. and his head as 1t
sleeps on the soft couches in the sec
ond story of that great white palace,
must rest as uneasily as that Of any
monarch in Europe.
White House Upkeep.
What does the White House cost?
Most people believe that s50000 a
year which the President gets as his
salary is the sum total This is a
mistake. The estimate of the amount
which Congress is to appropriate this
year lies before me, open at the page
relating to the President. I see that
s36.064 is asked for him in addition
to the salary Of $50.000. to pay the
salaries of his subordinates and clerks
His private secretary is paid So 1850, his
assistant private secretary, s2,250, his
stenographer 81 300, five messengers
each $1,000, a steward $1,000, two
doorkeepers each at 81 200, there are
four other clerks at good salaries, one
telegraph operator. two ushers getting
$1,000, a watchman who gets 5000
and a man to take care of the fires
who receives 1854 a year.
In addition to this there Is set down
$4,000 for incidental expenses, such as
stationery, carpets and the care OF
presidential stables. And further on
under another head there is a demand
for nearly $4,000 more. OF this,
$12,500 is for repairs and refurnishing
the White House, 50 500 is for fuel
81 900 for the greenhouse and SIS 200
is for gas. matches and the stables.
The White House all told costs the
country in connection with the Presi-
dent considerably over s125.000 year
But this is mere bagatelle in COM
parison with the cost of the residences
of the heads of the other governments
Of the world.
Inauguration Plans.
The preparations for the inaugura-
ton of Grover Cleveland go bravely on.
The outlook Is that more than one
hundred thousand strangers will be
in the city, and where they are all to
be accommodated is one of the vexing
questions of the present. Cots are
being put up in all the boarding
houses, and various residences in all
parts of town will be thrown open to
the crowd. At Buchanan's inaugura-
ton, thousands walked the streets all
night after vain attempts to get lodg-
ing; it will be strange If the same
does not happen on the night
of March 5.
The coming Inauguration will be,
if not the grandest. at least the most
costly Inauguration in our history.
There will be no Democratic simplic-
ity about it. The ball in the central
court of the new Pension Building will
be a gilt-edged affair, and prepara-
tions will be made to accommodate
over thirty thousand people. There
will be $4,000 tickets, each ticket, !
suppose, admitting two ladies and
one gentleman. There will be about
one hundred ball officers and floor
managers, and so mail carriers in uni
forms will have charge of the cloak
rooms. There will be bootblack stands