Evening star., 1934-12-09
PLANNING THE INAUGURAL
FOR GROVER CLEVELAND
Carpenter Writes of Elaborate Prepara.
tions for the Great Banquet and
Ball at the Pension Building.

and shaving rooms of the ball cor
ridors, and the new Pension Building
with its acres of dancing floor, its
hundreds of columns of various sizes,
and its three wide promenade gal
splendor and variety of decoration
never before known in our history. All
around the ball room run wide cor
ridors, giving ample room for the
moving about Of the thousands who
will not want to dance.
The supper rooms probably will be
situated Just of the corridors. and
the supper will be furnished by the
notorious Ed Stokes, the man who
shot Jim Fisk, and who Is now the
proprietor of the Hoffman House in
New York City. The ball room will be
lighted by electricity and by gas.
Fifteen hundred large flags will aid
in its decoration, and the Botanical
Gardens will furnish flowers and plants.
In addition to these, which will be
free, there will be other decorations
variously estimated as costing from
$4,000 to $4,000. The music is ex-
pected to cost about $4,000, and the
cost of the supper would make a very
deep hole in Mr.. Cleveland's salary If
which the ball managers expect to re-
ceive from the tickets will be almost II
not quite consumed in the expenses Of
the ball. Grants second Inauguration
ball cost 100000, but the ball room was
not so large as this, nor the oppor-
tunity for decorations so extensive and
varied.
New Pension Building.
The outside walls Of the new Pen
sion Building are already completed.
They run up rs feet and with single
range of ofice rooms, form a rectangu-
lar square about the great central
court wherein the ball is to be held.
Canvas will be stretched over these
walls, making temporary roof over
the whole ball ROOM and a waxed
floor will take the place Of what is
now mud, covered with piles of brick.
little mountains Of sand and little
lakes Of steaming mortar.
When I visited the Pension ONCE
Building today carts were driving in
and out of it, a steam engine was
putting away doing the work Of hum
dreds of men in pushing the struc-
ture toward completion, and a small
army OF Swarthy laborers were carry
ing and wheeling this and that amid
the din of the machinery. The four
boilers which are to heat the build
ing are already in place, and it is
thought these will heat the ball room
and the apartments adjoining it.
1t is big job to put on a roof
Of an acre of canvas, but the two
rows Of immense pillars running
through the court and dividing it
into three halls make this a COM
paratively easy matter. In the days
of the great Roman emperors, it was
customary at times to cover the Coli
scum with canvas, but in that case
there we're no pillars to help. and the
area to be covered was at least five
times as great.
The city will be extravagantly dec
Grated. The electric light display will
be a new feature in inaugurations,
and there will be also a great number
Of calcium lights burning at different
points. 1t Is now intended to have
90 of these at cost of $500. and it
is said they will be such that they
will burr for five or six hours. They
will be placed all about the Capitol.
along F street between the Treasury
and the Inauguration ball room, down
Pennsylvania avenue, and in short, in
all parts Of the city where the crowd
is likely to be the greatest.
The fireworks display will also be
fine. There will be the japanese fire.
works producing entirely novel effects.
consisting of large bombshells thrown
from mortars, which explode high in
the air. Some throw out colored il
Illuminated lanterns each two feet in
diameter. While others produce hang
ing chains and blue dew. thunder
storms and moon dragons in combat,
clusters of grapes, dragons dropping
out of clouds. white stars and small
chrySanthemumS, shooting stars,
large weeping willow trees and other
designs. Other kinds of these fire.
works produce animals from six to
eight feet in height There are fishes.
dragons, birds, elephants, deer, oxen,
men of various sizes, umbrellas and an
endless variety of curious things in
fires Of different colors.