The Waterbury Democrat., 1939-01-21

george WaShlngton w
 He died six months before it was completed. Fourteen years later, the White House was de- stroyed by the British, who set fire to it. President and Mrs. Madison fled into Virginia.
 A White House policeman, whose brass badge bears a facsimile of the White House, is talking to a crowd of sightseers who jam the lower corridor. It is between the hours of 10:30 and 12 in the morn- ing, any day the year round, whether the First Family is at home or away.
 The crowd hopes to get an ear- full of intimate details of White House life. They stand on tip- toe to catch everything. They are not a dozen or a score, but hundreds. On one spring day last year, a total of 5,737 people took the White House tour within one hour and 40 minutes. This broke all records.
 They move along the main cor ridor toward the state dining room. The guide knows when every piece of furniture was bought and by whom. Here Is a marble topped sideboard bought by John Quincy Adams in 1895. And the candelabra resting on it were bought by Monroe in Paris. He spent $18,0O0 in Paris buying fur niture for the White House. Mon- roe's daughters were educated in Paris"
 ROOSEVELT LIQUOR
 If they are lucky, the crowd will get @ glimpse of the private din- ing room where President and Mrs. Roosevelt eat two meals day (breakfast is served upstairs). Hoover and Coolidge used the vast state dining-room, even when they were eating alone, but the Roose- velts prefer the intimacy of the private room. If the guests have got this far, they will perhaps see the liquor cabinet.
 "This beautiful carved chest" says the guide, contains choice port and champagne, and was presented by the government of Portugal shortly after Repeal"
 With some relish, he opens one of the panels and brings forth a bottle of port and a bottle of champagne. '"This is the pri- vate property of President Roose- velt." Apparently Roosevelt is in no hurry to consume it. After six years the chest remains we'll stocked.
 "And these are the chafing
 dishes used by Mrs. Roosevelt when she prepares scrambled eggs for the Sunday evening suppers you hear tell of. Two of 'em silver, one pewter. It's the pewter one she uses mostly" HISTORIC FURNITURE
 The crowds get too many his- torical facts to write home about.
 "The elevator here is made out of wood taken from the Old South Church in Boston, and originally it came from timbers in the ship that was raided for the Boston Tea Party.
 "The big table in the state dining-rcom seats 40 people. It dates from Benjamin Harrison's time, but 1t was put in storage in 1902 until Mrs. Hoover brought 1t out.
 This clock in the hall was bought by President Arthur. No- tice it keeps accurate time. The clock in the Blue Room was . gift of Lafayette to George Washington. It is still run- ming and this clock in the Green Room was presented to the White House by Banjamin Franklin, who bought 1t in France. It also keeps good time."
 The guide explains that if a First Lady has individual ideas about how she wants her house arranged, she must indulge them on the upper floors. The main floor is not her province, but is controlled by the Fine Arts Com mission. She could not do to- day what was done in President Arthur's time, when 24 carloads of miscellaneous furniture were hauled away because Mrs. Ar- thur did not like the style. COOLIDGE ANTIQUES
 The oldest piece of furniture in the White House is a "pie crust" table in the Green Room. Bought