Aside from the arduous official duties of the President of the United
States, it is interesting to note some of the pleasure and profit that
accrue from his term of four years. With an income of $138 a day, or
$50,000 a year, paid by the strongest bank in the country, the United
States Treasury, he may or may not leave office with a snug fortune of
perhaps $100,000, depending on whether his expenditures have been of an
extravagant nature. Many Presidents have taken office as poor men, but
with the money they have saved during their term, and the influence that
the office has brought them in business pursuits afterwards, they have
died comparatively rich.
The country instals the President in the White House--a magnificent
residence--and surrounds him with every convenience. With an
appropriation that Congress makes every year most of the expenses of
this establishment are paid.
The following is a fair idea of the many incidentals that come free to a
President: Every bit of linen, bedding, towels, and such things is
furnished. He is shaved by the White House barber. His table is spread
with the finest, daintiest damask, set with the most exquisite china,
and bountifully supplied with flowers from the White House
conservatories. If he sends a telegram, it is done from an instrument in
the White House, for which the government pays. His stationery, postage,
etc., cost him nothing. Should he desire a game of billiards, there is a
beautiful table at hand; or if he wants to take a drive, his stables,
which the government pays the rent for and takes care of, are amply
equipped. When he enters his business office, a man is stationed at the
door to open and close it; and a private secretary, to whom the
government pays a salary of $5000 a year, assists him with his
correspondence. The services of a type-writer are also furnished. He is
protected from the curious by a number of private watchmen. Should he
want a cruise, a magnificent steam-ship from the navy is placed at his
disposal.
There are many other things that cost him nothing, such as the culinary
arrangements, his steward, who does the marketing, the many fancy
delicacies sent him by enterprising firms. This, by-the-way, is a sort
of nuisance, for it seems to be the desire of every manufacturer of some
new eatable or drinkable to get it into the White House. Things of value
that find their way there are never accepted.
Lately the bicycle manufacturers have tried to get President Cleveland
to ride a wheel, and have offered the most extravagant inducements to
both the President and Mrs. Cleveland. One firm said they would present
Mrs. Cleveland with a gold bicycle studded with gems if she would ride
it.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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