ROOSEVELT PROBLEM

Evening Post, Volume CXXVI, Issue 50, 27 August 1938, Page 6

ROOSEVELT PROBLEM

THE WHITE HOUSE PIANO

The task of getting his New Dea* scheme through Congress and past the gauntlet of the Supreme Court is not. the only p»oblem confronting President Roosevelt just now, says the "Manchester Guardian." There is the question of the White House piano.. The most notable piece of furniture in the East Room, where all State receptions are held, is a concert grand, which was presented in 1903 during the Presidential term of the other Roosevelt. It cost £3000, and was considered at the time to be the finest piano that could be made. In order to harmonise with the traditional white and gold decorations of the room it is completely covered with gold leaf. It is adorned with shields representing the arms of the thirteen original. American States. Its legs are in the form of eagles with, widespread wings, their talons providing a base for support. After thirty-five years, however, the most gorgeous of musical instruments on the outside tends to become effete within, and Mr. and Mrs. Roosevelt have now decided that it is time/for the East Room piano to be superseded. But a successor adequate to the dignity of its environment is not to be found by so casual a process as visiting a music shop and selecting the most attractive article on show. So the President and his wife have been anxiously seeking the advice of experts on both the musical and the decorative side. The results are likely to be seen —and judged—when next winter's social season opens at Washington-