Rensselaer Journal, Volume 11, Number 18, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 10 October 1901 — BEAUTIFYING A PALACE. [ARTICLE]

BEAUTIFYING A PALACE.

Work of Remodeling King Edward*. Naw Home la London.” Between now and the coronation iver 600 British laborers will hare possession of Buckingham Palace, says the London Express. Already signs are not wanting that the British workman la ruthlessly demolishing portions of the royal residence. Mosses of wood rafters, mortar and other attendant evils of the housebreaker heap up the courts and yards; huts, wheelbarrows and workmen’s tools are scattered around, and above all towors the prosale scaffold pole. Preparations for the reception of a monarch are not undertaken lightly, and the alterations now being made will lie heavy on the office of works for some time to come. It Is at the rear of the palace that improvements are being conducted on the largest scale. Already one huge wing Is in course of entire remodeling, its apartments making room for more modern and therefore more useful galleries. Interior decoration will be no small item In the expense. For months decorative artists will hang like spiders from the roofing of the king’s private apartments, chipping and painting away for dear life In order to captivate the royal eye. Buckingham Palace may have been ‘‘the ugliest house In Europe," as it was once called, but certainly after everything Is completed that judgment ought to be reversed. Surroundings are everything, and the king Intends not only to have fine surroundings, but also more light than other monarchs were content with to view them. Consequently electric light will be installed throughout the building. Among other Improvements lifts will form no small part, and several of them are to be erected when the new wing Is up.