Great Falls daily tribune. [volume], December 19, 1920, Page 3, Image 29

About Great Falls daily tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1895-1921

Image provided by: Montana Historical Society; Helena, MT

                
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Montana Furnishes Governor With Mansion and Maintains It
Residence Cost $33,000 in 1913; Allow $5,000 a Year Upkeep
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SIDE VIEW OF EXECUTIVE MANSION
The mansion is located at the corner of Ewing street and Sixth avenue, Helena, and its grounds occupy a
fourth of the block. The residence was built by the late W. A. Chesman. The state bought it in 1913 from'
Harfield Conrad for $33,000. It was owned previously by Mrs. Peter Larson.
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aspirations to
the skies, where
neither moth nor rust dôth cor
rupt nor thieves break through!
By WILL AIKEN,
S ecretary to the Governor
M
OST of us mortals here
below are frank to ad
mit
mansions yi
and steal, but there are relative
ly '.very few of us whose aspira
tions carry us to occupancy of
the mansion that is provided by
the state of Montana for the
governor and his family. *
Time was—and not so many
moons ago at that—-when the
state paid the chief executive
the magnificent sum of five
thousand dollars the year, and
"find himself;" just about
enough to pay the silk shirt bill
of some of the skilled workers
of whom we read SO much dur
,
mg the war days, rhe governor
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his home city, and he owned his
».noi/lnnnn • K.,f whan Pnvornnr
residence, but when Go\emoi
Edwin L. Norris came into of
usually found himself very near
if not actually "in the red" when
he came to balance accounts at
the close of the year and the
term.
Governor Joseph K. Toole had
a shade the best of the game,
for the reason that Helena was
fice it was necessary for him to
SITTING ROOM IN EXECUTIVE MANSION
There are twenty rooms in the mansion, which is three stories in height. The sitting room, though possess
ing a degree of elegance, carries out the sceheme of simplicity used in the other rooms. In addition to this room,
the reception hall, the "den" and the library, afford the governor and his family spaciousness for their enter
tainments.
rent or buy, and he chose the
latter.
It had long been apparent
that the salary of the governor
was not commenslirate with the
duties to which the people call
< ;d their head of government,
—
Private Secretary to Three Governors
-
Will Aiken, the present private secre
tary of the governor of Montana, un
questionably holds the unrivaled record
for length of service as a governor's
secretary in the whole 1'nited States
Mr. Aiken became secretary to the gov
ernor during the term of Governor .1. K.
Toole, which began in 1901, practically
twenty years ago, and has continued in
that capacity to this day. Governor:
Toole did not complete his second term,
and he was succeeded in 190S by Lieu
tenant Gove^jr Edwin L. Nor ris of
Great Fails, who was elected governor
that fall and commenced his own term
in 1909. Governor Norris '.v;«s sue
ceeded in 191.*i hv Governor S. V. Stew
art of Vjrginia ( -, tv who was r ,_ clectP(1
j in 1916, and relinquishes the office next
'month to Governor Joseph SI. Dixon of
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Much publicity was given to Governor
j Stewart at. the recent governors' con
ference held in Ilarrisburg, Pa., for be
ing the dean of the governors at pres
ent in office throughout the nation, Mr.
Stewart being the only chief state exec
utive in the United States who had held
the position continuously since 191-?.
Hut Mr. Aiken ranks Governor Stewart
by several years when it conies to being
a veteran in service. No one has ever
found out. from Mr. Aiken just why it is
he has held the present position so long
All the governors he served under were
Democrats, but Mr. Aiken never claimed
' s| '® tedious duties a s a partisan reward.
j s reas on to believe that long ago
hie became so proficient in the tasks as
signed to him that no governor has dar
to assume the work of th
utive of
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but it was not until the Thir
j teenth Legislative assembly
met that there was any serious
movement to change the exist
. in £ order of things. That body
in 1913, shortly after the open-|
' ing of Governor S
Stewart s
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fice without him. However, it is hinted
that Governor Dixen is to break the
spell- not that the office will run any
smoother without the veteran secretory,
but, 'tis said, because Mr- Dixon is a
North Carolina Republican and Mr.
Aiken is a North Carolina Democrat and
"down theah" no compromises are made
j between political pel
»nag
f first term, made an appropria
tion for the purchase of a man
sion that should house the gov
ernor and his family—the then
governor and those who should
come after him.
The same assembly passed a
law increasing the salary of the
governor to seven thousand five
hundred dollars the year, but
that profited Governor Stewart
nothing whatever for nearly
four years, or until the begin
ning of his second term, because
of the constitutional provision
that an official's salary shall
not be increased or diminished
during his term for which he
has been elected. The provision
is a wise one, but it may easily
be figured that it cost Governor
Stewart ten thousand dollars in
his first term. However, he is
a good spo^t and no one ever
heard him kick about it.
Let it not be inferred that the
increase in salary and the pos
; session of an executive mansion
; operate to submerge the occu
j pant of the office in anv appre
t ciable amount of "velvet." A!
standard of livincr i<* dp
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manned 0i a governor than is
re quii-ed of the average citizen,
w hen y 0U ^d the exactions
> 0 f our years-old enemy, high
i COf5 £ jiving, it will be found
the salary is not nearly so
j arge as it j ooks on paper or on
an appropriation bill
But let us repair to the ex
ecutive mansion, of which little
is known by the people outside
! of Helena. It is one of the most
! attractive of the many hand
j some homes in the capital city,
built of brick and having three
j stories and basement. The
grounds are spacious, and there
are numerous stately old shade
trees in the parking and on the
lawn itself—altogether a de
lightful place in which the gov
ernor may rest and invite his
soul after he h.':s disposed of
the business of the day at his
office in the capitol. Standing
at the corner of Ewing street
and Sixth avenue, three blocks
from the heart of the city, the
property occupies almost a
fourth of the block bounded by
Sixth and Seventh avenues and
1 Warren and Ewing streets.
Acting upon the authority
conferred by the legislative as
sembly of 1913, the state board
of examiners purchased the
property from Harfield Conrad,
I who had some time before
j bought it from Mrs. Peter Lar
son. It was built by Mr. W. A.
j Chessman, one of Helena's pio
neer citizens, who recently died
at the age of ninety, and was
known .to be one of the best built
homes in all Helena. The price
paid for the property, including
such furniture as was retained,
was $33,000, a figure far below
the original cost of the struc
ture.
There are twenty rooms in
the mansion, taking into ac
count the five rooms of the
basement. It is furnished as
the home of a governor should
I be furnished; not lavishly, but
tastefully, substantially, "hom
ily" if that term may be coined
for the occasion.
Realizing that the governor
should not be called upon to
maintain so large an establish
ment out of the salary, the leg
islature makes provision for the
maintenance of the property by
a stated appropriation for each
year. For the past four years
this annual appropriation has
been five thousand dollars,
which sum provides for replace
ments, repairs necessary to keep
the property in perfect condi
tion, fuel, light, water, etc., and
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DINING ROOM IN EXECUTIVE MANSION
As may be seen from the above, the rooms of the mansion are not lavishly furnished, a degree of simplicity
prevailing'throughout the residence. The cost of entertaining at dinners and parties in the mansion must be
paid from the governor's salary, but $5,000 is allowed annually for repairs and replacements to the building and
its furniture.
the pay of such persons as con
stitute the hired help of the
mansion. The ordinary house
hold expenses are borne by the
governor himself, although it is
interesting to note that in some
of the states the larder of the
GOV. S. V. STEWART
The executive mansion was pur
chased in 1913, during Governor
Stewart's first year as chief execu
tive, and his family is the first and
only governor's family to occupy it.
By careful management, Gov. and
Mrs. Stewart have been able to re
turn to the state a portion of the
maintenance fund each biennium.
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GOVERNOR'S RECEPTION ROOM IN STATE CAPITOL
At the state capitol the governor has a large reception room with a public entrance from one of the main
halls and a private entrance from his office. In larger states, such as New York, a room similar to tms is used
by the governor for receiving all visitors, but Montana's governors meet their callers m the governors ottice,
and the large reception room is used seldom except for formal accasions such as when the governor taxes oa a
of office.
I mansion is kept stocked by the
; state.
A considerable amount of this
! maintenance appropriation re
mains unexpended at the expira
tion of the biennial period and
I then reverts to the general fund
; in the state treasury. At the
end of the two-year period on
; February 28, 1919, there was
an unexpired balance of $1255.
39, and it is estimated that the
reversion when the next bienni
us ends on February 28, 1921,
will be in the neighborhood of
three thousand dollars.
The mansion has been the
Eight in New GovernorFamily
After January first, when Governor Joseph M. Dixon and
family will become its occupants, the excutive mansion is to
be a busier place than it has been under Governor Stewart, for
Governor Dixon has six daughters, whereas the present gov
ernor has but two, and the young Dixons will be fresh from
the country estate of the new governor which is located near
Flathead lake, and anxious to take part in all sorts of affairs.
At least two of the girls are in the early twenties and two
others are in the teens, so the younger set in the capital city
is looking forward to many parties in the governor's resi
dence. It is expected that Governor and Mrs. Dixon are to at
tempt many functions and that Helena is to become the social
capital as well as the political capital, with the first lady in
the excutive mansion performing the duties of social arbiter
on a state wide scale.
scene of numerous delightful
social functions, chief among
which are the legislative recep
tions, it having been the custom
of Governor and Mrs. Stewart
to give at least one reception
during each session for the
members and their ladies.
1 The state waited quite a while
before it decided to provide a
! residence for its governor, but
! when it reached the decision it
carried it into execution with
characteristic t h o r oughness.
The official home of the chief
executive is one which any cit
izen might be proud to occupy
and it is a credit to the people
who through their representa
tives have provided it.