The Tipton advertiser. [volume] (Tipton, Cedar Co., Iowa) 1856-1962, 1865-06-08

applicant for audience has to take hil
turn as if waiting to be shaved in bar
ber's shop. Many of the matters brought
to my notice are utterly frivolous, bal
others are of more or less importance
and oil serve to renew in me cleare,
and more void image Of that great popu
lar assemblage out Of which l sprang, and
to which at the end of two years must
return. I tell you, Major" he said
appearing at this point to recollect was
in the room, for the former part of these
remarks had been made with half.shut
eyes, as If in soliloquy-"I tell you that
l call these receptions my public-opinion
baths---for have but little time to read
the papers and gather public opinion
that way; and though they: may NOT Be
pleasant in all their particulars, the
effect, as a whole, is renovatipg and in
vigorating to my perceptions of respon.
sibility and duty. It would never do
for President to have guards with
drawn sabers at his door, as if he fancied
be were, or were trying to be, or wsro
assuming to be, an Emperor"
This remark about "guards with drawn
sabers at his door" called my attention
afresh to what had remarked to myself
almost every time I entered the White
House, both then and since; aud to
which I had very frequently called tho
attention both of Major Hay and General
Halleck-ths utterly unprotected condi-
tion Of the Presidents person, and the
fact that any assassin or maniac, seeking
his life, could enter his presence with.
out tho interference of single armed
man to hold him back. The entrance
doors, and all doors on the official side of
the building, were open at all hours of
the day and very late in the evening !;
and have many times entered the man
sion and walked up to the rooms of the
two private secretaries as late as nine or
ten o'clock at night, without seeing or
being challenged by single soul. There
were, indeed, two attendants-one for
the outer door and one for tho door of
the official chambers but these-think-
ing, l suppose, that none would call after
office hours save persons who were per.
sonally acquainted, or had the right of
official entry-wcre, not unfrequently,
somewhat remiss in their duties.
To this fact 1 now ventured to call tho
Presidents attention, saying that to me
perhaps from my European education
it appeared a deliberate courting of
danger, evon if tho country vero in .
state of the profoundest peace, for the
person at the head of the nation to re-
main so unprotected.
"Even granting, Mr.. Lincoln" I said,
"that no assassin should seek your life,
the large number of lunatics always in a
community, and always larger in times
like these, and the tendency which in
sanity has to strike at shining objects, or
whomsoever is most talked about, should
lead, I submit, to some guards about tho
place, and to some permanent officers
with the power and duty of questioning
all who seek to enter" 10 this added
some brief sketches Of the all but innum-
cradle crazy letters and projects which
were continually being received at Gen.
Halleck's headquarters, and which he
had one day laughingly turned over to
me, on tho ground that I now and then
wrote verses.
"There are two dangers, therefore," I
wound up by saying, "the danger of de.
libcrate political assassination, and the
mere brute violence of insanity"
Mr.. Lincoln had heard mo with a
smile, his hands still locked across his
kness, and his body still rocking back
and forth-the common indication that
he was amused.
"Now, as to political assassination, I"
he said, edo you think the Richmond
people would like to have Hannibal Ham.
lin here, any better than myself? In
that one alternative, I have an insurance Q
on my life worth half the prairie land of
Illinois. And besides, (this moro grave.
ly) if there were such a plot, and they
wantod to get at me, no vigilance could
keep them out. We are SO mixed up in
our affairs that-no matter what the sys.
tenn established conspiracy to assas.
sinate, if such there were, could easily
obtain pass to see me, for any one or
more of its instruments.
"To betray fear of this, by placing
guards and so forth, would only be to put
the idea into their heads, and perhaps
lead to the very result it was intended
to prevent. As to the crazy folks, Ma.
jor, why must only take :ny chances
the worst crazy people at present l fear
being some of my own too jealous ad-
herents. That there may be such dan.
gers as you and many others have sug.
gested to me, is quite possible; but I
guess it wouldn't improve things any to
publish that we were afraid of them in
advance"
At this point the President turned to
the papers l had brought over for his
signature, and signing them, handed
them to me with somo message for Gen.
Halleck. Whereupon I bowed myself
out, and the stream of omnium- -gatherum
humanity from the waiting rooms again
commenced flowing in upon him, some
times in individuals, sometimes in depu-
tations or collective waves.