The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1878-02-07
DAILY DUTIES OF THE PRESIDENT.

DAILY DUTIES OF THE PRESIDENT.
The Ordinary Work of the Chief Magistrate
of the Nation.-His Powers of Endurance
and Methodical Manner of Transacting
Business.
Washington Correspondence of the Boston
Herald.1
The daily life of the President of the
United States is something in which
every body must take some interest. His
habits of life, his methods of informing
himself and of declaring the executive
will, the management of the vast CORE
spondence that demands his attention,
his dealings with his official subordi-
mates, the domestic arrangements which
form so considerable a feature of sue
cessful administration-al these things
are of general interest, and yet few peo-
pie know just how the President lives
and does business. The duties of the
Presidency are enough to overwhelm
any man who has not extraordinary
strength and powers of labor.
President Hayes is remarkable for the
ease ssith which he performs the oner-
Gus duties of his great office, and the
fidelity with which all the details of the
public business. are cared for by him.
He rarely fans to devote eight or ten
hours day to the routine work of the
White House. Always in the best of
health, he is always an early riser, and
he probably devotes a greater number
of hours in the week to his official du-
ties than were usually given to them by
any of his predecessors. He often rises
as six O'Clock, and in this way manages
10 have an hour to himself in the morn
ing. This time he deyotes to the read
ing and writing of private letters, or,
when the occasion arises, to the prepar-
alton of communications which he may
have to make to Congress. He break
fasts between eight and nine, and then
has little time to spend with his fam
lily. At nine o'clock his secretaries and
clerks arrive cand Office work begins.
He has then an opportunity to COM
municate with them, and to give any
directions as to the special work which
he may desire to have done by them.
At 10 o'clock the doors of the White
House are opened to persons who have
business with the President. The first
two hours, or until II o'clock, are by
rule devoted to the reception of Cabinet
Ministers and other officials of the Gov
eminent, and to Senators and members
of Congress who may wish to see the
President. After IL o'clock the rules of
the White House are that the general
public will be received. The ante-rooms
of the White House usually fill up dur
ing the morning with persons who de-
sire to see the President on the greatest
possible variety of subjects. The bulk
OF callers are, of course, office-seekers,
but human ingenuity is the only gauge
of the objects for which persons try to
get interviews with the President.
When the hour for the reception of the
general public arrives, some one of the
attendants usually announce that all the
visitoEss Whip i have. come; simply to pay
their respects win be received first, and
the doors of the Presidents room are
opened to these persons, who flock in
all at once, shake hands with the Presi-
dent, and then pass out. He afterwards
receives by card those who have some
business about which they desire to con-
suit him. These persons usually indi-
cate the object of their visit ON the cards
bearing their names, and it is the habit
OF the Presidentto admit considerable
number of these callers at once, seat
them around the room, and listen to
their communications in turn. Thus
there is-a continual levee during the
first hours of the afternoon, and often
his private room is filed with callers.
The supposed advantage Of this process
is that each person will consume less
time if he sees others waiting to speak
with the President than if he is allow
ed to have a strictly private inter-
VleW.1 s'tE s,feffEFt.aiG aast -,a
Although Che hours for Government
officials are from 10 to II, yet they are
received at any time, and members of
Congress and heads of departments
often drop in while the rooms are
crowded and, are, received the same as
others. If Cabinet Minister wishes
to see him in private on some impor-
tant matter the President retires to the
adjoining room which is known as the
library land sees him alone. oe
The President carries in his pocket a
rather large notebook, with long mar
row pages, which he is. in the habit Of
using on all occasions, and he usually
gratifies his callers by taking notes OF
their requests. Some times he does not
do this. Sometimes he uses the back OF
an envelope, or some fragments of pa
per for these jottings, in which case it
is rather doubtful whether the ultimate
destination of the request is not into the
official waste basket of the White House,
and members of Congress have often
been heard to give expression to the
suspicion that the entry in the little
notebook itself is not always to be
taken as conclusive evidence that the