Union County courier. [volume] (Elk Point, Union County, D.T. [S.D.]) 187?-1913, 1882-03-08
white House Etiquette.

i lH9 pIt1l0cllty sbcy 10y OSFsS -
Tie White House last night for the
fint time. It's horrid cherries
old barrack," said Colonel Ingcrsoll
today TO d friend. 'grhe president
| ought 70 have q home for his family
like any other man. He is as much
entitled to his privacy as any other
American citizen. The government
ought to give him q house and the
custom should be established and
maintained that nobody should 60
to that house unless he was asked to
60. The president should use the
White House as his Office, and
should 60 there regularly and do his
official business; and there should
be more system in the transaction
OF the White House business than
there has been. The president
ought not TO be so accessible. There
should be a private secretary, who
should be man capable Of saying
No! and the president ought not to
see everybody about petty Offices.
If he should arrange the business Of
the executive on a proper system,
the president Of the United States
might have six hours a day for play;
but if the old system is maintained,
he will have nothing but turmoil
and trouble from the first to the last
day Of his administration. 1t
should be considered polite for the
president Of the United States to re-
ceive people in their order and to
tell them yes or no. and then to
ask them to pass on. He ought not
to be compelled to talk over the po-
litical situation every day with the
American citizen from Galligan
Mills. There are too many Of those
mills in this country; there is not
enough Of the president to go
around. And as to the great offices
Of the country, he ought to select a
cabinet to make appointments, and
give them instructions to consult the
local political sentiment SO far as is
possible, and not to trouble the exc
cutive. The commissioner of inter-
nal revenue, for instance, should be
held responsible for the collecting of
the internal revenue and, if he got a
bad man in Office, it would be his
fault, and he should be held accoun-
table for it. The president ought to
be able to say to all corners with re-
spect to internal revenue appoint
ments, that he was not collecting
the revenue; that was not his bust
ness; that it was the business Of the
commissioner Of internal revenue,
and that the officer is the proper
person to apply to-
"But how would you manage the
politicians" bystander asked.
II should give the senators and
representatives in the republican
states certain Offices, and if they
made bad selections it would be a
matter which they would have to
settle with their constituents; but
the main principle should be obser-
we'd that the cabinet officers are re-
sponsible for the duties Of their de-
partments. And there should be
clerical force enough at the White
House, too, to answer every letter
that is received. The writer
should be told where his letter has
gone, if it has been referred, and
should be informed Immediately
that his request cannot be grant,
ed, if there is no intention of giving
him favorable consideration. There
ought to be decisions in these mat
tiers. The applicant who was refus-
ed would get mad in the first in
stance of course, but he would not
be half as mad as he would to wait
for six months and then be refused"
''There is another kind of bust
ness that ought to be discontinued
about the White House-that is,
these receptions. They simply con-
vert the president into pump, and
give everybody chance to take
Jerk at the handle"