Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1883-12-20
THE PRESIDENTS RIAL.
How 'The Press" Readers Postal Cards
Poured Into the White House.

Erc1a he New YORK Tribune.
WASHINGTON, Nov, 29th.-One of
the newspapers played what amounted
r 20 8 practical joke upon the President
the other day, though it was not in
tended as one. In an evil hour the
thought struck one of its editors that
postal cards cost only a cent apiece and
that it was thus within the power of
every citizen to exercise the right of pc
tition to the President for small sum
in behalf of Sergeant Mason and 4'Betty
and the Baby 1t may not be true
that the President saw the paragraph
and pardoned Mason on the spot, but it
as a fact that the postal cards only be-
gan to come in when the pardon had
already been announced. They came in
by the hundreds, and continued for two
or three days. How many there would
have been if the President had not par
doned Mason it would be hard to guess.
The cards made an interesting collec-
tion as they were stacked in neat bum
dies on the desk of Private Secretary
Phillips. A great many were from wOm-
en-, educated and uneducated; a num-
Der from soldiers. Some handwritings
showed extreme age; others were from
children, oil; signed by whole families.
Many showed singular ideas of ETH
quette in addressing the President, and
said without word of preface or pO-
liteness, pardon Sergeant Mason"
Scores of them said not word more.
Perhaps nine out of ten contained a re-
quest that Sergeant Mason should be
allowed to eat his Thanksgiving turkey
with ''Betty and the Baby One writ
er evidently felt that the President was
likely to grow tired of this refrain, and
summarized it thus, "Sir, Mercy-Par-
don-Mason Thanksgiving. Be just
and fear not.'' This was signed by
four members of family, the last evil
IDENTITY young boy. One card gave
Portals description of mercy. One
card unsigned, bore this rather pathet-
ic inscription in a trembling hand:
"'Please hberate Sergeant Mason, and
answer the prayers of a greY-headed
mother -
"Annie," evidently a little girl,
wrote. ''Mr. President: Please pardon
Sergeant Mason. Blessed are the mer-
ciful, for they shall obtain mercy A
Philadelphia boys card was more prac-
teal perhaps: eff you want to be win
ner in 's4 you will have to let the Ser
geant brave eat Betty's turkey dinner. p"
Many cards addressed the President as
&c. A. Arthur, Esq e, Dear SIR One
of these ran in this sharp fashion:
"'When do you propose to give Mason
his liberty and have people think there
is some good ia youP'
From this showing it would seem that
the Presidents mail may, under some
circumstances, become a burden. Yet
it is not so large as as many might ex-
poet. 1t often falla as low as fifty let
tiers q day and seldom exceeds 100, un.
less some specially important appoint
nlent or measure is pending. Nine
tenths of these, 1t is said, are apt to bt
on Department matters and ought prop
.erly to be addressed to the departments
Almost every mail brings some letter.
from ''cranks," which are duly filed
under the head of Eccentric sub
division about as large as any in thu
White House files.
Occasionally letters even come from
lunatic asylums. One of the interest
ing features of the clerical work o
the White House is that the entire tim
of one of the seven clerks is occupied il
reading the hundreds of newspapers re
eeived. This is done simply to keel
the run of editorial opinions, which ar
classified in scrap-books by their sub
jects and preserved, thus making his
tory in one way of an administration
This system was begun under Presiden
Hayes. The clerical work of tn
White House is so well systemized tbs
q president has little labor with his lei
tiers and papers. The great drain VI
on his physical powers is in the strea1
of callers, many of whom come with a
fairs with which he is not concerned &
all, and which he is obliged to refer I
the departments.
SHEEP RAISING.