The Caldwell tribune. [volume] (Caldwell, Idaho Territory [Idaho]) 1883-1928, 1885-02-20
THE PRESIDENTS AUTOGRAPH
The Heavy Demand fer Authur's Signature
Pages Who Do Profitable Business.


Louis P0st-DiSpatch, are hard at work
again. 1t is curious place, is Wash
ington. Everybody who comes here
must carry away, he thinks, something
with him to remind him of his visit
and to show to his friends that he has
rubbed against greatness somewhere.
If he can get a chip of the Washington
monument he is content; or, if he
does not get this, he sets about secur-
ing somebody's autograph. In this he
is quite successful, for scarcely any,
body in official life will refuse his au-
tograph to pectable-looking per-
son, except at the bottom of a check
or official document of some sort. Of
course the greatest demand is tor the
autograph of the president. Letters
come from every direction every day
asking his autograph. They are sifted
out of general corr espondence by the
private secretary, who attends to the
reception, opening, and arranging of
his mail, and thrown aside in heap,
each marked on the envelope "auto,"
to indicate that it is request tor an
autograph. When the days mails
have been worked over these letters,
which are sometimes dozen or twen-
ty in day, are laid aside, an oppor-
tunity awaited to present them to
the president for his signature
They are usually placed in the hands
of Charley Loeffier, the presidents
usher, who watches the opportunity
when the president is not engaged or
tired, and obtains the coveted auto
graph. Sometimes the autograph is
affixed to the letter requesting it, but
usually it is written, or rather scrawl-
ed, on a card, which the experienced
Charley has ready, waiting the mo-
ment when he may catch the president
with sufficient leisure for this work.
Often a hundred or two of these re-
quests will accumulate before the
president gets time to attend to them.
Sometimes they will run even higher
than that, and often his hand gets tired
with the monOtonOus scrawl of "Ches-
ter A. Arthur" which he has affixed
in an official way perhaps hundreds of
times during the day. 1t must not be
supposed, however, that the president
signs everything that bears his name,
or even that which appears tobear his
''autograph." There are probably
many people in this country, especial
ly in the west. who are fondly suppos-
ing that they have the presidents own
signature written by his own hand,
simply because the name, as signed to
some official document, looks like Mr..
Arthur's own signature. 1t would be
a physical impossibility for him to sign
all the documents required to bear his
name, and at the same time attend to
the more important duties of his Office.
The land warrants alone, for instance,
are so numerous as to take
constant signing of the presidents
name for several hours every
day Then there are many other
cases of similar sort. So there are
certain clerks whoes duties are simply
to sign the presidents name for him:
And they fall into way of making
signature like his, because it is his in
all essential particulars, and so it
might as well be like his in appear
ance. The result is that thousands of
signatures of the president are not
written by him. This does not apply
to the question of autographs sent in
~ ,iTod yTn'o % " uot the sort that NAV be
3aiooato5 NV
r. e NJ tho oan;tol bowever that tbe
,,to%ranb ~ ~ ~ wy Collector is in his glory
Ia. TL 'apm s,a, ara 70 bo mot ot evoyv
,. ruio S,I"s om,orranhs ne which arc ~.
w. - CIV ~ ara awav fror, yvasb-
y laoe,'o o,ei Ia foy tha .s.;nn
TLa om onsta,rorv ntav w method Of obtainip9g
! .hnn, no oa'.D u ,Dnnnch tha serv;ces of the
JILL - ',.odn ~. ond ~" sanata ond sr
pases III .n. MI TIasn i;,,ia faI,nns 80
pnonhe r;h. ood'o. ,,,,i. nnd mt nr;ta ao roodv for
~ \, sn' anu 49, -, "na fan, J9uars
.he 1PPor.unl'y W '"'"o u 40" "o''"''
" ,nis piocess OK 80 e,o or Elk Co...
Me ge' lIp'n 9S en-, " V.o, -, 80 20 ~,
se,,inS an "ipu'ii n'iou III 'au 'ons1,
'aiu one Oh 'ho PaSos Vi '".'V poey'
Nho' oy .no way, - 'no s.anusVn s VI
ioteu member OF lie conicuer.'o eau
net. Inc senate pages 20. aoous .ne
anne ior ge'lihg 'no au,oSr"Phs oi '.o
MEMBERS over lhere. II .no Aiouii 10
o nave .ne autographs ol the presi-
lent' caninet oiiicers, supreme court
ustices, senator's ana REPRESENTATIVES,
complete, we usually get Sz0 lOr get