Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1885-03-19
HAHDyRITNGsO sOFPREsIDENTs.
An Interesting COilsOtiOn of Autographs
in the Files of the Senate.

An Interesting COllsCtiOn of Autographs
in the Files of the Senate.
WASHINGTON, March lin the execu-
tive office of the Senate there are pre-
served ali the executive messages of
Presidents Of tie United States from the
foundation of the government. Though
not often referred to, some Of these dOcu-
ments are becoming worn, and recently
Gen. McCOOk, the Secretary of the Senate,
caused selections to be made from the
files, with a view to preserving some of
the interesting autographs in cabinet
by themselves. 1t appears from this
collection that none of the Presidents,
with tie exception of Washington
and jefferson, WOuid be marked above 90
for penmanship by civil service COM
mission. WashingtOn's first contribution
TO the collection embOdies nominations
for Judges MaTshals and Attorneys for
the districts OF New York and New
Jersey; and at the end of the same dOcu-
ments are the nominations Of Thomas
Jefferson, Edmund Randolph and Samuel
Osg0Od for Secretary of State, Attorney
General and Postmaster General respec-
tIvelv. The signature is written In a fair
legibIe hand, which would pSss to-day for
that of a man not entirely careless of
aDpear2nces. vet having confidence
enough in nis own work to let the details
of penmanship take care of themselves.
MIR. Jefferson penned his signature with
easy grace, but his economy Of space was
such that his documents as whole fall
below the present standard of clerical eX-
cellence. He wrote most OF MS messages
with his own hand.
In all of John Adams signatures the
small ,%tters are more than half an inch
IoDC In his message of July ,, 119S,
nominating Washington to be Lieutenant
General. an unsuccessful attempt ap-
pears to have been made to write the
whole document on The same amp.S
scale.
MIR. Madison wrote an irregular hand,
devoid of marked peculiarities.
Mr.. Monroe used a coarse pen and
wrote hesitatiugly.
Andrew JacksOn's first message, dated
March 8, 1872, is an autograph document
throughout, and more than any other one
of the series its style seems characters
tic Of its author. Its letters are angular
snd unsymmetrical, but they are legible,
and there is an air of self-asserticn about
me documeGt which eliminates in the
emphatic nnderscoSing oI the signature.
Martin Van Buren's hand was unsteady
when he penned his hrst message, but he
wrote better the next day.
James X. POlk's contribution 20 the
collection is an autograph message
nenned in what would be taken for fem
mine hand, yet with few of lthe graces
of nenmanshIp. His autograph Is rather
pretentious. with q row of dots and sew
eraI cramped flo urishes beneath that.
HarrisOn's and Tyler's signatures nave
no distinguishing characteristics.
TaylOr and Lincoln each wrote firmly
and iegibIy. but with extreme simplicity,
and Without any superf1uous marks.
Mill I'd FiIlmore's signature is very SIM
liar TO theirs in character, but rather
smoother.
James Buehanan's hand tremoled when
he signed his first message, and he made
a failure of the elaborate scroll-work at
tachment to his first initial. Franklin
Pierce wrote a sprawling, schoOl-Doy sig
nature, Andrew johnson started fairly
upon the line, then fell a little below II,
hilt recovered himself 81 the end.