Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1890-04-20

to know why there is a delay in their
getting their papers; and the people who
address the president and receive no
answer, or else q note from Private Sec
rotary Halford, write to ask Mrs. Harri-
son to lay the subject before the presi-
dent. In every such case, whether
written or verbal, from oldest friend or
any one, the members of the president g
family absolutely refuse to prefer re-
quests for offices or favors to him. They
see how worn and harassed he is with
the all-day seige for Offices, and they
viii not spoil his little rest or peace in
the private part of the house by any
thing of that kind. Those who ask such
favors cannot and will not see the deli
cacy and the justice of the ladies' course,
and with every such appeal made to
them, Mrs Harrison and Mrs. Mckee
have a sinking at heart in fear of an en-
emv made by their refusals.
The temperance people call and write
and exhort Mrs. Harrison as if she were
an abandoned sinner, and they talk to
her of Mrs. Hayes, and hold up Mrs.
Hayes as an example, until she must
soon dread to hear the name of that good
woman, who was in a way related to
her. If there were an open bar IN the
White House some of the eXhorteTs could
not be more anxious and earnest. The
president and Mrs. Harrison, who are
temperate in all things, have only fol-
lowed established social usages, and set
before their guests what is usual and
proper.
Every charity and every begging
scheme appeals to Mrs. Harrison, and
three times the president s salary would
not meet these requests. From building
a tombstone for Mary, the mother of
George Washington, or Lucy Hayes
memorial temple, down to sending
photograph, and a dollar to buy the
frame for 1t, to some strange correspond
ent, every one appeals to her. Many
of the begging letters are from poor and
ignorant people, and are really prayers
addressed to the highest earthly
power they know for help when their
other prayers have not been answered.
Every fair and charitable entertainment
within fifty miles begs her attendance.
Actors and artists call and ask that the
president g family Will attend their per-
formanoes, musicians and elocutionists
and infant prodigies want to be heard in
the White House parlors, and it is diff
cult to decline these kind offers that
would result in so much benefit TO these
performers. All the cumulative methods
of raising money for charities have been
tried, by asking Mrs. Harrison to send
ten cents or dollar, and mail the en-
closed blanks to ten or more people who
will keep on widening the circle of con-
tributors by tens.
Mrs. Harrison s mail is a daily curios-
ity, as well as an inf1ictiOn. The cranks
in every part of the country write to her,
and some of the letters pass beyond
crankeTy. When the papers announced
that the White House was overrun with
ants, scores of recipes came for Kidding
the place of the pests, and in post
scripts the writers suggested the rewards
they would like for this voluntary kind
nesss-a sum of money, elk dress or
pOstoffice. At the time of the rat inva-
sion recipes for rat poisoning and pack
ages of rat poison came daily. The let
ter writers are often impeTtinent. They
advise Mrs. Harrison not to sign her
name as Carrie, not to bang her hair,
and not to become worldly minded. The
petitions for autographs are equal to the
craZy-quilt appeals. Anxious mothers
ask her to make out list Of books that
she would advise a young girl 20 read.
Another mother wrote that her promis-
ing young son had dreamed that Mrs.
Harrison had sent him violin. The So
luton of the dream was in the post
script, of course, and provided tor the
dream s coming true by giving full di-
reCtiOns for sending an express package
to their country cross roads. Boxes of
home made candy, and cakes, pickles,
and preserves are sent, requesting orders
for the White House table and an opinion
of their merits. A prize letter came
from the South at the time of the holi-
days, and when deoiphered read:
'Pres. Mrs. Benjamin Harrison:
81 AM very DESTROYS to get q New
Years present from Washington city and
CONSEQUENTLY have located on you for the
present, as [ give all the aid 1 could to
give MIR. Harrison the president office.
My son, --, cast his first and only
vote for Harrison through my influence
and many, many others, and now
New Years keepsake from you will be
highly appreciated. If you respond to
my desire please do not express it as
have vowed never TO pay express again
unless [ could get to see what pay for.
So pay the express when you snip the
present so that will not have to brake
my VOW. A dress pattern, or anything.
''Yore true friend,
MRS. G. W. --.'
lu6 NOlHSSl VI SOA0 dSSOCldllOu OF CIuD
viii write in testimonial to Mrs. Har-
rison, and by the time an acknowledge
ment goes from the White House, dis
cord and disunion has risen in the sis
terhood and each faction writes her
their version of how things stand, and
berate one another warmly. "She |
ought never to have held the ofice,''
wrote one club member of another |
'She has no social position, as her. hus- |
band is only d letter CARRIER There |
was fine bit OF Democracy and fine |
thing to send to the mansion of the chief |
of the land of the free, of liberty ard |
equality! OF course four-fifths of Mrs. |
Harrison's mail goes straight TO the |
waste basket, and not all Of it even |
meets her eye, as those who attend to |
her mail know the signs of a crank in |
tuitively. With the food of such rub |
bish coming daily, IL has to be an eXcep- |
tIonal bit, gem of orankery, that is |
saved for Mrs. Harrison g eccentric |
fle'' of letters.