The Portland daily press., 1891-03-26
the PRESIDENTS CALLERS.
Statesmen, Rores and Beggars who
Co to the White House.
washington Star. ]

Statesmen, Rores and Beggars who
Co to the White House.
Washington start
Some small woes assail the President OF
The United States of which no one hears. No
man receives so many appeals as he from
beggars of all sorts. Hardly day passes
that people do not come to the White House
for the purpose of borrowing money from the
Chief Executive. The impecunious consider
that he has $4,000 year. while they have
nothing. and that he ought to be willing to
help them with small loans out of his super
fluffy. One man visited Mr.. Harrison last
week with the request for a sufficient sum in
cash to build himself q modest home. Anoth-
er only fortnight ago handed in a petition
for the Presidents old trousers; any pair
would do, he said.
Beggars come every day to the front door
Of the Executive Manson and ask for food,
saying that they are hungry. A few weeks
ago dilapidated specimen, who appeared as
II he might have seen better days. made such
an application. confessing that he was
back to New York. He was given a hearty
meal and passage was secured for him to the
metropolis. Fortyeight hours later he
turned up again at the White House, starv
Ing as before. He was threatened with the
W0rk-house and went away cheerfully, af-
ter shaking hands with the guards, saying
that he didn't much care about anything in
particular, inasmuch as he had taken grub
at the Presidents and enjoyed ride from
the capital to Jersey city and back without
paying cent" There is an appropriation of
$4,000 year made by Congress for the trans
p0rtation of undesirable persons who have
no money out OF the District. and many Of
| the persons who visit MIR. Harrison in forma
pauperis, as 1t were, are disposed of In this
way.
Not few stranger guests casually in town
call upon the President to solicit railway
tickets to take them home Every now and
then an individual turns up with the request
that Mr.. Harrison shall indorse check for
him. He has teen informed that If he can
secure the endorsement he can get the check
cashed at the Treasury. Other applicants
are anxious that the Chief Magistrate shall
procure job of some sort for them. There
is an impression very widely spread that his
functions are to some extent those of SUI
preme police justice, with power to right
wrongs of every description. For example,
one man will come from far away to Wash
iDgton for the purpose of asking him to COM
pei dishonest employer to pay wages due.
Another wants matter set straight re-
garding a title to land, while third desires
protection against an unjust action at law,
OF cranks who call to see Mr.. Harrison
day with wooden box containing six small
alligators, which he was very anxious to lib
crate in the East room. The mildest of all
the lunatics are those who are hunting for
souvenirs, with petitions for bits of broken
dishes or scraps OF old carpet to remember
the White House by. Some persons would
not walt for permission to take such men,
orabilia as suited them If they were given
chance to cut the tasses from the curtains
or chips from the furniture, as has been
done in the Presidents room at the Capitol,
where the casual vandal has not hesitated
to slice out square foot of $1,000 carpet
when the attendants was looking the other
way. The funniest act of vandalism ever
committed In the Presidents room, however,
was performed by near-sighted man. who,
starting at the frescoed ceiling, thought a
chair was behind him and sat down upon
beautiful porcelain cuspidor a foot and a
half higner with such f0rUo w smasn the
costly object to flinders.
Sometimes the souvenir hunters at the Ex-
ecutive Mission do not hesitate to ask for
whole cups and saucers or other useful
pieces of property for mementoes. The visi-
itor is not infrequent who demands to be
shown into Mr.. Harrison's private apart
ments, even the family bedrooms, on the
ground that he who makes the request, as
one of the great American people, owns the
whole place and has right to inspect 1t.
Cranks with patents to get, especially for
Gus also. Often they wish to insist upon
setting up their models In the vestibule.
If it were not for the great expense of Off
cial entertaining, all of which he must pay
for out of his salary, the President would
find living at the White House cheap and
might leave it at the end of his term with
go0diy portion of his $4,000 year saved.
He gets his house for nothing, as we'll as the
use of a stable; the Government takes care
of his house, furnishing housekeeper and
butler; all the furniture is provided, includ-
| ing such table equipments as napery. silver,
china and glassware; his upstairs linen and
| all stationery are paid for; he Is given two
| private secretaries; yacht is placed at his
| disposal in the shape of the U. S. steamer
Despatch and all the flowers and fiorald ecor-
| ration he wants are thrown in. So he might
manage to save prettypenny, notwithstand-
| ing the fact that he must pay for his own
marketing, his carriages and horses, his
| coachmen, his feed for the stable and the
| wages of his cook, were 1t not for the costly
| state dinners he must give and other such
| formal and necessary festivities. Mr.. Har-
| rlson employs caterer for his dinners and
| his bills for those entertainments average
| $500 EACH President Hayes, though he
| gave no wine, spent $4,000 on one reception.
Garfield was more economical, but General
| Arthur blew every cent of his salary into
his inequalities. 1t was not supposed that
| General Grant saved much out of his pay,
| though 1t is probable that Mr.. Cleveland
kept something, On the whole, there is not
| much money in administering the chief mag
| istracy of the nation.
The members of the present Cabinet are
most OF them not received by the President
Secretaries come on foot to the White House
when they want to see. Mr.. Harrison-except,
of course, when their visits are In the per-
formance OF duties strictly social Tracy
and Proctor almost always walk. So does
Attorney General Miller. Blaine lives lust
around the corner from the Executive Man
| sion, and the Department of State is next
| door to the latter, SO that whether he starts
from home OF from his office 1t is but step
to the residence OIL me Chief Magistrate and
usually presents himself pedestrIan-wise.
| Window always came on foot to see the
| President. On the other hand Postmaster
| General Wanamaker always draws up at the
| door in his carriage, as do also Noble and
| Rusk.
| The latter gentleman announced soon after
| the beginning of President Harrison's incum
| bency, when fellow Cabinet member i'm
| prudently sneered at the functions of an
| Agricultural Secretary, that he was here ''tO
keep the flies off this Administration" In
| the performance of this important task he is
| still conscientiously engaged, not sparing the
| labor of the multitudinous bureaux under
| his charge, among them that one which has
| not only the musca domestica, but all the in
| sects of the country In charge. Mr.. Rusk's
| carriage, In which the ladies of his family
| make their social calls, Is an old-fashioned
| vehicle. 1t is the official conveyance of his
4
but the law which is not written permits
members Of the Cabinet to use their depart
ment carriages for private purposes, and rare
has been the Secretary who has hesitated to
| take advantage of the custom. Secretary
| Rusk bought particularly fine pair of horses
| to draw the carriage at the beginning Of the
| administration.
| Wanamaker and Blaine have private equi-
pages of their own. The latter paid 81 600
for pair of equine beauties. only a week
| ago. Mr. WaDamakor until recontlV has
been driven to and from his office in mel
ancholy- looking one. horse coach that re-
sembled the most antiquated of might lin
| ers." but within the last few weeks he has
| gotta second animal and now is pulled TO
business by post-office pair.
| OF the Senators, Edmunds, Allison, WASH
burn and Sawyer always come to the White
| House In their carriages. So does Morrill,,
| of Vermont, who is too old man to find
much walking conducive to health. Pretty
nearly all of the members of the upper legis-
latlve body make their appearance at the
/ aha hlxv mn