Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-11-02
HARRISON WON'T VOTE.
As BE Can't Bear the Thought OF
Returning to indianapolis
so SOON AFTER HIS LAST VISIT
The President Daily Engaged in Reading
and Answering
LETTERS AND MESSAGES OF SYMPATHY


WASHINGTON, Nov. president Har-
He cannot bear the thought of going there
again SO soon after his sad visit of last
week. Private Secretary Halford, how
ever, will cast his ballot in Indianapolis
for the Harrison and Reid ticket Every
Republican officeholder from Indiana will
also follow Mr.. Halford's good example,
and no stone will be left unturned by the
Presidents friends to secure majority for
him in his own State.
1t cannot be learned here whether the
President will do as Mr.. Blaine did, and
secure a pair, or whether he will let his
| vote 60 by default. The President is of
course greatly interested in the outcome of
the contest, as his future political future is
! involved, but beyond chatting informally
with the few callers whom he receives
| nowadays he Is taking no part whatever in
the campaign. His friends and the party
| managers regret exceedingly the Presi-
dents enforced inactivity, but they respect
his feelings, and since it first became known
| that Mrs. Harrison's illness would result
fatally. they have made no attempt to bring
him into the contest in any way.
Not Engaged in Political Work.
Since returning from indianapolis the
President has held aloof from any political
work. He has glanced at the papers and
| talked with such of his Cabinet advisers and
other friends whom he has seen about the
| progress of the campaign, but only in the
| most informal manner This morning
Private Secretary Halford talked politics
with the President for awhile, and after
,~I xl~kk - kofh Faa1 1nh
encouraged bv the evident drift of senti-
| ment in favor of the Republicans. and con-
fident that the ticket would be carried
Since Saturday night the Presidents
time has been wholly occupied with the
private matters necessary to be attended to
personally and with such routine work of
public character the department officials
felt required to lay before him. The trans
action of official business and consideration
of politics, however, cannot divert the
President from his recent great sorrow, and
1t is of this he thinks and ponders to the
exclusion of almost everything else.
Reading and Replying to kilograms.
All day yesterday and to-day the Pres-
dent has been secluded in the private Of
fee, carefully reading over the numerous
messages of sympathy which came to him
from all parts of the world on the day that
Mrs. Harrison died. These letters and tele
grams came in such great numbers that it
was absolutely impossible for them all to
be read until now. Last week Secretary
Halford looked them over and gave out for
publication the names of some of the more
distinguished persons who sent words of
sympathy. The President, however, felt
it to be both pleasure and a duty to read
each message himself, for many of them
must BE- replied to by him in his own hand.
Yesterday, therefore, the mass of communi-
cations was laid before him, and they have |
since claimed his attention in theintervals |
of his cessation from work on the matters |
of official business piled upon his desk.
This reading over of messages of condol- |
ence is a very melancholy task, but the |
President has assumed 1t with the same |
WILLINGNESS that marked his persistent de- |
votion to his sick wife, and apparently |
without thought that he is sacrificing his |
own interests in ignoring politics for domes-
tic events
The Message Not Yet Commenced.
The President has not commenced on his |
message to Congress, yet, because the result |
of the election will probably have q ma
terial effect upon the tone and also the |
scope of that document. In former years |
he began work on his message about the 1st |
of October. Alter accumulating certain |
data he wished to use he called in his stem |
ographer and dictated to him Tor several |
hours at time, at various intervals, until |
the message was completed. The President |
talks easily and fuently for dictation, and
it is no more trouble for him to talk to |
stenographer tnan it is for him to make an |
ofhand speech or write letter.
About o'clock this afternoon, just as
the streets near the White House were
crowded with department clerks homeward-
bound, the President and Mrs. Mckee
started for drive in the family carriage.
The President looked pale and careworn,
and Mrs. Mckee was heavily veiled. They
drove out Vermont avenue, in the direction
Of the Soldiers Home, where Major and
Mrs. Parker reside. The Parkers are prob
ably the most intimate friends OF the Presi-
dent in thiscity.
The only visitors the President received
to-day were Secretary of State Foster, At
tornev General Miller and General Balchel-
lor, who has rendered his resignation as
Minister to Portugal The latter said he
had a very pleasant conversation with the
President, although the latter showed con-
siderable emotion when the death of his
wife was indirectly mentioned.
Tomorrow will be public reception day,
but the, President has not yet decided |
whether he will undergo the ordeal of
facing the crowd of visitors in the East
N 4