The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1892-11-27
TALK WITH THE PRESIDENT
Els Coming Animal Message to Con-
gress, aud How He Is Preparing 1t.
Unlike Previous Ones. His Last Is Being Die.
tstsd tea tenOgrapher-HarrisOn's Work
ing Hours-RisT Tariff Views Unchanged.
epecial 70 herndIanapors Journ.l

20 Congress. For two weeks be has been
working on il as steadily as the other de-
mands of public business would permit,
and within the next week 1t will have
been rounded off. read 10 the Cabinet. ap-
proved, and will be ready to go TO Con-
gress. 1t will probably be sent to the Cap
itoI in the hands of Assistant Private Sec
Rotary Pruden on Tuesday. the day follow
ing the Monday on which Congress meets
The President has followed a new method
OF work in preparing his annual message
shis year. a fact which makes the work of
preparation more interesting. This mes
sage is of particular interest. too. because
it will be the last annual message which
President Harrison will send to Congress.
A gentleman who called Mt the White
House q few days ago to see the President
found him with g little pad of scratch pa
per" In front OF him. q pencil in his
hand, working out an idea. 1t has
been the custom of the President in
past years to write his messages
TO Congress IN this wsy-sitting OF
his desk in his Office at the White House. or
IN his room. writing when the fancy
seized him, or when some idea was suggest
I'D to his mind. The attitude suggested the
annual message. and the visitor spoke of it,
and asked the President il he was working
on it. The President said: Il am dong
something | have never done before. | an
debating my message to q stenographer
this year. 1 find that the physical effort of
writing on this pad OF paper land he picked
up the pad and held it II his hand as he
Bpoke) Is exhausting; it wearies me-"
The President looked weary as he spoke.
There 10 not an unhealthy look in his face,
but there lies IL IL to-day the ex preston OF
deep SORROW. lt is scanned with wrinkles.
The visitor noticed. too. that on tho pad
where the President had been writing the
lines were not straight aud the letters were
ptraggiing and Uniformed. Ordinarily the
Presidents hand writing is as clear, pro-
Else and neat as that Of q woman. The
great STRAIN OF the long days of
Mrs. Harrison's last illness has told
upon him. Before they came he
was q man of tIreless energy. Work never
Deemed to exhaust him. Particularly was
was this true of mental labor. Like Mil
ler's 1.-THE Attorney-generall the Presidents
ideas How slowly and steadily and he
grasps bis subject with u completeness that
is wonderful He used TO sit for hours at
, time az his desk writing steadil never
changing q word or altering the position
Of q comma, so perfectly and so accurately
7id his thoughts frame themselves.
PREFERS WRITING TO Debating.
81 prefer to write my message myself
yaid the President, continuing. my
thoughts flow moro freely from the pencil
Ind my words as they appear on the paper
IRE an inspiration to me-. But 1 find now
that / become exhausted. And l find. too,
that / cannot fix my mind on NV subject so
steadily when 1 am writing with q peEcll.
by thoughts wander away from the sub
iect before l have written down the words
that come to me. i would greatly prefer to
write out my message Tor 1 find that my
language Is stronger my sentences better
rounded when / put them on paper myself.
Heretofore. i have always sat down at my
desk when l felt like writing and worked
for q time. But l found that people inter-
.upted me constantly when 1 was in tho
middle of q paragraph. and so distracted
me that / have been Obliged TO set apart q
certain time for my work and to sit down
with my stenograDher then and dictate to
him."
THE newspapers of the United States are
say OF the tariff question: said the visitor.
lit looks az though 1t were Mckinleyism
that had defeated the Republican party.
and they are very anxious TO know whether
you will modify your Vows on the subject
Of protection in this message"
The President had thrown himself into
his chair, prepared TO take up his work
again. He leaned back. and. looking his
visitor squarely in the face. Ee said: The
newspapers of the United States ought to
know me well enough to believe that when
j advocate q system l am not going TO
Dhange my views merely because OF q de-
feat in election"
With that the interview closed.
The President gives mp two hours to his
visitors every morning. These are men
who call to see him abOnt public affairs.
When he has disposed OF their business. the
President shuts himself into his Office,
his stenographer and continues
the work OF preparing his annual message.
The President sits at the big desk which
was made of the timbers of the ship Reso-
Iufa md nrReentad Tn Iha PrRafdant nf tho
United States by Queen Victoria.
DIR. Tibbott sits at one end of the
desk. his notebook in front of him.
Before the President are the notes which
thoughts have come TO him. suggesting
ideas TO be developed in the message. He
has also in hand the synopses of the re-
ports OF the heads OF departments. Many
Of these reports were not ready a week ago.
but the heads of departments had antici-
pated them by going through the reports
bf their bureau chiefs and debating from
Them narrow outlines OF the department re-
ports as the would DO when they were
ready 10 transmit TO Congress. AS each of
these was made ready IL was copied on the
typewriter and sent TO the President for
his information; for the annual reports of
the heads OF departments form the basis of
the e1nual message of the President.
Each day when the President has Tin
ished bis work Of debating. Mr.. Tibbott
goes - his Office across the hall and care
fully transcribes what he has received.
No other eye than his has seen OF will see
the message. AS the sheets are completed,
they are taken TO the President for revision
aud the notebook and the transcription are
kept safely under lock and key in the
pffices of the executive mansion. The
President has been In almost daily con-
s1ltation with the members of his Cabinet
over the preparation of the message. and
as each part OF IL has been completed, he
has read it TO the Cabinet meeting for APP
prevail or criticism. The heads of the
departments are as much inter-
ested IN the Presidents recommenda-
lions as he himself is. They are
his advisers, and while he Is not
bound to respect their suggestions, he is
very likely to oct on some of them. When
the President wrote his letter. accepting
the Republican nomination for the presi-
de1cy. he submitted it TO his advisers here
and, on their suggestion, he cut ont of it
matter which, = member of the Cabinet
says. would have aggregated about two
thousand words. Nobody edits" the
Presidents copy but himself. but he 10
open TO suggestion for Improvement on il.
Doubtless. q great many changes will be
made in his message during the Cabinet
CONSULTATIONS which will occur before il ia
ready TO submit 10 Congress.
THE DOCUMENT.
When the message has been completed
IL will be taken to the Government Print
ing Office. and there il will be put in W
snd printed. This is O work OF great deli
cacy. for il is q matter of the utmost i'm
Drrf.uoo that fha <a~tcr sha .,o..