The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-11-30
ANKSGIVING DAY.
A Festival That Dates Back to Colo
NAL Times.
Intermittent for Many Years-How
the President Issues His Proclama-
tion-The Seal Of State.
From the Washington Star.


Every year at about this time the Pres
ident of the United States issues a proc
lamation fixing Thanksgiving day" as
il has come to be known. Every year the
proclamation of the President is trans
mitted to the governors of the states, and
the day named by the President is set
aside as a general holiday. Originally it
was intended as n day of fasting and
prayer Now it is day of feasting and
frolic and foot ball games. Every good
American is thankful that he is an Amer
lean 365 days in the year and one day
extra in leap years. He does not need
special day set aside for rejoicing.
The making of the Thanksgiving day
proclamation is a serious duty for the
President; for it is customary for him to
write this proclamation with his own
hand and to put into it as much of the
/ spirit Of the day as possible Presiden I
Harrison used to take pencil and a little
pad of paper and write out the proclama-
ton in full Then he would turn it over
to one of the executive clerks to be copied.
| Mr. Harrison preferred to use his pencil
! rather than dictate. President Cleveland
also writes some things with his own
| hand, burt he uses a stenOgrapher, too, a
! greatdeal.
The first draft of the proclamation is
| copied and the copy is sent to the state
! department. There are two or three
| clerks in the state department who make
a speciality of penmanship. One of these
! engrOsSes the proclamation on parchment
artisticallY. The parchment is sent back
! to the white house to receive the Presi-
dents signature. When Grover Cleve-
| land has been written at the bottom of
it it is taken back to the state depart
ment, where'"WalterQ Q. Gresham's sigma
| ture atteStS that Of the President. Then
| the great seal of the state department is
affixed II is a very ornate seal. 1t
ought to be, for it cost 81 900 1t is kept
in a rosewood case in the bureau of com
missions and pardons, and its custodian
is George Bartle, who has been in the de-
| dartment service for forty-seven years.
Bartle was appointed to clerkshlp by
| Daniel Webster. He is one of the oldest
employees of the government at Washing
| ton
IL takes an order from the President of
the United States TO procure an impress
sion of the great seal of state. Col
lectors of seals and autographs frequently
write to the Secretary of State for copies
of the seal of state. The same formal re-
ply is sent to all of them-that under the
/
of the department unless they are affixed
| to official papers. The President of the
United States could give authority to q
collector to obtain an impression of the
seal But no President has ever done
so. The law of 1889 says that the seal
shall not be affixed to any instrument ex-
cept commission without the special
warrant Of the President therefor" The
President, therefore. when he sends a
| Thanksgiving proclamation to the state
department for the seal. sends with it u
copy of the following printed form, duly
filled out and signed:
Il hereby authorize and direct the Sec
| retary of State to cause the seal of the
United States to be affixed to -, dated
this day and signed by me, and for doing
so this shall be his warrant"
| When MIR. Bartle receives this order he
unlocks the rosewood case, puts a seal
! lOped circle of paper in the press, and with
a light turn of the heavy steel ball above
! brings the seal down on the paper and
| leaves its impress there. Then the
| stamped piece of paper is fastened to the
| proclamation and it is ready to go to the
world.
THE GREAT SEAL.
Bartle is very conscientious about the
exercise of his duties toward the great
seal, and he has controversies not infre-
| quently with people who are in a hurry
for public documents, and who do not I'M
derstand why the state department has
not authority under the general law to
affiX the great seal to any document bear
ing the Presidents signature
When the proclamation has been COM
pleted by the addition of the seal clerks
of the state department are set to work
making copies for transmission to the
| governors of the state and territories
These copies are not made on typewriters
or with manifolding paper or by any other
| process of duplication. The state de
| partment uses the typewriter for some
| purposes. but not for official correspond
ence. All of the copies of the proclama-
tion are written out on the long sheets Of
blue paper which are used for official
correspondence. Each governor who re-
ceives copy of the Presidents procla-
nation will make a proclamation of his
| own. But in the meantime the prOcla e.
nation Of the President has been made
| public, and the people allover the country
know what day has been chosen for
! Thanksgiving. -
! There is no law providing a day for
| general Thanksgiving. thanksgiving
! day" is a product of custom. The Presi-
dent could omit his Thanksgiving
! proclamation in any year, or he could fix
! May Z or Dec. 81 as the day for giving
thanks But it has come to be the Gus
| tom for the President TO issue a procla-
nation each year, naming, usually, the
| last Thursday in the month of November
| as Thanksgiving day. This custom dates
! back only to 1854, though Thanksgiving
/ day was celebrated at odd times as far
! back as the days Of the colonies. Among
| the records preserved by congress is "a
! proclamation by the council of Massachu-
! sctts dated Nov. Is. 1776, recommending
! acknowledgment for mercies enjoyed. -
| A form of Thanksgiving proclamation was
reported to the continental congress Nov.
/, 1777, by Samuel Adams, of Massachu-
setts. 1t was Samuel Adams who urged
the opening of congress with prayer in
opposition to John jay, who said that
EpiscOpalians, Presbyterians, etc could
hardly be expected to unite in formal
worship. Adams form of proclamation
has not been observed since, for each
! proclamation follows the fancy of the
President who writes it.
In November, lI1S, the chaplain of con
gress recommended that Wednesday. Dec
30, be observed as "a day of thanksgiving
and praise" so the Thursday in Novem-
Der has not been the invaria bic day for
this festival. In l719 the first Tuesday in
May was appointed as a day Of thanks
giving, and this appointment was made
by proclamation of the continental CON
gress. This was an extra day of thanks,
for in the following October Congressman
Root reported in favor of appointing
Thursday Dec q as daV of thanlxsOi y