Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-10-14

49, is Mr.. Cleveland now.
%rAs The preca ons
s. E@ - taken for his protec-
Ec sMIfFUTIE ton are unprecedent-
sstjsIltSISpG! ed. There seems to
,4Tpmss M ~ be an epidemic Of lu-
,N-GGSSS macy at present, and
T-3Isk n demented perso
generally make the
~ White II u s e their
Mecca. An average
OF two Of them each day have called to see
the chief magistrate during the last month.
Most OF them are harmless. but a few are
disposed to be violent, like the fellow the
other day, who demanded the Presidents
chair and declared his anxiety to settle the
claim at once with pistols.
Ordinarily 1t Is very difficult for a crank
to approach the President. Just now it is
practically impossible. Each visitor at the
White House must undergo a rigid scrutiny
before being admitted To begin with. his
appearance must satisfy the doorkeeper.
Otherwise his business L. demanded. In
nineteen cases out Of twenty crank Ia
recognizable at the first glance.
Passing under the eye Of the captain Of
the guard at the foot OF the stairs, the caller
goes UP to the second floor and stops at the
Presidents door. where stands Cerberus
in the person of a trusted employe named
Loefi1er. His orders being that only mem
bers Of the cabinet shall be admitted. there
is no chance to get by him. But the portal
is further protected by an attendant named
Davis. placed there within the last few days
for the express purpose Of looking out for
cranks and for that object only. He Is q
policeman, and carries a gun. which he
would not hesitate to use II there was &C.
casion.
But in the treatment Of lunatics Of all
sorts at the White House the suaviter In
vp1n6 do 10 % tn 70
Loeffler refers the questionable visitor to
Mr.. Thurber, on the plea that he alone
possesses authority to grant an audience
with the President. So the crank. IL he
seems peaceable. Is shown into the room Of
the private secretary. The latter Is an ex-
pert In the treatment Of such customers.
He soothes them as skillfully as any mad
Doctor could, smoothing their ruffied feel
ings and getting rid Of them in nearly every
instance without the slightest disturbance.
II one should make a row. touch Of the
bell would summon instant aid, and the Of
fender would be elected.
Only the other day a man requested Mr..
Thurber to grant an interview with the
President. because he said that he must
He explained that there was a conspiracy
among his neighbors to kill him. and the
only way he could get protection was by
obtaining the appointment. The private Sec
rotary told him that he understood perfect
ly how II was But he added: The thing
for you to do is to file your papers, go home.
and tell the folks that your application for
the position has been placed in the hands
of the Postmaster General" The crank ac-
| cepted the suggestion toyfully and went
| away.
How 1t IL Done.
Only the other day Mr.. Thurber received
warning from an acquaintance that a crank
| recently discharged from one Of the depart
ments. was coming to see the President and
| threatened to use violence. The name and
description were given OF the person. who
was subsequently identified on his arrival.
However. the private secretary sent word
| to the captain of the guards to let him
come up. considering II better to have II
| out with the man and be done with it. He
was wild Of speech and emphatic in his de-
mand for reinstatement In office: but with
| In five minutes he made his exit as meek
as lamb and started OF cheerfully to see
| the civil service commissioners. Neverthe-
| less. during the interview he alarmed the
ire roe Is nss Sy reach
| 1t was only a bundle Of papers he sought
A case Of quite q different sort was that
Of colored man who came one night-it
happened to be while Mr. Cleveland was
| away-and said he had all kinds Of things
| in his boots. such as lizards snakes and
| rats He had had a dream that the only
person who could cure his complaint was
the President, and he must see him at once
| The visitor was arrested. and 1t took about
six men to get him into cell at the police
station.
| Anotner tlme, ABOUT III pm, q strange
man suddenly opened the front door of the
| Executive Mansion from the outside, poked
his head In and yelled In a voice that walked
the silent echoes Of the night: This is my
house. Get out" Then he slammed the
door and vanished. but presently he reap
peared and repeated the performances. This
| time he was seized and demonstrated with
He explained that he objected to Mr.. Cleve.
lands occupying the White House. which
was his property. An asylum claimed him
| subsequently,.
A Nocturnal Visitor.
One nocturnal guest of Gen. Harrison's
| was a crank who climbed over the iron
picket fence in the rear Of the Executive
| Mansion while the President was sitting or
| the back piazza In company with Repre-.
sentative Mudd Of Maryland. The visito,
coolly walked up on the porch and took q
seat. The President rang a bell to sum
mon one OF the guards. and the intruder on
being removed. explained that he simply
had business with the chief magistrate
From what has been said 1t will be per-
celved that the cranks have scarcely any
| chance to get near the President. They
undergo a sort of sitting process at the
White House, the more palpable ones being
| weeded out in the vestibule. while those
| who pass the guards and arrive upstairs
must encounter Loeffler and Thurber The
former knows everybody. and when the
door was on the latch to all the world
earlier in the administration his Judgment
|
mitted. Now only the private secretary
holds the key, except for officers Of the ca b.
met Mr. Cleveland is perfectly safe in the
Executive Mansion.
| Once in while a drunken man gets into
| the White House at a reception. 1t Is Won
derful to observe the system by which a
person so affected by liquor is elected being
passed along from one guard to another
until he reaches the driveway outside 1t
is all done so quickly as to excite no atten-
ton. At entertainments in the Executive
/ Mansion six sentries are always on duty.
They are all men of great muscular
strength. On such occasions two OF them
| stand close to the President, watching
| every person with whom ne shakes hands
and at the slightest Indication Of a hostile
| intent on the part Of a guest he would be
| seized.
One night at a presidential reception.
| when the parlors of the White House were
gay with brilliant toilets and gorgeous uni
| forms, a woman was observed to act sus-
piciously. She was arrested, taken to the
! police station and ordered to undress
| Seven pocket books were found in her
| trousers. AS the guard had imagined. she
| was a man, having assumed skirts for the
purpose Of pilfering.
! 1t should be explained that Mr. Cleveland
| himself has little or no notion Of the pre-
| cautions which are taken to protect hin,
| against crazy visitors. Fortunately nearly
| all OF the latter are harmless Quite one
| half of them are religious maniacs OF This