The Van Buren press., 1893-07-15
THE OFFICESEEKERS.
Why They Had to Be turned
Down" by tho President
osnators. Representatives and Governors
Made Themselves Nuisance by Call
ing In Season and Out OF season
at tho white House.
Especial Washington Le,,er.l

Especial Washington Letter.l
Tho executive mansion does not
seem like the same place since the
president issued his executive order
declining to receive. entertain and
listen to the pleas of ofiiceseekers.
Previous to the issuance of that order
the white house was a very good place
to study human nature. People were
constantly coming and going, and al
most any morning in walking from
the gate on Pennsylvania avenue up
the circular path TO the big front door
of the executive mansion one might
easily meet with and recognize from
three to ten United States senators
and from ten to Twenty-Five or thirty
representatives. Each of these dis
tinEuished gentlemen would be ac-
corapanied by one or more constitu-
ents, and their whole conversation
was about how the president acted,
what he said, and the utterance OF
comments as TO the prospects of the
individual spoils seekers. Upon one
occasion Senator Palmer introduced so
many people to the president at one
time. that MIR. Cleveland said: "You
seem to have quorum present ready
TO do business"
Passing the main door into the large
corridor the visitor would find him.
self commingling with from fifty to a
hundred people of more or less distinc-
tion, elbowing their way in and out of
the executive mansion. Upon several
occasions it was found to be ain. .ost
impossible to ascend the broad stair
way because il was so crowded. Sem
ator Colquitt, of Georgia, and Senator
Stanford, of California, were obliged
to be accommodated by the use of the
private elevator, in order that they
might reach the second floor and see
the president. In the cabinet room it
was not an infrequent sight to see both
the senators and all of the democratic
representatives from one state await
ing their turn in a body to present to
the president the claims of some dis
tinguished citizen to some important
Office at home or abroad. When the
president issued that order declining
to see 'officeseekers any more, he did
SO as matter of necessity. People
who have lived in Washington and have
seen the crowds of people who used to
come to the executive mansion have
never uttered an unhind word of criti-
eis,n of the president for the stand
which he has taken in the matter,
after having endured the strain as long
rs ii was physically possible for him to
do So
Under such circumstances il was very
iifaenlt for newspaper nen 10 obtain
har information whatere1 a. the white
house. Senator'S representatives and
uGmAers Of the national committee
c56& moi be interviewed there, nor
rould any information be obtained
trarn them Ia the presence of their con-
siiIusn1s. Moreover. paolie nsea do
moi like to converse concerning public
RAaz-s in The l-nne6lsse presence of
they colleagues 50 thai the white
bouss WAS like q drears wilderness of
human beings each and every one of
then as valueless TO the public as a
carros OF cabbage head Moreover,
they seemed rather like a mob organ
ized for the purpose of distracting the
president and driving him insane than
an aggregation of distinguished and
honorable representatives of great
republic. There were the vice presi-
dent, the speaker of the house of rep
resentatives, the governors of the SOW
ereign states. chairmen of state CON-
mittees, members of the democratic ma
tional committee and other men of
prominence. all of them trying to ac-
eomplish something, but in the aggse-
gate they were accomplishing nothing
for the people present in whose behsh