Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-12-02

his own messages. He takes plenty of adj
vice from his cabinet and gets all the sug-
gestions he can, but he has his own opin-
ions and he writes his own ideas in the end.
The present message has been looked over
by the cabinet and a few outside parties.
Cleveland and Gresham, Lamont and Bis
sell have had the most to do in consulta-
ton. but the finished document is. 1 am
told. the work of the President.
Why shouldn't it be? you ask. The reply
Is that II ought to be, but at the same time
II would be nothing strange If it were not.
Many of the executive messages of the past
for which Presidents get credit were writ
ten by others than themselves. Washing
ton gave the ideas for his farewell address,
but it was Alexander Hamilton and James
Madison who put the thoughts into shape for
him. Amos Kendall wrote most OF Andrew
Jackson's messages. and his first inaugural
address was written for him by Major
Lewis and Henry Lee. jeremiah Black
wrote a number Of the messages of Andrew
Johnson, and Daniel Webster revised the
inaugural address of William Henry Har-
rison. 1t was full of classical expressions
and had many illusions to Greece and
Rome. Webster cut these out, and in
speaking of his work at a party the night
after he had revised the address he excused
himself for being tired because of the num-
Der of Roman proconsuls he had killed that
day. You remember Jackson's famous null
lification proclamation 1t is said that
Edward Livingston wrote it for him. and II
Is so with other famous messages.
Messages of other President's.
The first messages to Congress were
read by the Presidents in person. and the
Presidents would probably be reading them
today in this way had 1t not
been for Thomas Jefferson. Jeffer-
son, 1t Is said, could not speak. He
was a poor reader, and he didn't want to
appear ridiculous by trying to read his
message to the House. The result was that
he sent 1t up by his private secretary.
Washington gave his first message, his in
augural, to Congress in New York. He
took the Vice Presidents chair in deliver
ing 1t, and few days after, this the
House and Senate prepared reply to the
message and went to Washingtons house.
and one of their members delivered the re-
ply to him. This procedure was gone
through with for several years. and Presi-
dent Washington was looked upon as hav-
ing the right to direct Congress. He de-
livered thirteen messages to Congress dur
ing his eight years In office, and in addi-
ton to these gave his farewell address.
John Adams was one OF the most wordy of
our Presidents. He delivered ten messages
in four years. ard you find the pronoun
e. thirteen times in his inaugural ad-
dress. Van Buren, and Harrison each used
this pronoun thirty-eight times in their re-
spective addresses, and Thomas Jefferson
used the word ~ nineteen times in his
first message to Congress. Jefferson gave
tWculy -tHESc HtSSdScS uuT.HS pltSlucfl-
tial term, Madison twenty-five, Andrew
jackson seventeen. and James Monroe thir-
teen.
The outlook is that President Cleveland
will be decidedly unpopular with part of
his party during the coming session, and
his message will be severely criticised.
whatever it may be. Congress will, how
ever, have no chance to insult him, as it
did in the case of Washington. They re-
fused to call upon Washington, and would
not adjourn for thirty minutes on the 22d
of one of the Februaries of his term to
congratulate him upon his birthday, as
they had been in the habit of doing. They
refused, also, to receive John Adams, and
the papers of that time criticised Washing
ton and Adams quite as severely as Cleve-
land is being criticised now. Washington
once said that he had been abused worse
than a. common pickpocket, and when
Jackson's farewell address was published,
one of the New York newspapers congratu-
lated it's leaders follows: Hap
PLY, this is the last humbug which the
mischievous popularity of this illiterate,
violent, vain, and iron-willed soldier can
impose upon confiding and credulous peo-
pie" Much worse expressions were used
concerning Washington at the time he left
the presidency.