The Progress., 1893-12-30

| lC'0 Wor'or less undermined 10y the strains
go which hr has been subjected during his
,hnr; hut tcuec career.
'rnb;bi few people in the world realize
what it. is 40 lc a public man of the high
81 rank. especially to bc president of the
United States. to take on the great cares
and responsibilities of that Office, to diesi
pate ones reserve strength day after day
in n struggle with the office seekers. with
the quc> tious Of the day and with a host cr
details Of which no way has been devised
for relieving Cur chief magistrate The
work of receiving official and other callers
at the White House is alone enough 10
break down a man who continue long
enough at 1t. She mere effort To rcmcm
bcr names aud faces of people who consider
themselves of much importance and to
concentrate ones faculties upon the busi
ness which they bring forward one after
another. like the changing colorS Of Il Ia
| leidosCopc, is "a hcrculeau task in itself
This is only a part OF the tension to which
a president is subjected. The Scmiwcckly
cabinet meetings are not mere social gath
erngs 10y any means. They are councils of
state, in which the president is the central
figure. Matters of the highest importance
come up for consideration. All eyes are
table. All listen when he speaks He feels
/ that sense of responsibility, of leadership.
which is wearing upon the nerves. which
even in man rs well balanced, as strong.
almost phlegmatic, as Mr. Cleveland is.
surely though slowly dctracts from his
power of endurance and mental stability.
The Penalty of Onicr.
The president of the United States il one
4 q al L
get any rest. His station is SO high. the
matters and the men with whom he has to
deal so numerous. the questions which hc
must concentrate his mind upon so vari.
Gus and so fraught with importance to the
country and to his reputation. that even
when the holidays come, or the vacation,
he cannot stop. He must work at his
desk in his reception room or with his
mind all the time. The wonder is that Mr.
Cleveland has not ere this shown signs of
breaking down.
Nor is this all Does any one imagine
that man can lead the life Mr.. Cleveland
has led for 10 years without strains upon
his mental fiber, his nervous system, which
will leave their marksy The conventions
the campaigns. the suspense, the election
days, the speeches, the public appearances
wears and cNhausts Thus the fact has
come about that, after the campaign of last
year, starting with the ante-conveution
period with its peculiar embarrassmcnts
and anXieties, the losing days of the great
battle the winter of cabinet meetings and
consultations the Inauguration, the ordeal
of forming & new government and disp0s-
ing of the hordes of Office seekers, the long
summers work on the silver question. the
worries of the Hawaiian and tariff uucs-
tions and a treasury situation that has de
manded his closest attention, Mr.. CIcve-
land is not now altogether himself
II would be eXtravagant to say that he is
breaking down. 1t would he malicious to
say that his mind is giving way. But he
is irritable; he is easily worried he is quick
to see the gloomy side of things: he is sensi-
tive; he is, in short, suffering from a loss
of nervous force. The long strain has had
its effect While Mr.. Cleveland himself
laughingly refuses to admit that he is los
ing his mental and nervous ruggcdncSs, his
intmates perceive that this is true They
are worried as to what the future may
bring forth. They do not hesitate to say
that IL Mr.. Cleveland goes on at the pace
he has followed for the last year through
out the remainder of his term there will he
grave danger of u collapse He will suffer
nervous prOstratiOn, or some physical dis
order will supervene. Therefore efforts
will he made, whenever opportunity offers,
to get Mr.. Cleveland away from Washing
ton for n few weeks rest. In Justice to
himself he should seek to get away from
the cares of his office.
Earns His Salary.
The immediate prospects are not favor |
able. Beginning in few days. the social |
season will make considerable demands up /
on the president. He will have to stand for .
hours Mt the head Of the receiving column /
mt four White House levees-the levees 1
which tradition has prescribed and which |
no president has had the courage to dis |
pense with. Then he must give a series of .
dinners to the members of the supreme
court, the senators and representatives, till .
all have been entertained. A state dinner
at the White House is not recreation for
any one concerned. especially not for the
host. 1t il rather a solemn and formal oc-
casion, on which great care must he exer-
cised not to say too much, but to say Just
enough. There are public questions, as nil
the world knows, which greatly worry the
president just at this time. Things are
not going rs well with his administration
policies as he could wish. Congress is here
is ION his hands," rs Mr.. Cleveland not
long ago expressed it-and will he here
probably till the LIST of next August There
does not seem to he any escape for the hard
worked, harassed president of the United
States for many long and weary months to
come. He gets big salary, but the chances
are that he will be compelled to earn it,
IL is noticed that Mr. Cleveland cares
more for the company and assistance of his
intimate friends than he ever did before
The meaning of this is that the president
has lost somewhat of that self reliance
which has always characterized him. Near
ly every evening either Secretary Gresham,
Lamont, Postmaster General Bis
sell or Don Dickinson is at the White House
the president with his work and
keeping him company He feels the need
of them, and they do all in their power to
smooth his official path which of late has
been full of stones and briars
ROBFRT GRAVES