Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-08-04

- year or so in order
to recuperate. Yet
there is one man In
Ele United States vho is supposed 20 work
AL the tine. AMI who frequently does not
rec real vacation from enc year's end to
another He is the President of the United
Stats. and no man pays as dearly for 4
high position as ne. Wherever he is, he is
OH duty whatever he does tas an effect
beyon4 himself II he has a sore throat, the
whole world knows Z: If he plays a game Of
cards. everybody wants to know why he
docs It. some of Us have servants, all of
us are the servants Of others, bat to be the
servant % sixty millions OF exacting people
Is a hard position for any one to Eli; yet that
Is t-.e Presidents position. Every one Of
the SHY millions thinks it is his duty 10
foliCv the PRESIDENTS life carefully. and 70
approve or disapprove OF every thing that he
doe IL aust be a strange feeling. il the
President ever steps to think Of 1t, 70 know
that there are sixty millions of opinions
about you We concern ourselves u s5od
deal . know what our few friends or
ne.gEtor5 are saying and thinking about Us,
but II tie President we're to have a similar
solicltude. he would 20 crazy at once te-
cause Of the inmensity OF the subject, for
everybody in America thinks about him.
an 50 does large proportion or the rest OF
the CIVILIZED void
At kong Range.
Yet Presidents have to think Of them
selvas s-C.stiEses. and it is Whec Cva--.vorH
has become 50 unbearaJle that they realize
that some slight rest is Necessary or there
will be q crash that they take u so-caIled
vacation. Very rarely is this vaca tios.
complete, but it is the best that can De
done, and it is somewhat of a relaxation.
although it is not the relaxation that they
want.
Benjamin Harrison, when he was Prasi-
dent, went to Cape May, carried one or
two clerks with HIM. had telegraph wire
nearby and transacted public business for
some time without much difficulty. 1T was
not the saIne as if ne had been in the White
House For one thing, personal interviews
with him could not be had; and IL is enc
thing 70 condCct business by telegraph ard
another thing to transact 1t by word OF
mouth But still. he was close at hand in
case Of an emergency, and could be SUM
uonei back 10 Washington at a moments
notice.
Presidents vacations are very different
things now from what they were in the
early days.
When President Washington went to Mt.
Vernon he was completely cut off from the
seat OF government, which was in New
York No mail could reach him within
four or five days at the least, and he was
free, of course from the bother OF te.esra-ns.
YET he always transacted some public L4si-
Mr.. Blaine tried to carry on the State
Department from his cottage at Bar Har-
Dor. kilograms flew thick and fast to and
from Washington. The mails carried docu-
ments for the Secretary of States signature
and his orders were obeyed on IL few lines
hashed over the wire. 1t was quite an in
teresting experiment. made Necessary by
the state OF Mr. Blaine'S health, but 1t was
not precisely successful Too many sub
jects requiring immediate attention from
the head OF an executive department arise
Tor IL to be safe for him to be away from
his desk long. To explain the condition of
affairs by telegraph adequately Is inpos-
sible and the wrong orders may be issued
because Of imperfect understanding Of the
facts.
IL has got to be a law SO far as the ex-
ecutive servants of the government d re con-
cer?led that they shall take 10 more than
one months vacation each year. There is
statute to that effect that governs the
majority of them. but the higher officials
are subject to such rules as they choose TO
make for themselves. But they rarely take
more than the month that their subordi-
mates get, and IN many cases they do not
get SO much.
1t Is curious to notice the different tastes
Of different Presidents In the matter of their
vacation. Grover Cleveland thinks he has
about as good q time as a man can have
when he is quietly sitting on the porch Of
the cottage Gray Gables at Buzzard's Bay
When ne gets tired of this he likes to get
Into yacht and go out to sea- whsre no enc
can reach him. If he sees sail in the dis
tance he can look at It without fear for
here he Is safe from being boarded by Office
seekers. 1t IS the only way he has of get
ting rid of them. They follow him out to
his place on Woodley lane, they swarm
about the White House. they even penetrate
his retirement at Cray Gables" But thew
have not yet taken to hiring tug beats or
pilot sloops to follow the President when he
gees to sea- 1t is not By any means certain
howeyer' If the President continues 20 take
so many sea trips that they Will consent to
leave him alone. He may yet be cor from led
win the smiling countenance of the candi-
GATE Tor collector of pert when he comes
up the g1nSWay, the candidate having
slowed himself away In the hold as rl.n.
away boys sometimes do.
On American Soil
There is curious tradition about presi-
Dental vacations which it would be hard
Tor any one to explain. 1t is against the
unWritteu rules for q President of the
United States ever to leave American soil
while he is in office. Kings and queens, as
every one knows. travel about extensively
and so do the other heads of government II
they choose to do SO, but our President
dares not spend his vacation under any
other flag than the stars and stripes 1t
has been said that President Arthur vio-
lated the rule twice, once when he dined
or br5akfaste1 on board a British man-of-
war 1T Newport, and the other time when
ne Was fishing In northern New York, and
Just across the border. In the fishing ex-
peiitIJn he may have gone outside Of the
United States unwittingly, but when ne
went on the British warship he put his
foot through q time-honored custom.
Nov. precisely why this custom exists no
one can saw. One explanat ton is that a
fear exists that the Presi lent. being with
out his own jUri liCtiOn, might be stolen by
a fpreign government. In time OF war this
might - possible. but In time OF peace it is
hard to see why any one should wish TO
steal the President, FOX he certainly has
no JseS outside of his own country. An
other ana Il more reasonable eXpia nation IS
that TIE President must never get So far
away from the seat of government that he
sannot Be summoned back to It at any
moment. In other words. he is not to have
any real vacation, but during the term Of
his Office is to be constantly In harness
Without any running loose IN pasture a. all
or recent Presidents, Garfield was TIE
pnlv enc who owned country estate.
striking contrast to the conditions prevail
ing in the early days. Presidents thus PASS
thei- vacations at different places, or IN
come newly acuire1 cottage, with one or two
acres 1f ground about t.. When Gen. Grant
died he left no county place. He had had
a c-:tage FIR a time at Long Branch. but
he had never attached himself 10 IT.. Presi-
dent Hayes had his place In Fremont, OHIO,
quite an extensive enc for q town house