The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-10-27
HAPPINESS IN POwERs
Walter WeIIman Says the Presidents
Are Weighed Down With Care.

Are u elEneu Down ~ TN Aure.
From the Chicago Times Herald.
Washington, oct. ISIS there such
thing as happiness in the white house2
Probably not. During the last month 1
have asked this question Of a number Of
men who are in position TO give an intel
Hgent answer. and every one Of them
has answered that. while happiness in the
white house may be possible. he had
never seen it, The query was intended
to apply more to the presidents than 10
their families. but it is applicable to the
mistresses as well as 10 the masters OF
the executive mansion. 1t is no secret
that Mrs. Cleveland is anything but a
happy woman. BY this it is not meant
that She is miserable, or that there ex-
lists any special or hidden cause for I'm
happiness But from the first year Of
her married life in the executive mansion
she has telt the OVerpOWerlng weight OF
her station, OF her social duties and re-
spOnsibihues, OF her lie in the glare and
rigid scrutiny of public curiosity. Mrs.
Cleveland herself says that the happiest
years OF her married life were Wnlle har-
rlson was in the white house and While
she and her husband were in private life.
10 is we'll known that Mrs Cleveland IL
eager for the day when she VIII retire
TO private station, never again to re-
enter public lie She is counting much
upon the happiness that she ana her nus
band are 70 enjoy when they may devote
all their time TO homcmaking, to the
rearing and education of their children,
ana TO travel. A trip TO Europe viii prob
ably nh in the summer Of 1871 Tor the
CteVelauds.
Mr.. Cleveland is not happy in the white
house If evidence of this were wanted
fl could be found in the fact that he spends
as much time as he possibly can away
from that mansion. He is not able 10
leave all his work or his cares behind MIN,
but he does find it possible to mix
little play, a little recreation with his
work when he is at Gray Gables, or Wood
low mr. on ah nFaN fish flN
Mr. Whitney. who was four years in Mr..
Cleveland's cabinet, once told me that
cleveland was never happy IN me Winl.e
house, and added that he did not believe
any President ever was. The response
bilty was too great the tension too hlgh,
think a President happy in the posses
sion of such vast power said Mr.. Whit
ney, do not know what this power means
TO him, the constant thought and toll.
the lncessant throwing out of guards
against imposition ana mistake. Those
who think Mr.. Cleveland happy in the
white house do not know his life-his III
tense conscientiousness, his long hours Of
toll, his sleeplessnesS, his extraordinary
devotion TO duty, his self-deuial. The
presidency now makes such demands on
the man who holds it that he who cares
Tor life and its commonplace enJoyments
WIZ hol aspire 10 thal once. Whal Is
there in the honor of the post to COM
pensate man for four years of torture7
What is there to compensate for four years
of necessity of saying no to nine-tenths
Of the requests OF all ones friends ?'
This view of the life OF a President
have encountered in various places. There
seems TO be general idea similar to
that which Mr.. Whitney expressed that
whoever becomes President is sure to be-
come conscientious enough to strive with
all his might to meet his great response
biity and give the people a credHable and
satisfactory administration. In order to
do this friendships much be broken or
disregarded. The warmest impulses Of
the heart must be stifled. one must make
himself over into man Of hardness OF
incessant self-discipline, of almost fanat-
zeal devotion TO duty. II seems to be true,
as Mr.. ClarksOn said some time ago of
Gen. Harrison: In the white house he
found he couldn't please everybody and
he fell back upon the theory that he
would try 10 please nobody but himself"
Tom Platt expressed the same thought
when he gOod-naturedly said to Tom
Reed: Tom, you curse Harrison for go
ing back on his friends I'll bet you
wouldn't be a month in the white house
before you'd be doing the same thing"
Gen. Harrison was not happy i'm the
white house, though he had a pretty even
temper and a pretty constant egotism
which gave him steady run Of cOmpla-
cency. Harrison, however, made the mis-
take common with most presidents, of
attempting 70 do too much. He wanted
TO manage all departments OF the govern
ment. Harrison, like Cleveland, burden
ed himself with details of all sorts which
should have been left wholly to cabinet
ministers and other subordinates. This
Is one of the curses OF the presidential
office. The power is In the executive
ndndS, ana ne lnlnkS ne must attend
personally to its use in order to meet his
responsibility. Particularly is this true
In making appointments Why should
not the president leave tho selection Of
all postmasters to the Postmaster Gen
eral, of all collectors to the Secretary of
the Treasury, of all other officers to the
heads Of various departments. Instead
of that President assumes to make de-
cisions himself All important cases are
carried 10 the white house; Thus the
president is overwhelmed with work and
haraSsed by callers. Worse still, his con-
fidence ia human nature is soon impair
ed or destroyed. one hour he worries be-
cause he has been too flexible and gem
erous: the next hour may find him re-
preaching himself Tor having been too
severe upon a friend
The presidency is TOO big for this sort of
personal administration. The government
has outgrown that method. What would
be thought of a railroad president who
would not trust his division superintend-
ent to appoint station agents and freight
conductors? AS Mr.. Clarkson once perth
nently said to the writer: "It is time our
Presidents should realize that one man
may learn one-eighth of the government
but that no man can learn it all. If he
attempt it, he is sure only to wearhimself
out and make trouble for all concerned"
A number of men who have been famil-
lar with the lives of the Presidents say
Hayes, of all the recent occupants of the
white house came nearest to happiness.
Col Henry G. COrbin, who was at Hayes
right hand throughout the four years, says
this was so because Mr. Hayes had the
good sense to choose as cabinet minis
tiers men in whom he had confidence, and
was then not afraid to trust them with
fun management of their departments
In this way President Hayes secured a
fair measure of leisure and repose.
ROBBED IN A PYRAMID.
Arabs TurUed "a RoItfr,ora NTau,s