The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-05-14
From q photograph

President Neff of the Miners Association
addressed to the Secretary of the Interior
Arrived in Washington he spent nearly
three weeks in studying the situation, fo
his mission was an extraordinary one-be
ing nothing less than the arguing of {
case before the President as before court
and it required delicate handling. He sue
Gee ded luckily in securing as his sponso
J. T. Chamberlain, the Washington hote
man, who is very close to the President
and Richard Watson Glider, editor of the
Century magazine, who is known in tn,
East as "Cleveland's chum." With Thu
influential backing he was certain of an at
! tentive hearing and, as he himself re
marked, 81 do not think the time l spen
in acquiring pull was wasted"
| The audience with the Chief Executive
was had on Friday, the 3D. inst. For hal
an hour the President listened to argu
ments on behalf of the miners. Then &
brief on the subject was rendered, which
Mr.. Cleveland accepted with the query
''Shall have the whole case before me sc
that I shall thoroughly understand il
when / have read this?"
1.-THE difficulty has been TO select not
what should put in but what l should
leave out" replied the Californian, land il
| ID POS6lUlC Iudb III Lly CAhOAIo w 10 bAANA
| have been obscure"
''Then please do not leave the city till
you have heard from me, said the Presl'
dent. II shall take this with me to Wood
! ley CHS country seat near Washington
and read it tonight"
! It is very unusual for the President to
visit the Capitol on Saturdays, but the day
after Mr.. Ricketts, audience Mr.. Cleveland
| held conference at the departmental
building with the Secretary of the Int
rior. A small commotion was the result,
and inquiries were set on foot regarding
the mode OF procedure in railroad land
patents. Late in the afternoon there came
! to the hotel for Mr.. Ricketts, letter adj
dressed in the Presidents own hand and
borne by his private messenger. 1t was an
unusual honor, and when Mr.. Ricketts,,
who CHANGED to be out at the time, re-
turned he found an inquisitive crowd eager
to learn the purport of the communication
and realized that for the time being at any
rate he had become very distinguished
parsonage. The envelope contained an
autograph letter from the President, which
is now a most cherished possession. Ii
reads as follows:
EXECUTIVE MANSION,
WASHINGTON, D. c., May 4, 1891
A. II. Ricketts,, ESq.-DEAR SIR: / have had
an interview with the Secretary of the interior
and your statement has been referred to him
or ought to take In the premises. merely
write this to say that there seems to be nc
necessity OF your remaining mere 10 make
further personal presentation OF the matter.
do not know how far the patenting process
has progressed. 1t may be that it has reached
such stage as to preclude interruption, ire
spective Of the other considerations involved
Yours truly, GROVER CLEVELAND.
Before Mr.. Ricketts, left Washington the
President assured him that he would give
L
patents, and if it became necessary be
would give orders that all issuance
should be suspended until proper safe
guards could be,devised for the protection
of mineral lands.
"What was the impression made upon
you personally by the President?' was
asked In reply Mr.. Ricketts, said:
"Of course am black Republican and
always have been, but as man Mr.. Cleve-
land completely captivated me. He has
an impressive dignity. He is bright,
clever and intellectual and has good
memory. Of course he is physically a
very large man, but there Is about him
none of that gross animalism so noticeable
in his caricatures. In fact none of his
pictures do him justice, for he has to a
large degree the attractive quality known
as personal magnetism.
''At the White House there is very little
President one has to pass a multitude oil
doorkeepers and perfect horde of police
men, but when the antechamber is
reached there is q noticeable difference.
There Secretary Thurber sits and he an
nounces you to the President. The ar
rangement is very similar to the outer and
private offices of any lawyer, though on a
larger scale When one is announced he
finds himself alone with the President as
with any other business man.
"I was announced as Mr.. Ricketts, of
California; l had thought I might feel
somewhat in awe of the great MANN
awe / mean of his position not of his per-
sonality-Dut before / had traversed the
length of the room to his desk l was per-
fectly at ease. Mr.. Cleveland's manners
are unexceptional.
"As | stated my mission and presented
my arguments the President appeared
both interested and surprised at the facts
stated. He listened attentively and asked
questions which showed that he grasped
instantly the meaning of what said.
"The most pleasant thing to me in the
whole incident was the special honor
shown me as a representative of Califor-
MIA. I was admitted to an audience upon