The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1896-05-28
A Day in Mrs. Olevelapd's Life,

80 large is tne VOlumn OF material
which comes with each mail from
north, south. east, and west addressed
to Mrs. Cleveland, that it has been
found necessary to divide into classes
those letters which appear deserving
of any notice whatever First in this
category come the requests tor charity
in numberless forms. Appeals for
money are abundant, of course. Next
come calls for food and clothing.
Then come demands that she will
make AL apron for a fair in Podunk,
or dress a doll for church exhibition
at Smithville. Perhaps the funniest
of the begging letters are those which
crave the gift of baby-carriage they
are usually accompanied by clipping
or copied quotation from an obscure
local newspaper, in which an magma
tive contributor describes the Cleve-
lands as receiving carload of little
carriages as presents from inventors
and manufacturers all over the coun-
try directly after the birth of each
child. As a matter of fact no such
presents have ever come to them; but
the fancy of the average Washington
letter-writer runs riot on occasion,
and represents as a real happening
what might have occurred if the whole
guild of American carriage makers
had let themselves loose in search of
a great advertisement.
A second class of letters are those
in which Mrs. Cleveland is besought
to use her influence with the President
to procure Offices or other political
favors for somebody in whom the
writer's are interested Even the
wives Of prominent Congressman have
been known to bespeak in this way
the Interference of the President to
obtain coveted committee assignments
for their husbands in one or the other
legislative chamber.
To the third class belong letters
asking the use Of Mrs Clevelands
name as patroness for some enter
prise, as a subscriber for book, or as
subject of dedicatory paragraph.
In fourth class are grouped the
conventional engraved invitations to
take part in some festivity-a wedding,
a reception, a christening, a birthday
party, the anniversary of society, the
laying of a cornerstone.
The almost unbroken rule in all
these cases is for one of the executive
clerks to write stereotyped form of
answer consisting OF polite acknowl-
edgement and declination. Here
and there missive will have some
distinctive feature which causes it to
be set apart from the rest and brought
to Mrs. Cleveland's notice when she
retires from the breakfast-room and
seats herself at her desk. A request
that she will allow herself to be named
as godmother for some budding genius
of a new generation is rarely refused,
an autograph is given where the cir
cumstances warrant the belief that the
courtesy will not be abused, and on
rare-very rare-occasions a photo
graph is added. Now and then, at
long intervals, one of the other re-
quests receives a favorable response !;
but when the recipient is ungracious
enough to share the news of his sue
cess with the public, the result is such
deluge of appeals and demands from
chronic mendicants that the kindly
feeling which prompted the expert
ment is turned to disgust, and the
lesson costs the next thousand suppl.
cants prompt denial of their prayers.
As an example of the use to which
even the declination of an invitation
may be put, single instance may be
cited. From a social climber of the
most selfobtrusive and offensive type,
who had been eagerly bent for years
on obtaining some personal recogni-
tion from the Presidents family, came
one day card for the wedding recep-
ton of his daughter. The stereotyped
response was sent by one of the clerks,
expressing the regret of the President
and Mrs. Cleveland that they would
be unable TO attend. The morning
newspapers on the day following the
affair contained full account of all
that took place, ending with list of
distinguished guests; and the recorded
procession of generals and commo-
dores and judges wound up with the
announcement that "President and
Mrs. Cleveland were to have honored
the occasion with their presence, but
at the last moment were unavoidably
prevented and obliged to send their
regrets. ."-Harper's Basar.
Ctnta D,intnr R1och hnc com, M o., n,I