Evening star., 1897-05-01
ABOUT PROMINENT MEN
re- 9G,

AbOui T.. PROMINENT MEN
rs 3Ii-
- IsE
There are threSanen in Washington who
receive mere mail than any other dozen
men La the Hitysa These three are Presi-
den AcKanlsy. aeena&or Mark Hanna and
Senator sBiily'' Mason.
President McKiAey's mail has run over
COO letters a1'da since his Inauguration.
Before that ptime, It was nearly AS great.
OF course it ts toctswel known to be worth
repeating that tho President sees few of
these hurdreds of letters, but 1t IL q funny
thing. and cleates, NO end Of amusement
each day amougirehe White House clerks,
that the major poytion OF the correspond
ence Is marked with the great American
word-"Personal.'' It is either this or
Private" The man or woman who ruts
either Of these words on the letters he cr
she writes is sure that the missives have
reached the Presidents eyes and have ac-
compltshed what they were intended for.
That is about all the satisfaction the writ
ers ever get. Nearly all these letters are
from office hunters, and this is SO well
known to the clerks that they never think
OF turning them over to the President. The
mail which Is really personal to the Pres
ident II pretty well known to the clerks,
and he gets this mail. The word Person
al mas no more effect in accomplishing
the Intention Of the writer than If left off,
Secretary Porter does not see half OF
the mass Of mail which goes to the office.
There are number Of secretaries under
Mr. Porter, and they divide the work. No
mail. however, Is neglected, as 1t Is cared
for by somebody. and IL letter ought to
be seen by the President. whether he is
personally interested or not, he will see 1t.
The clerks know their business, and would
not think Of keeping back q letter from
w n
whether he ought to look at L..
Senator Hanna's mall is nearly as great
as President McKiniey's. 1t is claimed
that It Is larger, as many people write to
MI. Hanna who think they might get at
tention from him when they couldn't from
the chief executive. Every letter which
goes to Mr.. Hanna is answered. The SEN
ator employs haIf dozen stenographers
ard. -typewriters. His private secretary
receives 5000 a ye1r salary, $1,000 more
tnan the senator receives in his official
capacity. As in tho case Of the President.
Mr. hanna does not see oT handle a large
proportion Of his mail, although the word
"personar' IS freely besprinkled in the
correspondence. Senator Hanna's mail is
chiehy from importunng office seekers and
Senator Mason is the third man with an
I'm mense correspondence. He has received
an average of 432 letters daIly since he
came to Washington, and the cost Of an
sWering this is sufficient TO eat UP his
salary as United States senator. The
Jolly. big-hearted and big-brained junior
senator from Illinois is so popular In his
state that constituents in every portion
write him asking for favors 1t is q tes-
timoEaal to his popularity which few sena-
tors have. although few would care to be
nothered with popularity of that descrip-
tlon. All these letters are answered, too,
ana many OF them are dictated by the SEN
ator himself. More men come to Washing
ton to see Senator Mason than any other
senator except the Ohio man. They all
want him to &C to the White House with
them. and he does it. They have become
acquainted with his genial and helpful
Of 1t.
President Mckinley really likes to see
Senator Mason Not long ago the President
asked Senator Mason to tell one of his
stories. The senator responded ty telling
story which eonvuIsed the President
with laughter. It illustrated the fact thar
the pie which the President had to dis
tribute won't so around by long odds It
was this:
Pat. Mccarthy gave a dinner. to which
ne invited three or four of his neighbors.
Pat. had allowed his wife to cook only one
chicken. When dinner was served Pat
took possession Of the carving knife, and
IN q most hcspitable tone said to Mrs.
Dugan: -
What part Of ther fowl will veg hayeY'
leg If yez plase, was the answer
An what, part will yez have? Would
ye1 iotke some ay ther white?' Pat in
quired Of Mrs, O'Hooligan. go.
AN a leg will do me-" she answered.
AS each answered the part of the fowl
she desired was given her. r. q
What part will yez have. Moike Walsh?''
Pat blandly inquired Of his neighbor.
"Ot balave Oh will take leg, too" said
Moike. in his most modest way, wishing to
follow In the footsteps Of the rest of the
company
"Begorra:" said Pat to Mickey, what
does yez think Dim carvng-a spider?"
Over half Of the letters which go to the
White House are answered In a stereo-
typed manner For instance. the letters to
applicants for office run something like
this: THE President directs me to say
that he has received your application"
etc., and then follow a few courteous
words. The letter is printed, the type be-
Ing so near like that of a typewriter as
to deceive anybody except an expert, The
letters are signed John Addison Porter"
This Is a fac simile of the secretarys sig
nature. and is printed, like the balance Of
the letter. The amusing thing is that when
the applicant receives this letter. If he is
In Washington. he Is delighted He thinks
that the President has personally read his
application and Is giving it especial atten-
ton. Newspaper men at the White House
frequently have candidates pull out these
letters and show them with great gusto
as personal letters from Secretary Porter.