The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-12-05

Slt uoWn with me IL the PRESIDENTS room
and watch him receiving the office-seekers
and high public officials. There are sixty
three men and women who are waiting for
him. There are six United States senators
and there are seventeen representatives, all
with one or more friends. Several colored
men are present, and a dozen ladies are
sprinkled throughout the crowd. What q
democratic scene! Here we are in the
mousse of the ruler of seventy million peo-
pie, in the Office OF one of the greatest
Presidents on earth. How loud those men
are talking. Yov might imagine yourself
to be III depot or in the lobby of a Sec
ond-class hotel. That big man who is
chewing his cigar is a member of Congress,
and that friend of his beside him, who is
picking his teeth with a quill, wants a po-
sition in one of the departments. See that
fellow go to the Presidents desk and take
curious look over the papers. 1 don't sup
pose there is anything of Importance there
but the action is decidedly fresh. Only
the ladies seem to be nervous. There
is one Of the colored men, who acts as
though he owned the house, and several of
the representatives are taking their friends
about the room and showing them the pic
lures. Now the door opens and the Presi-
dent comes in. How straight he stands A
line dropped from the crown of his head
would just touch the heels of his patent
leather shoes. His shoulders are broad, his
chest full and his medium stature is added
to by his erectness. That tall man he is
talking to is Senator Gear, of Iowa. Notice
how he shakes hands. He acts far differ
emily than he did down in the east room.
He holds the hand high, and tall as Gear
is, he has to raise his hand to take it, AS
Gear begins to talk the President smiles,
but as he goes on the Presidents brow
darkens, his heavy underjaw comes up,
and you can see the doubt in his mind as
to whether Gears request should be
granted or not. A second later his face
| clears, and he tells Mr. Gear that the mat
ter will be carefully considered AS he talks
the other people in the room stand about
like the mourners at q funeral They have
all risen, and the most of them stand
while the President stands. Only a few
have the assurance to keep their seats and
only one or two whisper together as the
President talks. Now Gear has left, and
the President is talking to Senator For
aker The two have been at enmity many
times during their lives. You would mag
inc them to be friends, to look at them,
and perhaps they are so now. The Presi-
dent smiles as he talks, Foraker smiles in
return, and as the two part they both seem
well pleased.
THE COLORED MAN.
Now third man has hold of the Pres-
dent. 1t is the colored man of whom /
spoke of as thinking he owned the man.
sion. The President shakes hands with
him as cordially as he did with Foraker
and moves off to one side, resting his arm
upon the white mantel as he talks. The
colored citizen does the same, putting his
right hand in his pocket and vehemently
urging his claim for a consulship to one of
the West Indies islands. The President di-
reefs him to file his papers with the State
Department and they will be considered,
and then takes up another caller. He does
not allow much time for any one, but at
the same time does not seem impatient.
AS the time goes on he hurries his recep-
ton, and / time him by my watch. There
is man who wants land agency in Da-
kota. He gets ten seconds. The next man
is a senator from Washington State; he
gets fifteen seconds. Now Blair of New
Hampshire is talking. You remember how
he used to take up the time of the Senate,
speaking for hours and hours at a stretch.
The President gives him three minutes,
which is five times as much as any one
| has had SO far this morning. And so it
| goes on; ten seconds, twenty seconds, one
minute, seven seconds, ten seconds, four
teen seconds, five seconds and four sec
| onds The last two are audiences with
men who merely want to pay their respects
and shake the President by the hand. AS
look 1 wonder whether any mortal mind
could hold impressions thus forced upon it.
l 49, {cI1rs
hour, and he has chatted with nearly
| hundred different men on hundred differ
ent subjects. don't believe that call of
| this kind is worth the value of a wooden
toothpick. The President cannot possibly
remember the names of the people who
| call upon him, much less their requests.
| The probability is that he saves himself
| as much as possible and tries to forget
| each matter as soon he passes upon it.
| Suppose he did otherwise. He has been re-
| ceving in this way for almost ten months.
Had he allowed each talk to make an i'm
| preston upon the gray matter of his brain
that matter would long ago have been
| pounded into the mush of insanity.
| The President does an immense deal of
business outside of receiving and talking
| with people. He settles scores of matters
| every day by looking over papers. He tells
Secretary Porter how to answer several
hundred letters. With all his work, he finds
time to pay special attention to his friends.
If stranger whom he especially likes is
in the city he is asked to the White House
| to dine, and if, as was the case with one
Of his old commanders, he happens to get
hurt while in Washington, the President Is
very sure to call upon him and see that he
is comfortably situated. One secret of Mr.
McKinley's being able to do SO much work
lies in the fact that he has a good digestion
| and good conscience. He never worries.
He says if he did he would go crazy. 1t is
his rule to do the work of each day as it
comes and let it go. The result is that he
does not fret, he does not say impatient
things, and when he goes to bed he can
sleep. He holds his own in the Cabinet.
am told that he is head and shoulders above
his secretaries as to most matters relating
to the administration. He grasps things
quickly, and often settles a knotty problem
with word.
A STORY OF THE WAR
The President is fond of society. He likes
music ard is especially inclined to singing
Methodist hymns and topical songs. He is
good story-teler, and relieves his mind
now and then in this way. He sometimes
periences. The other night, while out driv-
ing, he told of midnight journey which he
had taken when he was a boy soldier in