The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1897-02-11
For a New inauguration Day.

The proposition is again being moot
ed to change the date for the Inaugural
ton of the president from March to
April 80, and in support of 1t many
strong arguments are advanced.
Among these are that the change would
insure better weather; it would en-
able congress to devote two additional
months to the business required of the
short session. and it would permit that
body to be in session when the presi-
dent is inaugurated. The change could
be made by a joint resolution of con-
gress; a constitutional amendment is
not necessary, although one would be
required to extend thecterm of the out
going executive from March to April
30.
The 4th of March was an Academia!
selection of the first congress for in
auguration date; and in early times
the date made little importance any
how, for two reasons In the first
place, the early inaugurations were
unpretentious affairs that were not in
the least inconVenienced by unpleasant
show that at the beginning, the March
fours of Inauguration years We're gem
orally marked by much pleasanter
weather than has obtained since. IN
100 years there have been twenty-seV-
en- Inauguration days. Twelve of them
| We're pleasant; twelve We're stormy.
| There is no record of the weather on
: Ia, NtL JO,,si i,,rr t1,a fpct
| fifty years there We're thirteen inaugu-
| ration days. Eight of them were pleas
ant, two We're stormy, and the weather
of three is not reported. During the
last fifty years there have been four
| teen Inauguration days. Only four of
them We're pleasant; ten We're stormy.
president Harrison" writes w. e.
| Curtis, while reviewing the procession
on the day of his Inauguration, and
watching the soldiers and citizens
tramping through the slush that was
| ankle deep upon the pavements, with
| their garments soaked with snow and
rain, remarked to a gentleman stand
ing near him. This storm will cost
more lives than a battle And the
mortality reported in the newspapers
as due to exposure, not only among
those who were engaged in the process,
sion, but also among the spectators
confirmed his opinion
The last really decent Inauguration
day, speaking from a weather stand.
point was that of LincOn's first term
which is described in the chronicles aS
clear and bright" Cleveland's frs
was also a fair day-for March. Bu
all the other Inauguration days since
1861 have been most disagreeable; Lin
coins second being "cold, cloudy anC
threatening, with mud in the streets;'
Grants first, raw, dismal, rainy" anC
his second the coolest ever known
thermometer 4 degrees below zero;'
Hayes, rainy" Garfield's, "groun'
covered with snow, strong northwes
wind" Harrson's as described above
and Clevelands second rain ant
snow in early morning, streets Gov
cred with slush."
An effort will be made during tn
next session to extend the term o
President Mckinley and change tn
dates of the meeting of congress a
we'll as the date of the termination o
the session. There will doubtless b
finnicky objection arising from shee
antagonsm to what is indiscriminate
ly called constitutional tin:iering;
but inasmuch as the change involve
no disadvantages and promises sever
: distinct advantages, we imagine tina
public opinion will favor it.