Birmingham state herald., 1897-03-07
AN AWKWARD BEGINNING. H Itch in the Programme at the
 E White House.
 IIEF JUSTICE FULLER 2 d Secretary Gage Misunderstood the Ar
 engagements for the Cabinet Swear q ing in Procedure.

Washington, March 6.-All the mem | bers of the new cabinet except Mir. Gage
 met in the cabinet room adjoining the | presidents office at 10:30 o'clock this | morning, when, according to arrange | ments, the chief justice was expected to administer the oath of office. MT. Gage | had not understood this programme, nor | apparently had Chief Justice Fuller, who l had made an appointment to swear in 1 the new secretary of the treasury in the | treasury department at 11:15, and MT. 1 Gage had issued a number of invitations | to Illinoisians to witness the ceremony. | The supreme court had also an engage l ment to call on the president in body | at Il o'clock to pay their respects and | this was the only part of the days pro-
 gramme that occurred strictly according | to schedule time. The confusion at the l white house was extraordinary all morn ing, due to the crowds of persons who | had in some way secured card of in- | troduction and to the numerous con- | gressmen who appeared with constitu-
 ents who wished to see all the apart
 ments and who in many instances suc- | ceeded.
 i Secretary Porters office was overrun | with callers and representatives, but he | denied himself to them and remained l with the president in the cabinet room. | While the meeting of the president and | his advisers was continuing and every e1- | fort being made to reach Chief Justice | Fuller to administer the oath, the SUI | preme court was suddenly announced a | few moments before Il o'clock, and the ] president hurried down stairs into the | blue parlor to greet them. After the | usual formalities of this reception, when l the chief justice learned that the cabinet | had been waiting for him, he suggested i for convenience that the ceremony | might well be performed at once in the l presence of the court, and this was promptly acted upon.
 The oath was administered to the sec retary of state at 1115 and to the others | in rapid succession in the following or l der:
 Gen. Alger, Judge McKenna, ex-Gov. l Long, MT. Bliss MT. Gray and MT. Will son.
 The ceremony was in the nature of a | private affair, but for all that and the | limited number that witnessed it, the | dainty blue room was pretty well nlled | President Mckinley was seemingly the | most interested spectator With him l were NIr. Porter, his secretary, and Lieut.. | Gilmore, of the regular army, who has
 l been assigned to duty as temporary aid
 | to the president. MT. T. c. Bancroft
 1 Davis, the venerable reporter of the su-
 1 preme court, and MT. Foust, the crier, l were also present.
 l When the president and the members | of the cabinet had assented to the sug- | gestion of Chief Justice Fuller that the | oath of office be administered a once to
 Maj MeKinley's official family it was as- | certained that none of the dignified | judges had brought Bible with him. | Then search was made for one around | the White House. An usher finally pro- duced the required volume, a tattered copy used in settling disputes on script | ural phraseology between two argu- | mentative employees of the White House force. The distinguished party had | meanwhile proceeded from the cabinet | room through the private park of the | mansion to the rear or private stairway. down which they walked slowly and with | dignity The crowds in the lobby. the | office corridor and on the public stairway were thus avoided and a few of the un- | fortunate throng that had been fortunate l enough to obtain admission knew of l what was going on behind the big doors. that President Arthur had caused to be l erected between an interested public and l people who, behind that official posi- | ton, did not involve total surrender of | privacy.
 | Justice. Brown is Michigan man. a | resident of Detroit. and 1t was at the re-
 quest of General Alger his fallow-towns- man, that he swear in ths new secretary l of war. The chief justice and Justice l Gray administered the oath to the other | msmbers present.
 | | members of the supreme cont filed out 1 of the blue room to the public lobby, the | tall and distinguished Justice Harlan | leading th= way with the venerable Jus l tiee Field leaning on his arm. The pres l ident and his new advisers went up s.airs
 l to the cabinet room and got their over
 coats and hats and proceeded to their
 | respective departments 10 meet the oft
 cials and employees of each.
 Chief Justice Fuller and his fellow ju-
 rists went over to the treasury depart
 msDt and met Secretary Carlisle and Mir
 l Gage, in the office of the secretary. There
 | the oath was administered to Mir. Gage
 | before a large number of officials and
 | clsrks.
 A brief informal meeting of the new
 I cabinet was held prior ro the swearing in
 | in the cabinet room. Nothing import ! ant was said or done. The door of the cabinet room was left open while tha l president and his advisers talked and many Of those waiting in the corridor that serves as a waiting room were in- | terssted spectators of th- scene. Presi- | dent Mckinley walked around the c1bi- | net table chatting with each m-m5sr. | The first delegation that the president | saw after the cabinet installation con sisted of Adjutant General Howe, and | most of thos. who had been on Major l McKinley's staff while he was governor l of Ohio. They were accompanied by a | number of ladies. Then he went to the | East room to shake hands with another | great crowd of visitors.
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