Daily Kennebec journal., 1897-03-05
Inaugurated as President Of the United States
Of America, at Washington, D. C.
In the Presence Of an Enormous Crowd with Perfect Weahe
and ihe Most Pleasant Surroundings.
The Democratic Administration Over and Another Era Of Prosperity
Dawns Our Beloved Country.

White House on the day before he de-
livered his inaugural address.
These established al fresco features
of the proceedings necessarily caused
those entrusted with the arrangement
Of today's ceremonies to look forward
with some anxiety to the weather con-
ditions. Severe blizzards in the ex-
treme west in the latter part of the
month of February has made their ef-
fects felt to some extent in the national
capital, and had caused alarm for in
auguration day. But after a slight
snow furry en- Friday last. and q
freezing spell for several days follow
ing the weather. contemporaneously
with Major McKinley's arrival in
Washington, took on the pleasantest of
spring aspects. the thermometer rang
ing between sixty and seventy degrees
and baimy sunshine bathing the
streets and lighting up the gayly col
ored decorations with which every
house on the President elects line of
progress was emblaZoned.
The decorations of the city were ex-
ceedingly effective with but one not
able exception. That was the treasury
department. the majestic outlines of
which were disfigured in violation of
all rules of taste. Each of the grace
full fluted columns of the eastern ia
cade on 18th street was partially swad-
died in striped pantalettes. falling
short of the pediments, exactly after
Tho fashion of .Irncl,. Sar,.s,, trousars
as denicted in tho comic na,,ers and
over the entablatures at each end, and
also over tho main eastern antro,,c,
tho sbield and aagla ~ tho Ir,i,a,l
states we're d,uned pnop hideo,,s
valIoy bacl,gronnd the whole forro;ny
!, tawdrv combinat;on which q third
rafe c;rci,s vo,,Id have scornad 70 f1is--
nlav Evervwbera elsa bowaye,. tta
scenic effect was fine and even tho had
taste disnlaved in Tho treasury dra,-
irrs was in mart obliterated Inv the an
imated coneoursa of eun,oveS ard
their families and rues.s who occunied
the temnorarv seets which n,ad tie,
above tier reached half wav nm tho
side of the builfiins and entirely COW
er5 the garden Mt the so,,th end look
ing dcwn Pennsylvania avenue The
oayjlion in front of tbe White House
from which President Mckinley re-
viewed the returning procession was
a thing of beauty-an architecturat
creation of white and gold strongly
resembling in it's apparent,y substan-
t;aI pi,lars and it's general outlines
the nortico of historic Ar,inrton and
conveying no impression that if was
simply a flimsy structure of wooo
erected for day
No grander theatre for such ma
reant could well he found Pennsvl-
curb. along which the procession
passed from the White House to the
Capitol presents an ,1ninterrupted
vista of over a mile. commencing with
the massive Grecian facade of the
treasury department. which intersects
the view at one end and terminating
in the beautiful dome-crovned Cant
tol at the other end with tho naedle-
like shaft of the Washington monu-
nient standing sentinel guard on the
right hand. towering $50 feet inward
to the clouds. On all the little park
ings ard < government reservation,
formed by the different. angles of the
intersecting streets and the radiating
avenues. gayly decorated stands had
been erected. capable Of seating at
least thirty thousand people. and these
were densely packed with spectators.
one row above the other like the tow
ers in a Grecian trireme.
The entire route from the White
House to the Capitol was banked with
hoarsely shouting, enthusiastic spec
tators. All street car traffic was. of
course, suspended along the route of
the procession: the sidewalks were
roped off and were so crowded with
people that locomotion was impractic-
able. Mounted police prevented any
one from attempting to break through
the ''trocha." 1t seemed as if WASH
ington's normal population of two hun
dred thousand had been swclled by
more than an equal number of visiting