The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1897-03-04

tOa's second fern Addrs., OfOnly IoI
Words.
WASHINGTON. March 3,-rhere Is a
tradition which has been crystalISed into
anunwrltten law requiring the President
Who takes the oath OF office to deliver 9n
inaugural address to the people, whose
chief magistrate. he Is to be- This Gus
tom. begun by George Washington has
never been broken nor has there been
through The history OF the government
any Wide differences In the character Of
the speeches with which Presidents have
begun their official service. In two feat
lires nearly all OF the addresses have been
cast IN the same mold, for almost with
out exception they have begun with an
Introductory sentence, expressing In
EoTne form the gratitude Of the President
for the high honor which the people have
conferred upon him. and they have end
ed by an Invocation uf the help of the
Supreme Being In performing the duties
Of the ofilcC. The body Of the address
has varied according TO the spirit of the
times In which il has been made; The
inaugural speecheR OF the first PrcSl-
quarter century al the government were
largely treatisea upon republican form
OF government, contrasting the peace
und prosperity which Il gave to the peo-
pie OF the United States with the wars
which were disturbing the nionarchies OF
Europe. and praislnR the balance be-
tween the federal authorities and the
states secured by the constitution
sine thu
war OF the rebellion. the Presidents have
given themselves 70 the discussion OF alb
SOr6lug current issues, and judged by
the standards OF the more modern ad-
dresses those OF the old school style, II re-
viewed. might seem somewhat ponderous
aud academic, The inaugural utterInce5
Of the Presidents. have rarely been ting
cd with partisanship, and they have not
often been the most important official Ut
teranceS of the men who have spoken
them. With the notable exception OF
I.ineOln's second inaugural address the
tnaugurals are not held In the first rank
OF state papers, either by their rhetorical
or politicaI worth The whole ~ LIN
coins second address is preserved In the
school readers and reclted on the plat
form. but other Presidents have spoken
few sentences on their Installation which
have been considered eplgrlmmnt!e or
are often quoted. The more important
and historical utteranccs Of the Presi-
dents. those which have marked out poll
clcs, have been conveyed through mes
sages to Congress,
The average length Of an inaugural sd-
dress has been about 5000 words, enough
TO M two columns Of newspaper, ana
they have taken about forty minutes Tor
their delivery. The longest speech ever
made was that by Gen. William II. Har-
rlson. which contained $500 words; the
hortest was that with which George
washington began his second term. The
latter was a formal and personal utter
auce OF only l34 words, and did not touch
upon any public questions. The inau-
Eural was In the old Independence Han
In Philadelphia, where the Third Con
Eress sat In 1892, and was in the room
where the Declaration Of Independence
had been signed. All the officials OF the
government and foreign ambassadors,
with prominent citizens, were present,
WaShingtnn's first address. made IN the
federal building in New York on Aprii 5h
1883. contained 1000 words, None OF the
speeches except General william heNiy
HarrIson's. have been more than 1000
words long. while the Vice Presidents
WIN have been called 20 the presidency
by the death OF four Presidents have
made very brief prOclamations, except
John Tyler Three distinguished SOL
tlers who have been elected 10 the prcsi-
dency. Andrew jackson. Zachary Taylor
and Grant, have been men OF action
rather, than Of speech. and have spoken
hardly more than thousand words in
their inaugurals.
The inaugural ceremonies OF the fret
I'VE Presidents were held In the senntc
chamber. bu; Madison was sworn In and
made his address In the house Of repre-
sentatiyes, and several other Inaugural
tons took place In the house. because
this was the larger hall OF the two. John
Quincy Adams was lnaugurated In the
house also. but Andrew jackson spoke
on the east portlco OF the capitol 70
multitude which was the greatest the
city had ever sheltered. and which Daniel
Webster said could he fed only by a mir
acle. These people mObhed the Platform
after "Old Hickory had spoken, and en-
dangered his life by their ea8erness to
shake his hand.
Every Inaugural address has been read
from manuscript except that OF Frank
lin Pierce. The President from New
Hampshire delivered an Grafton Of forty
minutes length without the aid Of manu-
script or notes, hlEiNE committed u 10
memory. and with considerable rheto-
rical effort. George Washington, II Is re-
lated, was extremely nervous when he
spoke mis- first inaugural He trembled
vlsIbiy, and when he attempted gesture
once or twice. 1t was so awkward that a
spectator. writing Of the affair, remark
Ell that he wished the President had not
attempted orntory, as he lid not Wish 10
think him not first In everything
After Washington had rad his second
brief inaugural In the senate chamber
he put manuscript IN the Vice Presl-
dents table. sat down for few minutes
then rose and Withdrew. those In the hall
standing until he passed out. Then tho
manuscript was taken up by the clerk Of
the house and again read from beginning
TO end.
Washington's first address dealt large
~ with the then untrIed duties or the
chief executive under the new constitu-
ton. /. contained one unique statement
which has never been repeated. Wash
iuG;on said:
t"When / was first hpnored with call
into tho servlcc OF my country, then on
the eve OF an arduoug struggle for It's
liberties, the light IN which ] contem-
plated my duty required that should re-
nounce every pecuninry compensation.
From this resolution | have Ia no In
stance departed: aud being 3uil under
;he Impressions which produced i. ]
An Angel of Mercy.