Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1899-09-13
PRESIDENTIAL TRAVELS.
RAILROAD ARRANGEMENTS WHEN A
CHIEF EXECUTIVE TRAVELS.

ISutlal JouiUS.fluS mas Deen maze
sspectacular. The early presidents
could travel about without being
mohhed. Jackson and Taylor walked
8 Che streets Of Washington and stopped
TO chat with friend like any other
citizen, aud wneu they travelled no
one thought of standing and gazing at
them or of forcing himself upon them
for a handshake. Then the president
! 5frof the; United States could travei as
simply and unostentatiously rs he
pleased Now he goes in special
straiu and the band at every cross
.Sroads station plays "Hail to the Chief
horribly.
s. There was only. one president who
had private car. That was Lin
Scoln. the man of all others who was
simple il his tastes. 1t was not
,Syery. fine affair. Today it would net
Ebe used for second-class traffic All
Sother presidents have travelled in pri-
rate cars offered for their use by rail
{; road companies or sleeping-car COM
! panies. ~.
&c Just after the election of President
Mckinley some railroad men got to-
gesher and planned special car for
the president, which was to be finer
; than Queen Tictoria's. e was to be
built throughout of native products,
/ ana the blending of native woods. in
\ its decoration was: to suggest every
; part of the country. All the material
was to be contributed end the labor
( was to be done in the railroad shops.
This scheme was so attractive that
I presently it expanded into q plan for
! an entire train for the presidents use,
! to be an appanage Of the executive
office, not Mr., McKinley's private
property. The elaborated plan pro-
xidedfor o baggage car to contain
dynamo Tor heating and lighting the
other cars, a sleeping coach for the
presidents secretary and clerks, and
tatsspecial car for the president and his
quests. AS planned, the presidents
car was to- be;69sfeet 6inches long, or
10 IL feet longer than Queen Vic
toria's, while its width was to be 8
feet s inches. At one end was to be
| the kitchen, with quarters for cook
and porter A salon in the middle of
the car, two bedrooms, bathroom
and an observation room were also IN
tne plans Nothing has been done
toward building this train and the
project seems to have fallen through.
$50 the president in his outings will
suse other persons cars, as most of his
predecessors have done.
Sleeping-car companies put at the
disposal OF the president the finest
cars, and railroad officers tender the
Jse of their private coaches, because
US they go about the country they are
a.perIpatetic advertisement for rail
road and sleeping-car companies, and
either one would be very glad, if it
were necessary, to pay something for
the privilege of carrying the chief
magistrate Only one railroad man
-disagrees with this proposition SO far
as known. He was the general pas
senger ngent of line running east
from st. Louis when President Har-
rison visited that city. The railroad
man who was managing the trips was
allied with the same interests as the
general passenger agent, though on
different line. He declined the invi-
tation of another road to take the
presidents train east through loyalty
to his own people. And then the gen
eral passenger agent made him pay
the full first-class fare for hauling the
presidents special, 1t was repaid
him later-and that is about as near
as president of the United States
has come to paying fare in long
time,
When President Cleveland made his
first trip west he. paid fare for him
self and all the members of his party.
The interstate commerce law had
just gone into effect and he was afraid
of being criticized for violating it.
But the five or six frst-class tickets
which his private secretary bought
did not pay for the fine special train
that he used.
: Hauling the presidents special is
On expensive undertaking. On most
roads it means side.tracking all other
business for the time. One of the
big coal railroads once put every
freight car on side tracks at night
because the president was going over
the line. Another road side tracked
hundreds of cars of grain and live
stock and left the track clear between
the beginning and end of the presi-
dents journey. As an additional pre-
caution pilot engine is sent ahead
of the presidents train to see that the
track is safe.
To arrange the schedules for a
presidential journey is no small un-
dertaking. George W. Boyd has done
more OF this than any other railroad
man, and he could arrangeto to take the
president safely around the world On
forty-eight hours notice. When the
president wants to make q long jour
ney he usually calls Mr.. Boyd in for
consultation as an expert MIR. Boyd
lboks mp the regular schedules of all
the roads to be covered and calculates
the running time of their trains. He
has to balance everything with great
nicely so as not to bring the presi-
dent to big city at 9 in the morning
Or land him at terminal without pro-
vision for continuing the journey on
some other line When he hasmapped
out the trips he telegraphs the Off
cials of all the railroads to ask if they
ean>pick thespresident's train up at
this point at that time and take it
through to the other station at such
an hour. This schedule Includes all
the important stops, with an allow
ance OF FIVE or ten minutes for each
daylight station on the route. When
thesraiiroeds agree to the schedule it
is finally delivered to the president.
Thus the president personally has
very little voice in the matter. He
IL -.