The daily morning journal and courier., 1899-02-15
 PERSONATING PRESIDENTS.

l Successful Counterparts of White House Occupants-A Chicago Police
 man Receives Homage Intended fol | McKinley-The House File Clerl Passes in Washington Streets for MT Cleveland and His Doings Are Writ | ten Up in the Papers.
 Experience has many times proved that it is not difficult matter to get ones self taken for the president of the United States, in case there is the very slightest resemblance in appearance to the distinguished parsonage. The sub- ject is now brought to public notice by the account in g recent issue of "The Detective" of how William A. Mur- phy, one of the seven Chicago police men detailed to guard the president during the peace jubilee, was for half an hour cheered by the crowd as the president himself It seems that MT. Murphy considerable resembles MT. Mckinley, so that when at one time Mr. Mckinley rode quietly in closed car- riage, Murphy was ordered to take off him shining silk hat whenever the crowds in the street cheered. The de- vice worked like charm. The crowd howled itself hoarse at the sight of Murphy's fine Roman nose and thin hair, little thinking that the man they greeted was policeman. who, in his work of protecting the nations chief, had been directed to pose for time as the chief himself.
 Such occurrences are by no means in- frequent while the president of the United States at any particular time, whenever he may be, is doubtless the best known man in the country, 1t is also true that he is the easiest man to personate. This is due to the fact that the mental picture most people have of the president is a composite of the various likenesses they have from time to time seen. A composite is never distinct. This mental picture is so blurred that whenever a man pos- sessng the general physical character istics of the president for any reason gives out the hint that he is the presi- dent, he has no trouble in getting him. self accepted at that face value Whenever one person in crowd makes up his mind that certain man is the president the rest readily accept the conclusion, and if there be scepti- cal ones they dare not raise voice in protest.
 The guides at the White House say that 1t is the commonest of all happen ings for groups of Ieisurely tourists to gather and watch a man possessed of a smooth face Roman nose and dark complexion who happens to go in or out of the White House. He may be the humblest office-seeker or an everyday citizen of Washington; he may be foot taller or foot shorter than the chief magistrate, but still somebody in the crowd whispers "There gees the .presi- dent" Those who hear this remark suppose that its author knows what he is talking about A crowd gathers, and the very fact of its gathering is conclu- sive that there is something to see, and when the object in view is man going up or down the steps, it is taken for granted by all corners that he must cer- tainly be the president of the United States. Whom else would a crowd stop to look at? In this way thousands of people go away from Washington to tell for the rest of their lives about seeing the president when they have really seen the hero of one of these impromptu gatherings. Any man in the country bearing the slightest resemblance to MT. who might be seen quietly walking on Sunday afternoon in the grounds back of the White House, would surely be taken for the president, and so proclaimed by all passers-by.
 An interesting case in point occurred about year ago. It was known that MT. Cleveland, then an ex-presdent, had arrived in the city from southern trip, and that at a later hour the same day he woudl take the train to his New Jer- sey home. As MT. Cleveland afterward declared, the interval between the arri- val of one train and the departure of the other he had passed in the Pennsyl- vania railroad station, and had not set foot upon the streets of Washington. But the news-ga -gatherers of this city were rather looking for MT. Cleveland that lay, and it is not surprising that several journals contained story he next morning of how the late chief executive had been seen gazing into a
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