Omaha daily bee., 1902-03-16

ruse OF af1Xing the initials Of some one
known to be close to the chief magistrate.
Such efforts never avail, however, for IL
the deception is not detected by the assert
ing clerk the schemer's letter is turned
back into the proper channel by The presi-
dent when he detects its character.
How They Are Answered.
The work of answering the presidential
mail Is a task Of herculean proportions.
An effort Is made to acknowledge in some
manner every communication sent to the
Whlte House. Five or six stenographers
are constantly employed typewriting the
letters dictated by the president and his
secretaries. Naturally great numbers of
letters can be answered by what are
known as "forms"-that is phraseology
arranged to cover any and all inquiries on
a certain subject. For instance, the hun
dreds OF people who, after the president
has delivered an important address or sent
a message to congress, send congratula-
tory letters and kilograms to the White
House all receive letters of acknowledge
ment and thanks which are practically
Identical.
The general public and particularly the
feminine portion of 1t appears to cherish
the belief that. whereas there is no posi-
bllity that a letter can reach the president
inviolate, there is reasonable surety that
a missive to a member Of his immediate
family will reach its destination unmo-
Tested. This is utter fallacy, for every let
ter addressed to Mrs. Roosevelt or any OF
the children passes through through exactly
the same channel as does the mail designed
for the head OF the household and the
chances that 1t will ever come under the
eye of the intended recipient are quite as
Famntn Tho uanaroI p,otI g.. II
members Of the Roosevelt household must
all come under the scrutiny of Assistant
Secretary William Loeb, jr, popularity
known as the presidents right hand man."
and the social activities at the White House
and the prominence into which Miss Alice
Roosevelt has been brought by the christen-
ing or the kaiser's yacht and other events
has necessitated the devotion of an I'M
precedented amount of time to this class OF
correspondence.
Takes Care of Invitations
Another important and decidedly arduous
duty which has fallen to the lot of Mr.. Loeb
Is the management OF the voluminous cor
respondence connected with social activities
at the White House. The dispatch Of the
invitations for dinner, luncheons, balls and
receptions is not SO serious a matter, since
all those designed for residents Of Wash
ingtOn are delivered by mounted messen-
gers, but the replies help to swell the
volume OF the regular stream OF mail and
these make work for the office force under
Mr.. Loeb's direction, for each %declination
or acceptance must be properly tabulated
and each name checked of, so that 1t will
be possible to estimate accurately the num-
Der OF prospective guests at any forth
coming function.
Every rich man of any prominence in
America receives daily a number OF the
oldest requests imaginable, but II is safe
to say that the communications in no case
compare in novelty and absurdity with the
curiosities which crowd the White House
mail bags. There are letters humorous
and sad, missives pleading and threatening
and communication of praise and censure.
Many OF the letters received are Infinitely
sad, but a far greater number are in some
degree ludicrous.
Appeals for Personal Aid.
Most numerous possibly are the appeals
of persons who wish the president to aid
them to secure positions either in the gov
eminent service or elsewhere. The beg
ging letters" form a vast proportion, rang
ing all the way from the approximations OF