Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-04-28

filled for the past five years by Col. Theo-
dore Bingham. 1t will be Col. Symons'
duty at all social functions at the White
House to assume direct charge of all the
arrangements, and, next to the President
himself, he will probably be the most con-
spicuous parsonage in the entire building,
hurrying here and there to see that every
arrangement Of program carefully
worked out in advance with trained mill
tary precision is carried out without
hitch. 1t is the duty Of the master of
ceremonies to introduce all guests to the
President as they approach him.
As Master of Ceremonies.
The social functions at the White House,
especially the large receptions. public and
otherwise, require large amount OF prep
aration in order that they may pass off
in a decorous manner and without hitch.
This arrangement will be entirely in the
hands Of Col. Symons, who must see to
the decorations of the rooms to be used,
must arrange music for the OCCASION and
the program of airs that will best suit the
guests to be entertained-in fact, he Will
in evry way take from the shoulders of
the President and first lady of the land
the entire responsibility, worry and care
Of giving an entertainment, so that they
may feel upon taking their places for the
reception of guests that everything will be
as 1t should be had they given the details
their personal attention.
Having arranged the details for enter
tainment, the master Of ceremonies Is COM
PEELED to give great deal of attention to
the guests to be entertained In the nrst
place, in the national capital, where are
congregated all the diplomats of the foreign
countries, there is great deal of sticking
as to official and social precedence" This
has been bugbear in the hands of every
democratic person who has had to enter
tain these officials. Seats at table must be
so arranged as to satisfy each diplomatic
representative that he has the position to
which he is entitled, not alone by his rank.
but by the rank of his country In case
of doubt Colonel Symons has the State De-
paItment to fall back on, but nevertheless
he has to solve the problems at risk of CIV
ing Offense.
at is no sinecure to be master of cere-
monies at the White House." remarked an
official of the State Department the other
day. Suppose for instance, there was
to be an official function at the White
House receipt is given for 1T by the stew
think 1t would bring few gray hairs to
the head of the master of ceremonies to
place the German representative now in
this country, Baron Speck Won Sternburg?
Why, even in army and navy circles of the
United States, in this republican country.
there are frequently squabbles as to official
precedence, and men who have been known
to be warm personal friends for years have
been seen to stand and glare at each other
the moment this supposed official prece-
dence was violated.
Paymaster of the White House.
In addition to his duties as master of
ceremonies at social functions at the White
House Colonel Symonds becomes the custO
dian of the funds and "paymaster general
of the household In other words, all
moneys appropriated by Congress for the
necessary expenses Of the White House are
placed in the hands of Colonel Symons, and
1t is he who has to expand every cent of it,
personally paying all bills and accounting
for every cent expended, from 40 cents for
a pound of butter bought in an emergency
to thousands of dollars for recarpeting the
Executive Mansion. While he is the dis
bursting officer Of the White House, he Is
in no way the custodian of the property
within the mansion. nor is he responsible
for it, That function Is performed by
steward who is bonded to take care of the
property of Uncle Sam within the walls of
the Executive Mansion. The personal prop
erty of the "Roosevelts is looked after by
their own servants. This steward cares for
all the bric-a-brac, furniture, china, glass,
plate and other articles within the mansion
belonging to the government. When any
thing new is needed Colonel Symons will be
called upon by the President to make the
purchase, but when it arrives at the White
House within few days. Do you not
ard and Colonel Symons' responsibility
ends.
But this American Pooh BAH has other
duties He is the military aid of the
President, as was said at the outset. This
means that on every occasion when the
President appears in public, not, of course,
in his private strolls through the streets of
the city Colonel Symons must don his full
regimentals, Respondent with gold lace and
with feathered chapeau, take his place at
the Presidents side. This, of course. brings
him into an intimate relation with the chief
executive, being the cause that such an Of
f1cer is always selected for personal rea-