Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-11-05
ACASEOFLESE MAJESTE
THE CHAUFrEUR WHO GOT IN
THE PRESIDENTS WAY
Now Finds it Impossible to Obtain
Employment-Some Suggestions
to Simplify Matters.

To the Editor Of The Star:
What did you get in the Presidents way
for?"
This question is said to have been the
answer to poor mans application for
work in Washington as he was turned
away. There was no question about the
mans qualification for work or his faith
fulness to his former employers or to hds
honesty morality. He had been dis
charged from position in one Of the de-
partments with no charge OF any kind filed
against him, affecting either his honesty or
his competency. His offense had been that
he passed the Presidents carriage, not
knowing it from any other carriage, and
that he told secret service man In plain
clothes. who iiterfered with him. to go to
hell"
That was supplementary and uncivil
language, but many men have used 1t to
other men who. without any badge of au-
thority "butted In and tried to direct their
moveme ). 1t Is not un-American Ian
guage, when the circumstances are consid-
cred, and the man-this discharged chauf-
feur of the bureau of standards-was a vet
eran of the Spanish war. who had served
two years in the Philippines. He had been
under fire there often any soldier in
the Philippines, and had been commended
by his superior officer for bravery. Perhaps
he there. acquired his vocabulary and his
custom of using plain speech to those who
without any badge of authority, 'butted in
and interfered with his carrying out Off
cial orders. Soldiers have been known to
do these things, and they have not been
dismissed from the service because they did
not use drawing room language to those
who interfered with duty.
This administration claims that every man
should have square deal" To the lay.
man, with old-fashioned democratic princi-
PIES 1t does not appear that this discharged
70 90
not know the President or his carriage and
there was nothing about the turnout to
indicate its official character The secret
service men were in plain clothes and rid
ing bicycles. They did not make known to
the chauffeur the identity of the carriage
or the occupants, nor did they assert their
own official authority to block the road to
another vehicle that sought to pass. They
simply waved the chauffeur back and
when he went forward they threatened to
have him discharged He did what most
Americans would have oone-went ahead
and consigned them to the Internal re-
gions.
If this retroactive action under new
civil service order, issued the day following
the alleged offense. Is square deal, there
should be some new regulations issued by
the District Commissioners regarding 1.-The
rules of the road in Washington, that
other drivers of automobiles, carriages,
or wagons, may have warning.
The old rule of passing to the right and
without violating the speed limit, seems no
longer adequate. The driver must also
know whom to pass The speed of the
Presidents carriage cuts no figure. If the
President chooses to drive slowly those
who happen to be driving in the same di-
rection may not pass; they must also drive
slowly or take another street. And If the
President is to be an exception to the old
rule, may not the exception also extend to
the members of the cabinet, and the heads
of bureaus, especially when the driver be-
hind happens to be a subordinate in the
executive departments, for they are now,
under the new civil service order, required
to discharge instanter any subordinate
whose offense is a matter of personal
knowledge to them. The new rule of the
road is liable to cause all sorts of embar-
| easements to subordinates who may be en-
ployed as drivers of government equipages
or who are In position to own their own
Secretary Root is the premier Of the cab
met, and he has a number of good horses
But Fourth Assistant Postmaster General
De Graw also loves good horse, and he is
credited with having one Of the best road
sters in Washington. VIII Mr. De Graw be
permitted to give his roadsters free rein on
the road and compel Secretary Root to take
his dust? Or must he in future admit that
Mr.. Roots horse is the better without a