Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-01-10
A Too Accessible Presidentp

Some comment upon the Morris case has
approved the conclusion, suggested by the
incident, that the President is making him
self less easily accessible to miscellaneous
visitors. In the matter of accessibility the
President has been undoubtedly one of the
most democratic Of executives. He has
been ready to listen, and, II his sympathies
were touched. quick to act strongly in re-
dress OF grievances. He has come to be
regarded as the universal Fighter of wrongs,
to whom the humblest Individual we'll
as the most powerful organization, might
appeal with confidence, II right be on his
side. This reputation, based on observed
facts, served as an invitation to persons
with grievances. lie Mrs. Morris, to seek
to gain the Presidents attention. She saw
the President responding to appeals to in
tervene not only when presented by ma
ton or q great labor organization, like
that of the coal miners, but by the parents
OF the victims of foot ball brutality or by
qhe (alleged) brutally beaten wives OF the
District of Columbia.
1t was easy for Mrs. Morris, who be-
lieved her cause to be just and felt herself
prosecuted by the powerful. to convince
herself that all she needed to secure SYM
rathy and redress of grievances was to
gain the ear of the President; and her quiet
obstinacy in seeking this end regardless
OF obstacles, was as natural that of the
importunate widow of the Scriptures who
won redress of grievances solely by her
troublesome persistency. To one coming in
this spirit TO the White House, in response
to the tact invitation of the Presidents
reputation and previous policy, the surprise
and shock of violent election and arrest rs
dIsOrderly and insane would be douby hor
rible.
If the White House officials believed that
Mrs. Morris was of weak or unbalanced
intellect they should have seen that the
course pursued by them in forclbly remov-
ing her would have the natural and obvious
tendency to drive her completely out of her
wits and to make of her a raving maniac.
on this hypothesis they should have tact
fully humored or persuaded her into the
insane asylum, instead of applying brute
force.
If, on the other hand, her sole offense
was the quiet and sane, even If foolish,
determination TO remain in the waiting
room until the President could see her
cana the weight of evidence is overwhelm-
iy to this effecU, then she might well have
been permitted to occupy a few feet or
space and to breathe few feet OF air in
less waiting and went away. There are
hundred such pitiful petitioners graciously
permitted the harmless privilege of holding
down chairs in the ante-rooms of the gov
eminent buildings today -heart-siek from
hope deferred.
1t makes no difference, of course. in the
very objectiona Bile" handling of Mrs Nor
ris al the White House whether her cause
was just or unjust, whether her petition
was rea sonable or unreasonable, whether
the President would have done anything
but reject her appeal, If he had permitted
himself or had been permitted by his sec
retaries to hear 1t. Nor does it matter
whether the President has or has not been
in the past too accessible to miscellaneous
visitors. The Presidents best friends will
differ on the point of the wisdom of
change in this neutrality-suspicious. policy.
But no real friend of the President will
contend for an instant that if this policy
Is to be altered the change would wisely
be so abruptly announced and drasti-
cally and shockingly enforced as in the
Morris case.