Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1908-11-28
TAFT INAUGURAL
THE GREATEST EVER
Machinery is Started in Operation
for QuadrennlaI Event.
PLACE FOR GRAND BALL
PUZZLES COMMITTEE

PUZZLES COMMITTEE
Probable That Congress viii Not Al
low Use Of Pension office-Prom-
Use to Erect New Building Not Kept
Military Parade Representing
Each Branch Of Army.
Washington. Nov. 26.-Already the
citizens Of Washington are laying
plans to make the inauguration OF
William H. Taft the most notable OF
all inauguraIs. They want the largesi
crowd here next 4th of March the
capital has ever known, and they
realize that something novel and
striking in the way of inaugural GER
emonies is necessary in order to at
tract the people. OF course, there
would be a big crowd in any event
but it is a record-breaking crowd hat
is wanted so there must be a record
breaking inaugural.
Just what the novel features will
be has not been determined In fact
ideas have been discussed in only the
most tentative way Nothing definite
can be accomplished until the inaug
ural committee has been appointed
by Chairman Stellwagen and gets
down to work.
The inaugural chairman will select
large committee of Washington
citizens, and there will be two OF
three months of the hardest kind OF
preliminary work
Ir costs a lot OF money 20 inaugli
rate president of the United States
and, contrary to widespread belief
the money is raisef here in Washing
ton by popular subscription. congress
appropriating not one cent toward de-
fraying the expenses. There is consid-
cradle sentiment this year in favor
of asking congress to make an ap-
preparation for inaugural purposes
but nothing is likely to come of It.
In the past, before it would grant the
use of the pension Office building for
the inaugural ball, congress has re
Quired a real estate bond to cover
any possible damage to the property
The attitude OF congress always has
been that as the inaugural brought
thousands of people to the city to the
large profit of Washington residents
they ought to finance the ceremonies,
and any request for an appropriation
is likely to meet with scant consid-
Grafton. The inaugural features which
involve an outlay of money are no
part of the necessary ceremony of in
Quoting a president into office, and
as the show is gotten up by Washing
ton and for the benefit washington
congress will say, it is entirely proper
that Washington should foot the
bills.
The inaugural ball is a feature that
is going to give the committee a great
deal of trouble. Not only is this a
highly popular feature of the inaug-
ural ceremonies. but the ball is de-
pended upon to furnish the bulk of
the money for reimbursing citizens
who subscribed to the inaugural fund.
Without a ball there would be mea-
gre chance of paying back more than
a fraction of the subscriptions.
The lobby of the pension office has
been the only place In the city ade-
quate for the ball Holding the bali
there necessitates suspending the
work of the bureau for at least a
week. The last two or three times
congress has granted use of the
building under protest, and four
years ago it did so only after the
most positive assurance that by the
time of another Inauguration suit
table structure would be erected
These assurances have not been kept.
and it is extremely doubtful whether
congress will again allow the pen
sion office to be used The only
other possible place is the new
National Museum building, and this
lacks lot of being large enough.
One of the most attractive features