Los Angeles herald., 1908-03-04
OF WORLDWIDE INTEREST
CHANGING INAUGURAL DATE
BY FREDERIC J. HAsklN

A year from today the people of the
United States will usher into power a
new chief magistrate. In recent years
each Inauguration has been more wide-
ly attended than it's predecessors, and
1t Is probable that next year will be
no exception to the rule. Who the
new ruler will be is hard to say. II
he happens tt be a Democrat 1t is
safe guess to pick him. If he turns
out to be Republican it would be a
highly unsafe one. But whosoever he
will be, he is certain to meet with
an immense crowd when he takes the
solemn oath to preserve and defend
the constitution. And he is pretty sure
TO encounter some pretty bad weather
or that day, for fickle March seems
never so f1ckle as on her fourth day.
| When Benjamin Franklin offered his
resolution in the last continental con-
gress fixing the first Wednesday in
March, 1883, as the day for "commenc-
| ing under the said constitution" he is
said to have fixed that date because 1t
would fall on Sunday fewer times than
that was the reason and whether or not
| Il is a fact that the 4th of March does
| fail on Sunday less often that any
other day, the fact remains that it does
| fall on dsagreeable days about as
often as any other date on the calendar
could.
1t Is this treacherous 4th OF March
weather that has led to widespread
agitation in favor of a change OF the
date of the Inauguration. When Mr.
| Roosevelt was inaugurated in 1904 the
Weather was just about as fine as any
one could expect for the 4th of March.
Yet the tolls that death took on that
day were exceedingly heavy. How
many of the great throng that wit
messed the triumphal march OF Roose-
Veltism to q second term will never
| be known. Hundreds went back home
TO die unheralded deaths as a result
| Of the grippe and pneumonia contract
| ed while in Washington. But there
were some shining marks of which the
world did hear The venerable Sem
ator Bate of Tennessee died but few
days later as a result of the cold con-
t,acted on that occasion. Judge We'll
don of the court of claims was another
victim of the day. The Mexican am
bassador. Aspiroz, never recovered
from the cold taken on that occasion,
| and indirectly 1t was the weather of
! Inauguration day of 1904 that brought
about the, death of Senator Platt OF
| Connecticut.
The death of these men OF affairs
| brought to a crisis a movement 20
change the date of Inauguration. Conn
missioner Macfarland of the District of
Columbia enlisted the aid of fifteen of
the leading citizens of Washington to
press the matter He also secured the
| Endorsement of forty-one governors in
| his efforts. But with all that the pro-
position failed of passage. The matter
| has been brought up in congress again
this year. A number of bills and reso-
lutions have been introduced in the
senate and house providing for a
| change of date, but it Is more than
probable that nothing will be done. At
any rate nothing done at the present
session could suffice to change the date
Of the 1909 Inauguration, as the change
must be accomplished by constitu-
tional amendment, which would require
the ratification of the legislatures of
three-fourths of the states. At best,
therefore, the change cannot take place
until 1913. and it probably stands small
show to get into effect until 1917.
The stumbling block of the PROPOSE
ton to change the date seems to be the
house of representatives. The senate
has twice passed a resolution to change
it to the last Thursday in April. Each
time the house has failed to concur,
and the matter died a natural legisla-
tive death. The late Senator Hoar was
at that time chairman of the Judiciary
committee of the senate and was the
leader of the movement for the change.
He favored the last Thursday in April
rather than April 80, because he
thought a movable date would prevent
Sunday from interfering, and because
IL would give those who attend the
ceremonies an opportunity to get home
without travelling on the Sabbath. There
are, however, some who think that it
ought to be on April 80. That is the
day when Washington was inaugu-
rated. The venerable Winthrop, in his
Grafton at the laying of the corner
stone of the Washington monument,
suggested April 80 as the inaugural
date for ali presidents, since that was
the date of Washingtons first inaugu-
ration.
There are those in the house of rep
resentatives who want the date of the
inauguration moved back to the first
of January instead of forward to the
latter part of April. They want to
abolish the short term of congress al
together. They point out that under
modern conditions it is too long time
from the expression of the will of the
people until that expression can be
given effect. A president may remain
in power four months after the people
have vetoed his policies, and unless
convened in extra session a congress
Has no chance until thirteen months
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