The National tribune., 1909-03-11
CHANGING INAUGURAL DAY.

Again there goes up frorS all over
the country strong demand to have
Inaugural Day changed to "a more
is usually the finest in the world, but
when it has spells it has them bad
and the storm genius seems to take
particular delight in making Inaugu-
ration Day .conspicuously disagreeable.
No one can recollect an Inauguration
Day in Washington that was even
fairly agreeable or up to the average
of our weather. The nearest ap-
proach to it was at the time of Cleve-
lands first Inauguration, when the 4th
of March was tolerably pleasant.
Grants iraugurations had the bitter
cold of the far North; on Harrison's
Inauguration it rained as if it would
never stop and the inaugural days
since have been more or less marred
by storms. The last Inauguration was
simply the worst ever" No one re-
calls at any season of the year storm
like that which suddenly broke upon
the Atlantic coast and actually sus-
pended travel between New York and
the National Capital. Every inaugura-
ton day in the past has been prolific
in deaths resulting directly from the
exposure necessary in the ceremonies
and it will be recollected that at
Cleveland's second Inauguration and
McKinley's first, four or five Senators
and other public men of equal promi-
nence died as a result of their expos
ure to the storm. The death roll of
the recent inauguration has not yet
been made up, and there are grave
fears as to what it will show.
There has been much talk that 1t
was not necessary to have Constitu-
tional amendment to change the date.
but this seems now abandoned and the
only way that the day can be changed
is by a joint resolution approved by
two-thirds of both Houses and ratified
by the Legislatures of three-fourths of
the States. This seems a cumbrouS
for a small matter. TIE
Constitution is something that people
do not believe should be tinkered with
Or changed in any way except for the
weightiest reasons. 1t has only been
amended on two occasions since it was
adopted and our great war only added
three amendments to it. Yet to change
Inauguration day involves not merely
the lengthening Of the terms of the
Presidential incumbent and the Vice
Presidnt and the Cabinet, but also
those of all the members of both
nj nfh
ramifications that cannot be readily
foreseen and catalogued.
After each Inauguration day in the
past there has risen a strong demand
for change, but it has been forgotten
in the press of other more important
matters and allowed to remain as. 1t
was. 1t now has become more of
National matter than ever before. since
greater numbers of people come from
distant parts of the country to attend
the ceremonies and their comfort and
health have to be considered. Cn-
doubtedly a great many lives will be
sacrificed by the inclemency of the
last Inauguration day, and these will
be largely people of Importance and
standing in their several neighbor-
hoods. Besides this there was an ap-
palling loss of mere money. People
spent in the aggregate immense sums
to come to Washington for the cere-
Military and civic organiza-
tions went to great expense to be pres
ent, a large part of which fails upon
the State Treasury. and all of this was
more. or less wasted in addition to the
discomfort in having a ceremonial
which the weather made exceedingly
uncomfortable and unsatisfactory
It does not appear that there should
be any strong opposition from any
source, and it may be possible for the
joint resolution to pass both Houses
of Congress without discussion and 10
be ratified formally without contro-
versy by the necessary number of
Legislatures. Let US hope that 1t
viii be.