Evening star., 1909-03-04
The GkANrbA1L, NAKcH4,1673

by a few political friends, and did not
have any horse to hitch to the railing. in
spite of the fact that this story has been
told SO softep..s
The oath was administered to him in
doors in the presence of about a thousand
people. The inauguration had less the
appearance of national function than
any other before or since and gave rise
to the hard work phrase. Jenersonian
simplicity"
The same formula was observed at the
Inauguration of Madison in 1909 but the
crowd had grown to a considerable ex-
tent. Thereafter the pressure for tick
cts was so great that the ceremony was
performed on the portico of the old
House of Representatives. Thereafter
the inaugurations were always held out
of doors before a continually growing
crowd of people in the east plaza OF the
Capitol.
At the Inauguration of Monroe there was
gathered in the plaza wrat was described
in the papers of that day as "a vast con-
course of people. numbering. all told.
10000 The President delivered his in
augural address in the open air. Al
though every one could see. him. few
could hear a word that vas said.
This has been the case ever since. The
Presidents inaugural address gets its real
circulation through the newspapers IN
spite of the fact that hundreds of thou
sands of people watch him while the ad-
dress is being delivered.
Adams Takes Oath Indoors.
The younger Adams was one of the few
Presidents to return 10 the custom OF in
door Inauguration. There was great
pressure for admission. Many civic
bodies who accompanied him to the Cap
itol had almost a free fight with the
SQUADRON of cavalry that acted as his
personal escort.
Jackson that the crowds attending the
inauguration began 10 be heaVliy s"eheo
nv the presence of outsiders. His con-
tinccnt Of hard-drinking and vocIferous
westerners descended like a swarm of
locl,sts or the capital. filling every motel
and boarding house to its utmost ca
pacity while many for whom there We're
no accommodations had TO walk the
streets all night, and slept in parks or
doorways or lumber yards. as the case
might be- Every pump and hydrant IN
the city was used on the morning of the
4th as a temporary lavatory
The pressure was SO great that 1T was
determined henceforth TO have special
local committee to look after the com
fort of the visitors. This was the fore
shadowing of the present inaugural com
mittee, whose labors for the Tart cere-
monies have just been completed But
II was far from an efficient organiza-
ton.
Curious Inaugural Professions.
From that time also inaugural process
sions began to be the order of the day, al
though the first were much after the
fashion of circus parades. There were
floats and fancy costumes. Trade organi-
cations and commercial firms were all
given a place in line and took advantage
of the occasion to advertise themselves
and their wares.
In the Van Buren procession there were
five compa MES of soldiers. This was
considered at the time great outturnlng
of the military. The diplomatic corps
was also present in fun uniform and
| added much brilliancy to the occasion.
The crowds at each succeeding inaugu-
ration naturally grew with the growth Of
| the city and the Improvement in trans
portation facilities.
AT the inauguration of James Is. POLK
| there were eleven con plants of soldiers.
| There was III the procession a marching
CLUB which had come al the way from
New York. hitherto unheard-Of incident
| on such an occasion.
Ii was estimated also that there were
2O.OD people utside OF the Capitol when
| Taylor took the oath OF Office. This had
increased To $1,000 at Buchanans inau-
guration The streets on that occasion
We're filled all day with a motley moving
crowd.
Beau Hickman, who fiourished in Wash
ington at that time. reaped harvest
from both his regular patrons and the
| crowd of strangers in the city.
Temporary Ballroom.
| The ball that year was held in a tenn
| porary building erected in Judiciary
! Square. Accounts at the time say that
| the decorations were most lavish and that
as much as $3.50 was spent, exclusive OF
/ the chande iers. which afterward were
| taken down and used elsewhere.
At the present day the decorations OF
| the ballroom cost anywhere from $4,000