Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1909-03-16

WASHINGTON. D. c., March 49,
Old Dame Nature did no more to mar the
success of the Taft-Sherman Inauguration
last Thursday than she did to muzzle the
press 1t is doubtful if the publicity end
of any big event Of recent years in Amer
lea was ever so successfully or unfortu-
nately. beclouded. The frost" that
characterized the inaugural formalities
from the swearing in of the president tc
the big street parade, was, indeed, less
marked than was the effort of the Wash
ingtOn correspondents, press associations
ETC., to reach the American people with
the news of the occasion. In fact, the in
auguration occurred on schedule time
but with decidedly changed program
whereas there was little news that went
out of Washington on Thursday last.
Washington was isolated entirely, and
excel.t for the wireless apparatus the
country would not have been informed fc
the Inauguration of President Taft. Or
to II o'clock on the day OF the inaugu
ration neither the Western Union noI
the Postal had a line out Of Washington
Finally. the former company got into
country would not have been informed OF
communication with Richmond. but could
not bet out of Richmond.
Wires Were Frustrated
,
TO inaugurate Mr.. Taft in the senate
chamber was of course the same agency
that isolated Washington and made il
impossible for the correspondents To
reach their papers. Wires, north, east
south. west. were down Baltimore coulo
/, not be reached by either telegraph OF
telephone. although it is distant less
than fifty miles from Washington.
Many of the correspondents and one OF
two of the Rvs agencies depending upon
the weather mans representation or ran
weather for March 4th, had written theii
stories in advance, and mailed them tc
their respective papers, thereby saving
telegraph tolls. All of these stories. even
to the review OF The parade by the new
president. were written on the assump'
ton that fair skies and balmy SUNSHINE
would rule and that Mr.. Taft would take
the oath of office in the open air, from
the immense platform, and in the pres
ense of hurrahing thousands.
II is easy to imagine the plight OF
these newspaper men, when, after Tuning
and fretting because the weather was
against them, they found themselves cut
off from communication with their pa
ners-and their predicament became the
more vexatious when they learned thai
the program had been changed for the
first time in half century, and Mr.. Tart
would be inaugurated in the senate cham
Der.
Yes. the telegraph companies would
oblige the correspondents by accepting
ten or twenty words of correctlon-or
more likely, an order to kill the ad-
vance inaugural story-but neither COM
pany would guarantee its delivery; In
deed. both companies assured the men
who filed such messages that the chances
Of their being delivered were remote.
The fierceness of the storm itself, the
breaking of the precedent of 80 years
staining relative to open air Inaugural
tions. the disappointment, the street
scenes. the dampor that had been cast
over all, smothering the festival spirit
that held sway on inauguration eve, Cos
SIP of the hotel Hobbies, stories of hui
man interest of the distinguished vista
ors. these, and a score Of other things