Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1909-05-11
SEEING THE PRESIDENT.
Demands Upon His Time Arduous and
Unremittinu.


Unremitting.
Mr.. Taft takes no luncheon. The in
terruption which it has afforded to his
predecessors in office in the wearying
task of seeing people, hour in and hour
out, Is not for him. From 8 o'clock In
the morning until to in the after
noon, according to circumstances, he Is
meeting a stream Of people, single or
in committees, or in delegations, intro
duced by senators and cabinet officers,
or arriving at his portals with letters
Of commendation, or presenting them
selves on the basis of their personal ac-
quaintance. No one sees him except by
ppointment-bearing few members
Of the choicest inner circle-and yet
among the callers by appointment
waits of three hours are not unknown.
To see him in an hour and a half after
the time scheduled is doing well. A
new piece of machinery in the handling
Of the. crowd has been devised. Cap
tain Stone, the Pullman car conductor,
whom President Roosevelt, taking a
fancy to, brought to the White House,
is now engaged, nominally under the
title Of chief usher, In opening and
closing a great double door between
the cabinet room and the presidents 8
real office. Through this portal stone
admits in order the persons or groups
who have previously been admitted to
! the cabinet room by the man at its en-
trance, who has a list supplied each
day by the private secretary or, as oc-
casions arise, of persons who are to
be passed. Making an appointment ad-
mits them to the cabinet room. Capt.
Stone, as he opens and closes these
doors, introducing to the president the
persons who pass in, wherever neces-
sary, represents stage In the mechan-
ism which had not been found necessary
by Mr.. Tafts predecessors. And yet
Washington people are complaining
that Mr.. Taft Is to hard to get at; Is
not seeing enough people; Is not ming
ling with the multitude as much as did
his predecessor. In fact, he does moth
ing else for the greater part of his wax
ing hours, and 1t Is a terrible strain on
any man.
The changed use Of the telephone Is
not without it's suggestiveness Twen-
ty years ago the White House contain
ed Just one telephone, standing against
the wall in the northeast corner room,
where the office telegrapher made his
headquarters. No one responded to 1t
except during Office hours. The pres
idents wife used to send out maid
to transmit a message, usually through
one of the clerks, perhaps twice week
No general appointments were made by
it except in the rarest emergency. Its
use was not greatly different from that
of a fire alarm signal. The White
House occupants, either Of the family
or of the clerical staff, had acquired no
telephone habit and were virtually un-
educated to its possibilities. What Is
the sintuation today? The White
\
House central, Main No. g." Is man
ned day and night. The exchange con-
meets with virtually every room in the
mansion, in the Office building and in
the stables; the man at Its switchpoard
partakes of the nature Of private sec
retary. Upon him is poured a list OF
lappointments and he is busy making
them. It seems as If the entire town
were connected with the White House,
and also the larger centers OF the coun-
try. The access of the telephone to the
old mansion has repeated the expert
ence Of the railroad. 1t has geared up
the wheel Of business to q newly ac-
CELEBRATED speed, with the result that
the pressure upon the presidents time
is nremitting.-Robert L. O'Brien In
Boston Transcript.