Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1909-02-18
INAUGURATION Plans and Memories.

| take the oath of Office. washington Is
in the throeS of preparation for that
great event, and the various COM
| mittees are putting in strenuous days
and nights while Washington landlords
and Washington residents generally
| are rubbing their hands in anticipation
OF their great quadrennial harvest. The
| Inauguration ceremony itself is a
simple affair, impressive and solemn to
| be sure, but from the nature of things
| in this democratic land it has very few
| frils attached.
But the people of Washington aided
| and abetted by the people Of the
country at large, make a great &C.
casion Of the Inauguration of a Presi-
| dent and the side features, the pomp
and pageancy of the great procession,
the brilliancy Of the grand ball, and the
| various functions of a social nature
which take place at that time grow
more elaborate and imposing with each
| does not arrange these details and does
| not pay the bills. 1t is all done by the
committees of the citizens of Washing
| ton, but the bills, directly or in
directly, are paid by the multitude Of
visitors from all parts of the land.
According to the Washington papers,
| the Inauguration Of President Taft will
Guido all earlier occasions of this kind.
| There will be more than 10000 men
| in the grand parade and hundreds of
| thousands of people along the line OF
| march. This is quite a change from
| the program Of a century ago, when
| only small guard of militia accom-
! panied the president elect as he rode
| citizens stood in the orchards and
gardens and fields behind the old fence
that bordered Pennsylvania in those
days 1t was not until Andrew Jack
son was inaugurated in 1929 that
| Washington had its first glimpse OF
| the popular enthusiasm, the patriotism
the sympathy and the hospitality that
was to be the feature of the great
PENNSYLVANIA Avenue pageants of later
years. Speaking of Jackson's in
auguration, Daniel Webster said
Never has such a crowd been seen in
| Washington before There must have
been fully 5000 people along the line
of march and persons came 500 miles
to see the President inaugurated.'
| That was so years ago and presi-
dental inaugurations as we'll as mos,
other things in this country are done
on a vastly greater scale than at that
time 1t is recalled that when Lincoln
was inaugurated in 1861 there was
nothing of the holiday spirit in evil
| dencc 1t is true that there was .
large escort. but it was exclusively
military and every soldier had 9
musket loaded and cooked and ready
for business. Nine tenths OF the spec
tatorS on the sidewalks We're also
soldiers. There was no cheering anG
no demonstration. Four years later
the military escort was even larger
and more alert and the watch along the
line of march was even more vigilant
but enthusiasm and patriotism were
then given free rein and the president
and his procession were cheered to the
| echo.
Since that day each inaugural pro.
cession and the ceremonies attending
the induction of the new president into
office have become more and moro
elaborate with each administration
Numerically the first Inauguration o.
| President Cleveland was especially
notable since it marked q change o
the parties in power, and faithful
| Democrats from all parts of the Ian,
turned out in force. The military dis
play at that time was the most elabor
ate since the grand review in 1856
| when the returning volunteers marched
down Pennsylvania avenue 24o,Oo'
strong. At that time from dawn T.
dark for two whole days the victorious
warriors of the Union marched by il
a constant column while the clouds o
dust kicked up by their tramping fee
hung over the city like pail
Probably the country will never again
see the like of that grand review
There have been some very historic
professions along that famous avenue
notably those which in turn escorted
the bodies of the murdered presidents
Lincoln in 1865. Garfield in 1881 ant
Mckinley in 1901.
There will be great doings at Wash
ington two weeks from today and thu
hundreds and thousands who will h
there to participate will be envied b!
the millions who have to stay at home
Let us hope that the day will b.
pleasant and that everything will pas
off smoothly and auspiciously. Abou
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