The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1909-03-20
INAUGURATION DATES.

As result of the beastly weather which pre-
vailed at the inauguration of the president on
| March A. the national committee organized i'll 1901
! to work for the adoption of an amendment to the
constitution of the United States reforming the
political calendar has been revived again The late
Senator Hoar advocated resolution for lengthcn
ing the time of one president and one vice presi-
dent and the members of congress for about sixty
days and Senator Depew recently introduced sim
liar resolution, the object being to make Inaugural
ton day about the end of April or the first
of May. Very strong opposition developed in the
congress when the scheme was first preached and it
dropped. substitute was tried which would
still leave the Inauguration take place ON March f.
but would change the date for the outdoor inaugu-
ration exercises. but this met with equal opposi-
ton and some rdicule. We might as well celebrate
the Inauguration of George Washington in 1909 as
to attempt to make gala day of the Inauguration
of President Taft next month or the month after.
1t is the change of administration the induction
into Office of set of executive officers. which
is the for the pageant, and it is not likely
that celebration of that event in the District of
Columbia long time after the event had taken
place would appeal to the people of the country 1t
is pretty hard to stir up enthusiasm among the
people for dead idea an event long passed into
history.
Another proposition made by Representative
Crumpacker of Indiana is to advance the date to
December 2, but that would leave only short time
between the election and the inauguration, which
would be undesirable, to say the least Under the
present system of gathering returns of the election
the official count would hardly be completed within
the month. This condition would seem to render
necessary the advancement of the date for the ma
tional elections, it would require the newly
elected president to enter into his duties so soon
after his election that he would have little time to
think of his new duties and no time to rest from
the arduous work of the campaign.
The simplest solution for the weather problem
in Washington on the 4th of March would be to
hold the public exercises in some more favored
spot. to change the calendar by lenghening the
term of Office of one set of officers When the first
president inaugurated, little thought was given
to the weather conditions those conditions could |
not have been than were they during the
strenuous days of the revolution. The president
was naugurated when the time was ripe for the in
auguraton. In these modern days with q more
generous sprinkling of 'mollycoddles' among the
people, the weather is serious drawback to Che
great event and inasmuch as thousands of people
both strenuous and otherwise, go to Washington to
witness the Inauguration, the date should be
changed for humanitarian reasons The problem
ought not present many obstacles as to make
difficult the change of sixty days suggested by the
Hoar and Depew resolutions. And it would be no
great hardship for lone president to serve little
longer than the allotted four years. unless it should
become the custom of our presidents to arrange
hunting trips in the wilds of Africa, which, of
course could not be put off for reasons of state.
~