Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1909-10-31
KEEPING IN TOUCH
|. . \. WITH Mr., TAFT,
White House Must Know Where
= tosFind Him at Any Time.
DIFFICULT TASK SOMETIMES.

Telegraph and Telephone Bureau In
Executive Mansion Works Night and
DAY to Keep Line Of Communication
opsn.
One Of the most difficult tasks in con.
nection with the carrying out Of pres
idential tour and one to the absolute
necessity for which the general public
seldom gives thought is that of main
tanning constantly uninterrupted com.
munication between the White House
at Washington and the president wher-
ever he may be.
IT is when the president sets out on
a prolonged journey such as the pres,
ent transcontinental tour that the lin.
telligence officers at the White House
are put to their wits ends to forge an
elastic communicative chain that will
always link the White House on wheels
with the executive offices overlooking
the Potomac.
1t is not merely the distance. al
though. to be sure. that does consti-
tutes a handicap when the chief mag
istrate is upward Of 5000 miles from
home Much more serious is the cir
cumstance that the president Is con-
stantly jumping from place to place
at the behest of whirlwind itinerary
and has at no time what could be dig
nified as permanent address"
President Always Kept Informed.
Finally, in the case Of tours such as
that. of this autumn, the fact that the
presidential party spends days now
and then in isloated localities further
complexities the chore Of keeping the
presidential finger on the pulse of the
nation.
Presidential business is transacted
through the White House even though
the boss be thousands of miles away.
It is because vast volume of mail.
often numbering 1000 letters day.
pours into the White House and by
reason of the desirability Of having as
much Of it as possible disposed Of at
the executive offices that the president
leaves at his base Of operations bis
trusted secretary. Mr.. Fred W. Carpen-
ter, and contents himself for the time
being with Assistant Secretary Wen
deli w. Mischief as his immediate aid
aboard the train.
,Lstters Forwarded Every Day.
" OF course there are some letters that
require personal reply from the pres
ident and cannot we'll await his return
to Washington. and these. together
with the commissions to be signed and
other government documents requiring
the presidents autograph. are forward
ed once day to the presidential train
With the system working smoothly the
White House each day dispatches
batch of mail to the presidential train
and receives from the train a bundle
of communicat tons.
Such mail to or from the White
house can be dispatched by special
pouch if it is deemed desirable. and
postal authorities keep the White
House fully advised as to the time re-
quired for transmission, so that the
mail from the White House to the
president is always sure to make con-
nections with the presidential train.
For all that there is this continuous
interchange of mail the main reliance
for keeping the president in almost
momentary touch with the White
House is placed. of course. upon tele-
IN 81
responsibility for the maintenance Of
this electrical bond rests with what is
known as the telegraph and cipher
bureau of the executive mansion-in
effect the nerve center OF American Of
flcia ldom.
The official in charge Of this tele-
phone and telegraph headquarters de-
tails one or more of his expert opera
tors to accompany the presidential!
train and keep open the communicative
system at that end. whereas at the
White House the telegraphers, work
sitive receiving station-an institution
that is open for business every minute
Of the twenty-four hours, seven days a
week. 1t Is the only institution of the
kind under the government that is
never closed.
Teiesraphic Speed Records.
BY means of chart and thorough
system of reports from train dispatch
ers the exact. location of the presi-
dents train Is always known at the
White House, and in an emergency
message can be placed in the hands OF
the chief executive almost at a mo-
ment's notice.
Something like two dozen telegraph
wires enter the White House. and it is
consequently possible to secure a di-
rect wire to any city at any time. re-
serving It for presidential business as
long as DESIRED a double wire is pro-
vided for direct communication with
the president wherever he may be.
and in days gone by some remarkable
records were established for speedy
work In establishing direct communi-
cation with a presidential party afield.
The president has "a private tele-
graphic code. which he can use while
travelling for the transmission of mes
-a ~,S f,A,a ss,h "a ranch tho