The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1909-09-22
TOUR WILL
MARK EPOCH IN HISTORY
Journey Will Be Longest Ever Made by Any
President Itinerary Is Very
Comprehensive.

doned his Alaskan visit and had in
mind, in general way, where he would
go. Time tables were consulted and
a trip blocked out in the rough. 1t
was submitted to him, for his approval
That was the foundation upon which
Secretary Carpenter, Assistant Secre-
tary Forster and several others of the
White House staff have been working
for portion of every day since that
time. The arrangement of the SEIZED
ule is always made through the rail-
road over which the President starts
his journey. The Pennsylvania at
tended to that feature of the prepare
,,tions for the Mckinley and Roosevelt
tours. Now that President Taft is to
start from Boston, the initial road is
the New York Central It's officials
, look after all the matters of a purely
transportation character, clear across
the continent and around to Washing
ton.
The requests to towns and cities to
forward programs in cases where the
President had accepted proffered invi-
/ tations were sent out some four OF five
weeks ago. There are about 25 "pro-
=
dent s tour. They cover the stops,
wherever he leaves the train for any
length of time. When the building of
the itinerary had reached that stage,
one might suppose the major part of
the work was done. AS matter of
fact, although there had been vol
luminous correspondence and much Wis
iting from delegations and many APP
peals from Congressman, the work was
only well begun.
Every city and town has it's fac
tons. Once it is settled that the
President will visit a given locality
political clubs and many other local
organizations and cliques vie for the
honor of sharing in his entertainment
or of having complete control of it.
Chicago, for instance, has two rival
political clubs. Much diplomacy was
exercised to arrange a program in the
Windy City that would offend neither
organization and make it probable
that the President could visit the city
without any undesirable aftermath. 1t
has been arranged that he will be en-
tertained by both clubs and finally
attend banquet given under their
joint auspices. There are Mormons and
Gentiles in Salt Lake City. Should
the President speak at the Taberna-
Gle, the Gentiles could not take their
wives and daughters. A compromise
arrangement had to be made there.
So it has been through long cate
CORY. Scores of telegraphic messages
have gone out daily from the execu-
tive offices at Beverly during the last
three and half weeks about the de-
tails of these twenty-fv programs. De-
casionally there has been exasperating
delay in obtaining replies. Once there
is an agreement, protests often come
in and these have to be investigated.
All the larger matters, of course, must
be brought to the Presidents atten-
ton. In the main, however, such
questions are handled by Secretary
Carpenter, whose Beverly offices have
been open till 10 o 'clock-after near
ly everybody else has gone to bed-to
attend to perfecting the twenty-five
programs.
The printing in connection with a
tour to the Pacific Coast is quite an
item. It comprises two or three book
lets of considerable proportions. Posi-
bly, the most important of these is
the itinerary itself, in paper covers.
There is an established form, the front
cover having at the top, in gilt, the
national coat of arms and beneath in
gilt the words "Tour of the President
to the Pacific Coast'' with the date
of departure and return. The days of
the week and the month are printed
in red letters. The time of arriving
and leaving are given for each point,
together with its altitude, population
under the census of 1900 and the
miles between stations.
There is much other information in
printed form for the information not
ouly of the President and members of
his party but of the thousand and one
committeeman and local celebrities.
One page is devoted to the names of
members of the party, who generally
include a cabinet officer or two, half
a dozen newspaper correspondents,
stenographers, often a photographer
and sometimes an expert operator from
each of the two telegraph companies.
President Taft s party, however, will
NC SufdIItI btdu luOSC VI LHO B1EuS-
cessors who toured to the Pacific. Me-
Kinley was accompanied by his Secre-
tary of State, Postmaster General, Sec
rotary of the Navy, Secretary of the
Interior and Secretary of Agriculture.
Most of the cabinet members travelled
with the ladies of their families. All
told there were twenty guests on the
Mckinley train, apart from quite as
many more who were employed in some
capacity in furnishing the country with
a news report of each days doings.
a President s private car is a center
of hospitality all the way from the At
lantic to the Pacific seaboard when he
is on tour. There are committeeman
to board his train before every station
at which he stops. They expect to be
presented to him and to enjoy a few
minutes of conversation. Senators and
Representatives come aboard to travel
with the President while he is passing
through the particular territory they
represent at Washington.