Daily Arizona silver belt., 1909-05-05
SEEING THE PRESIDENT
Demands Upon His Time Arduous and
 Unremitting.


 Robert l.. O'Brien in the Boston Tran
 script.
 MT. Taft takes TO luncheon. The in terruption which 1t has afforded to his predecessors in office in the weaYying task of seeing people, hour in and hour ont is not for him. From 9 o'clock in the morning until to o'clock In the afternoon, according to circumstances, he is meeting stream of people, singly or in committees, or in delegations, in- trod1ced by senators and cabinet off cers, or arriving at his portals with let ters of commendation, or presenting themselves on the basis of their person al acquaintance. No one sees him eX- cept by appointment-barring a few members of the choicest inner circle and yet among the callers by appoint ment waits of three hours are not un- known. To see him in an hour and 8 half after the time scheduled is doing well. 4 new piece of machinery in tlie handling of the crowd has been devised. Captain Stone, ths Pullman car conduc- tor, whom President Roosevelt taking fancy to brought to the White House, Is TOW engaged, nominally under the title of chief usher, in opening and closing great double door between the cabinet room and the presidents req, office. Through this portal Stone ad- nits in order the persons or groups who have previously been admitted to the cabinet room by the man at its entrance, who has list supplied each day by the private secretary, or, as occasions arise, of persons who are to be passed. Max | ing an appointment admits them to the cabinet room. Captain Stone, as he opens and closes these doors, intcoduc- ing to the president the persons who pass in, wherever necessary, represents a stage in the mechanism which has not been found necessary by MT. Taft's pre- decessors. And yet Washington people are complaining that MT. Taft is too hard to get at; is not seeing enough people; is not mingling with tho multi | tude as much as did his predec assor In fact he does nothing else for the greater part of his waking hours, and it is a terrible strain on any man.
 The'changed use of the telephone is not without it's suggestiveness. Twenty years ago the White House contained just one telephone standing against the wall in the northeast corner room, where the office telegrapher made his headquarters. No one responded to it except during office hours. The presi- dents wife used to send out a maid to transmit message, usually through enc of the clerks, perhaps thrice week. No general appointments were made by 1t except in the rarest emergency. Its use was not greatly different from that of fire alarm signal. The White House occupants, either of the family or of the clerical staff, had acquired TO tel ephone habit and were virtually uned- ucated ill it's habits. What is the situ- ation today? The White House cen. tral, Main No. e. is manned day and night. The exchange connects with v.r- tualiy every room in the mansion, in the office building and in the stables; the man at it's swiAhboari partakss of the nature of private secretary. Upon him is poured a Lst of appointments 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 country. The access of the telephone to the old mansion has repeated tho experience of tho railroad. It has seared up the wheels of business to newly accelerated speed, with the result that the pressrIe upon the pres ident's time is unre,aitting.