Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-10-04


the United States government. carrying
with 1t an annual expenditure of nearly
billion dollars, represents the greatest
governmental undertaking in the world.
1t requires more than half a million peo-
pie to man the great machine, and their
aggregate annual salaries amount to fully
quarter Of q billion dollars. The great
master mechanic of this vast enterprise
Is the President of the United States.
When he begins his term of Office there
lies before him the supervision Of the ex-
penditure Of nearly four billion dollars.
approximately one-fourth Of which goes
toward the payment of salaries.
In England the acts of the king are
considered as being those Of his advisers,
who are held responsible for them. In
the United States the acts of the cabinet
are considered as being those of the
President. and he is responsible for what
ever ofhcial action any member of his
cabinet may take. This body has no real
constitutional standing as a collective or
ganization, and its decisions are not bind
ing upon the President. This is illustrated
by an anecdote of a meeting of the Lin
coin cabinet. Mr.. Lincoln brought before
1t a proposition which he favored, and
the cabinet voted solidly against it. Lin
coin declared the vote to be seven noes
and one aye. Therefore" said he, 1.-The
ayes have it,
In the beginning of the presidency it
was thought advisable that the cabinet
should be made up of members repre-
senting all political beliefs. Washington
appointed his first cabinet with that end
in view, but the experiment proved an
unfortunate one and never has been tried
since. There have been instances where
men of the opposite party were selected
to cabinet positions, but in these cases
the men chosen have been in harmony
with the attitude Of the President they
served.
There are few buster places in the gov
at the white
More Than 1000 House, especially
Letters Each Day. IN s session. aonsfe suc Is
vast number Of things claim the at
tention OF the President that 1t is little
short of wonderful that he is able to give
them the attention they demand and yet
find time for necessary exercise. The mail
received at the White House Is prodigious.
1t is dull day when the private mes
senger does not bring at least thousand
letters addressed to the President, and
In the course Of twenty-four hours. Any
special story concerning the President or
the White House will attract the letter.
writing proclivities of thousands Of peo-
pie. When Mr.. Roosevelt first enunciated
his celebrated anti-race-suicide doctrine
some newspaper man with well de-
veloped bump Of humor wrote a story to
the effect that the President had received
twenty-eight baby carriages. 1t was pub
lished broadcast, and hundreds of poor
20 p0naava1f hno rjy,oy
that he send them one Of his surplus sup
ply. In the old days 1t was different. 1t
is said that during the Grant administra-
ton the executive force would play GRO
quet during the dull hours Of the day
and upon the arrival Of a letter one of
them would be summoned to the execu-
tive office.
It is comparatively easy for the Presi-
dent to attend to his mail. There is
complete system
Complete System of asserting the
Of Asserting Mail. cnt H ~ .h so ts tna'
sand or more received during the day
less than a hundred will be laid on the
Presidents desk There is a clerk whose
sole duty is to classify the correspondence
as it comes in. Probably 100 letters may
be answered by a single form letter. Sew
eral hundred Of the remainder will be re-
ferred to the proper department, and per-
haps less than half will reach the secre-
tary to the President. He examines these,
gives their substance to the President
and receives instructions as to the char
acter of reply to make. Letters are often
addressed to the President marked Per
sonal' and Private" These marks are
1t is only letters that are
initiated by intimate personal and po-
litical friends which reach the President
unopened.
The constant stream Of callers and the
vast amount Of office routine business
make the heaviest demand upon the Pres
ident's time. Office seekers and their
friends are to be met. people who simply
wish to pay their respects to their chief
executive and all imaginable classes of
men and women who come on every sort
of errand. During the first three weeks
Of an administration it is not uncommon
for the President to shake hands with
from $1,000 to 5000 people. Unless he
learns to grip the hand Of his visitor
before the visitor grips his he is apt to
have a badly swollen arm as a result of
the experience.
X
There is much monotony about the