The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1910-12-24
HOW WHITE HOUSE
GAUNTLET IS RUN
VISITORS PASS UNDER SEARCHING
SCRUTINY BEFORE REACHING
PRESIDENT.
FEW FINALLY SEE TAFT
MAJORITY OF PEOPLE WHO WISH
TO SEE PRESIDENT ARE DIS
POSED OF BY vIGiLANT pRI-
vATE SECRETARY NORTON

WASHINGTON. u. G., Dec. "A
new system of handling callers at the
executive offices of the White House
has just been put into operation by
Secretary Charles Dyer Norton. Here
tofore visitors hoping to penetrate
I" the Presidents private office have
been dealt with mainly by Secretary
Norton or Assistant Secretary Forster,
both of whom attempted the task
Of wedding out the undesirables.
Now Secretary Norton has put the
secret service operatives at the White
House to work. Two operatives charg-
ed with the safety of the President
are always on duty at the executive
offices during the time that the Pres
ident is In his office. Formerly they
waited in the reception room and
mingled unostentatiously with the
heterogeneous crowd OF callers. APP
parently they had no connection with
the White House force.
Norton, however. has put them to
work handling the callers. in the ca
pacity of ushers 1t is their business
to interview every caller, ascertain
his business. size him up. and In all
ways possible facilitate their quick
disposal. They are practically under
secretaries nowadays, and are sup
variety. and switch visitors who real
~ haven't any imperative business
with the executive over to Secretary
Norton. The new duties do not ip-
terfere with their specified duty OF
personally sizing up all White House
Ca1iers--on the contrary. II gives them
a better chance To inspect visitors.
The new plan has worked like n
charm. Never before In the Taft adj
ministration has the President been
able to dispose of SO many callers in
so short a time. 4 great deal OF
criticism was leveled at the White
House during the last session of Com
Rress by certain congressman who
hadt to wait two and three hours to
see the executive. The President was
generally an hour behind his engage
ment list People who could just as
we'll have been handled by one OF
the secretaries were permitted to take
up the executives time with minor
matters while visitors of importance
cooled their heels and got hot under
the collar out in the reception room.
Here is the way in which the or
binary caller, who comes To the White
House with IA legitimate business with
the President, progresses:
How the Gauntlet Is Run.
uniformed policemen, who ask him
his business. and pass him on to the
large reception hall. incidentally,
those two officers have been on duty
at the executive offices for ten years.
They know every public officials. every
senator and congressman. and every
man of prominence in the country.
Once in the large reception hall,
the visitor sits down tn walt. Before
long one Of the two secret service
men takes his name down on a spe
cial blank, on which his business Is
stated. and whether he desires to see
Secretary Norton or the President.
The caller must convince the secret
service men that he has a legitimate
excuse for an interview with the ex-
ecutive.
Mr. Blanks name Is handed by the
secret service men to Secretary Nor
ton. He vise's the card. and perhaps
may Interview the caller, in an at
tempt to see II he can't be headed
away. Norton personally sees every
viyitor who has business with the
President. In addition. he is present
in the Presidents private office dur
ing a part OF every interview Which
the executive grants.
Norton having O. X. d the applica-
ton, the visitor Is next taken to a
sort Of irnprovised reception hall by
Doorkeeper Mckenna- The corridor
is nothing more than a hall. screened
Off This is Lame Duck Alley" The
alley contains the few who finally
get in to see the President. McKen-
ma let's the callers In one at time.
or in punches.
The new plan has resulted in much
greater facility in the handling of
callers. The secret service men are
responsible for the Improvement. They
are experts In sizing up callers.