The Washington herald., 1912-09-29
Agitation to Change
Date of Inauguration
FIower of Land, as Officers and Statesmen, al
Last Event We're Exposed to Elements En-
dangering Their Health and Lives.

Shall the President of the United
States take the oath of ONCE at WASH
ington before a small coterie Of friends.
the proper Congressional delegation. or
Congress and the newspaper men on the
4th of March. as the Constitution pro-
vides. and then defer until early in
May, when the District of Columbia is
at its best, the great ceremonies conse-
quent on a Presidential installation, the
| parade, inaugural ball, and the like?
Those who attended the Taft Inaugural
ton in 1909 are pondering the question
and wondering IL the effects of the bliz-
zard which cut Washington. even tele-
graphically. from the country save for
one wire have already been forgotten.
Those who went to Washington at that
last Inauguration can never quite dispei
II from memory. Not so much the get
ting there, but the getting in to see the
rites, and again the getting away. The
American people pride themselves on be-
| ing, next to the English. the greatest
travellers on earth. More even than our
English cousins do We claim to know
the art Of travelling in comfort. Our
American sleepers, diners. and SO forth,
are the wonder of Europe, and travel
is no hardship, ordinarily. but pleasure.
But for the benefit of those who did
not go TO Washington to see Taft in
stalled. IL has been recalled that SHOWS
banked high on the streets of the Cap
ital, until workmen were replevined
from somewhere to raise mountains OF
snow on either side of the walks. In
places without exaggeration. these
were so high that one could scarcely
look over. Street cars sent out snow
plows. but with little avail. So soon
as a section of track was cleared. II
clogged again before the blizzard. There
was no getting about except by car
riage or taxi, and rates on these, al
ready raised for inauguration time, went
sky high again in accordance with de-
mand.
Indoor Ceremonies.
OF course, the ceremony had to be
transferred from the steps OF the Cap |
itol-and what a place that would |
make in some early May day. when the |
breeze comes up. cooled by the Poto- |
mac and scented with the apple bios !
SONS across the river!-to the Senate |
chamber. Then. again, the trouble be- |
gan. The people who had cards to the |
Senate side Of the Capitol steps must !
be accommodated first OF all After
that. those who had House tickets-un-
der ordinary circumstances quite as
good. meaning simply a viewpoint from
the other hand of the speakers-could
not find room. People who had trav-
eled from California and Florida, were
not secure in the knowledge that seats
had been provided for. came to
Washington. cold. disgruntled. forced
To bunk in little hotel corridors,
lily heated and the worse for ventila-
tion-only to find that. through no
fault of their own. the months OF wire
pulling and bringing pressure to bear
for a ticket had been rendered absolute
ly useless.
But getting to see the show that year
was as nothing to getting away. What
the Coronation Command Opera is at
a British sovereign's investiture what
the Governor Generals dance is in Can
ada, that with US is the inaugural ball.
Dance? OF course you can-but next to
nobody does. Everybody goes to see
everybody else and what Mrs. Every
One-Else is wearing. Every one goes
first to perambulate the floor. wedged
in the crush, and be seen. After that
you wedge your way to the balcony to
see others going through the flint mill.
Not to have seen the inaugural ball is
not to have gone through the inaugural
ceremonies half ways alright.
After the ball is over. however. in
the words of the popular song. you who
are wise quit Washington. The new re-
gime sets to work in the government
offices and new employees are hardly
apt to be on company exhibition. so
that sightseeing is reduced to the
greatest discomfort. The streets are
Uttered with paper and refuse. stands
come down, ordinary decorations go
up, a turmoil prevails. and it's only
wasted money and time to remain.
Cautious Inauguration visitors. and
notably the cicerones OF personally
conducted tours" had arranged long
before to board waiting sleepers in the
yards. and then the excursion special
trains would ride away with them some
time in the night. Lovely-and II
would have made visit to the bail de-
lightful! Only there's no reckoning
with the March winds in Washington.
Driving down in tuxedos and swallow
tails and party gowns from the ball. IL
was to find that the promised cars could );
them. they had been parked some dis
tance out and those who had hoped TO
come down to sleep in a well-heated car
were exiled instead to stuffy depot.
crowded to suffocation. Rich man. poor
man. club man. and lone traveller all
were treated alike. What was more,
sleeper reservations were all cancelled.
because they couldn't tell when the car
would get in.
Wherefor. and thousands like you. hud-
died in that sweltering depot lounging
room. We were due to leave at five min
utes past midnight. 1t was in the
before our train came in, loaded {
up and was gone. II
Nor Is 1t the spectators only who are
The marching delegations
suffer loss that runs into the thou 4