The Washington herald., 1912-05-19
COSTS A LOT OF MONEY TO
RUN FOR NATIONS CHIEF
$4,000 Being Spent to Nominate Roosevelt "A To
tai Of SIS, 100000 Required to Elect President

49, ~ NAME OIAu8 R8NClAAI4 -
trademark This he might prevent
II ne chose to take the trouble. though
II y mark Of distinction. Manufac-
turers OF nostrums send him pills, spring
medicines. cleansing compounds, &C
hoping for an acknowledgment which
VIII be utilizable as an -ad." There Is
bitter competition among hotel keepers
Tor his patronage, and whatever hosiery
ne may select the rooms he occupies viii
be known from that time on as The
Presidents suite" fetching . higher
rental
Mr.. Taft has saved something during
his administration. but not very much.
probably. The average person might
suppose that with a salary Of $4,000 a
year. a fine house, rent free, an addi-
tionaI house keeping allowance Of SIS
coo per annum. lights. fuel servants.
music, flowers. stationery, and even a
handsome yacht provided. he ought to
be able to put nearly all Of his pay In
to the bank. But what empties his
pocketbook Is the huge and unavoidable
expenditure for entertaining. The form
al dinners he is obliged to give at
frequent intervals alone cost him from
500 to 1900 apiece.
No President has ever entertained so
lavishly or so profusely as Roosevelt
Beyond a doubt he left the White
AAOAoC q POONNN AAldu Nhcu ne en-
tered 1t. The scale Of expenditure in
the Presidents Palace. as 1t was called
in the early days Of the republic, has
risen greatly within recent years. When
Grant was elected for his first term, the
salary attached TO the great ONCE was
only $4,000, and he managed to get along
on II. though # must have been utter
ly inadequate
Ia T.
was introduced in Congress raising the
salary OF the President from $4,000 20
$4,000 and the pay Of members OF Con-
gress TO 5000. There was fierce strug-
gle over IT. with many tumultuous scenes.
but finally IT passed both House and Sen
ate. When Grant refused to sign It. IT
was again passed over his veto. Then
storm Of popular Indignation arose, and
so much fuss was made in the newspa-
pers about the salary grab" that when
Congress met again the first thing II did
was to repeal that part OF the law which
related to the wages OF Senators and
II would also have re-
stored the salary OF the President to It's
former figure, but Grant protested
against il in such terms, declaring IL IN
Just. as TO present such a step
II Is a curious fact that George WASH
votes for a third term. though he had
refused to serve again-one vote from
North Carolina and the other from Vir-
ginia- This was in the election of 1876,
when John Adams led Jefferson by only
three electoral votes. At the fourth cleo
ton jefferson and Burr received an equal
number of electoral notes.-the result be-
ing the House of Representatives pro-
cesded to choose the President, each
State casting one vote. and Jefferson was
selected for the once.
This tie made the twelfth amendment
necessary. Before that the Constitution
provided that the electors should vote by
ballot for two persons without specify
ing which was to be President and which
Vice President. The arrangement was
that the person having the greatest
number of votes Of a majority should
be President and that the one coming
next should be Vice President, whether
he obtained a majority OF not.
At Monroe's second election a very Gu
rious incident occurred. II was supposed
that all the electors votes were for him,
but on opening the New Hampshire pack
age II was found that one elector from
that State had "bolted." explaining tbs
matter by saying that he wanted George
Washington TO be the only man handed
down TO history as unanimously elected.
In 1884. II is related, James G. Blaine
did not want the nomination for Presi-
dent, because he thought he could not
carry New York, the pivotal State He
suggested for the ticket William T Sher-
man and Robert T. Lincoln. saying:
Those names put together would be IT.
resistible. We should have q campaign
OF marching and song. and the ticket
would elect itself" But Sherman re-
fused. saying that he did not think that
men were suited to the White
House job.
II is also related that Abraham Lir-
coin, when a candidate for a second
term, offered the second place on the
ticket with him TO Benjamin Butler. But
Butler declined on the ground that he
ought not to leave the army at a period
Of crisis to take a civil position Had he
decided otherwise. he would have be-
come President instead OF Andrew John
son.
Daniel Webster. however. was the only
nan who ever threw away the Presi-
iency twice, and nobody ever desired
he ONCE more eagerly. He refused TO
accept the second place on the ticket
with Harrison In $40. and thus did not
succeed the latter when he died. Again,
n Ao4cs ne might nave Deen vice HreSl-
lent with Taylor IL he had so wished.
He refused. and Fillmore was put in,
Taylor on his demise sixteen
months later.
When the first successful candidate for
he Presidency entered into office. he
vas inaugurated. as everybody knows,
n New York City, which was then a
place of 10000 inhabitants. The cere-
Monies were held in the portico of the
Federal Building, on the corner OF
Broad and Wall Streets. Chancellor
having administered the
,ath, said: 1T Is dons" Then. turning
% the assembled populace. he cried:
Long live George Washington. Presi-
lent OF the United StatesT' II was the
I'D monarchial way Of doing things.
Washington on that historic occa-
don according to contemporary ac-
,ounts) wore a suit of brown broad
10th, white silk stockings. silver buck
es on HIS polished shoes, a steel-hIltsd
lress sword. and his hair powdered and
gathered In a bag. RENE BACHk
The Book and the Bonehead.