South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1913-12-05
STATESMEN, REAL
AND NEAR.
BY FRED G. KELLY.

ABOUT as effective as tieing a do Not
Open Until Christmas" tag on a pea
nut stand and handing it over TO an
average park squirrel.
Yet about half the people who write
letters TO Woodrow Wilson put Per
sonal" or strictly ConfdentiaT' on
the envelope, N the belief that no one
but the writer, the president and the
Almighty Will ever know what it in
side.
other writer's inclose letters to the
president in an envelope addressed TO
Secy. Tumulty and explain to Tumulty
that the letter is about something that
the president wouldn't want a living
soul 10 be in on.
Still other writer's send letters in
care Of Mrs. Wilson, or one Of the
presidents daughters, the idea being
That the president will then find such
letters on his plate at the breakfast
table without any of the secretaries
having a chance to null them over.
As a matter of fact, none of these
schemes work. For example. the only
effect OF addressing a letter in care Of
one Of the presidents family is TO de-
lay It slightly. 1t must go to the
white mouse first, and then be sent
over TO the executive offices. A letter
TO the president, enclosed with one to
Tumulty. is opened and read by Tu-
multy, and if il were of much conse-
quence it probably would reach him
anyway, and he would show it TO the
president if he thought it worth while
Every once in a while there is a
pretty little story in the papers about
some poor little blue-eyed boy of de-
ightful personality who wrote at let
ter TO the presidents daughter and
urged her influence TO get his papa out
of jail, better job, or something like
that. And how the heart Of the pres
idents daughter was touched and the
proposition was put through in a jiffy.
Strictly speaking, such stories are true
but here is the idea:
The chances are that all that the
presidents daughter had to do with
the episode was to turn the letter over
to the boys in the executive offices to
be handled in the usual way. If the
case is a pathetic one and seems to
have merit it Is looked into and some
favorable action may be taken. And
If the letter had come in the usual
way, instead Of through the presidents
have been looked up anyhow, with
identically the same favorable result
The only difference is that without the
human interest angle the incident
would have been too prosaic to find its
way into the papers and no one would
have heafd about it.
Letters that go through the usual
channel-"persOnaP' letters and 9TH
erS-are all opened by Ira Smith,
whose job at the white house is TO do
just that About the only letters that
Smith ever turns over to the presi-
dent unopened are those from MEM
bers of the presidents immediate
family, and even those might be open
ed except for the fact that Smith has
a knack at recognizing handwriting.
The fact is that it is almost impos-
sible to write a letter to the president
and have it still a secret when it
reaches aim. That is one of the great
objections to being president. Some
body might write a letter reminding
the president of some boyhood joke
on him-something that he wouldn't
want known for the woodland yet
half a dozen secretaries might read il
before he did.
The letters that reach the white
house ever day for Ira Smith to open
and sort out will run as high as 1000.
TO say nothing of perhaps 200 or 800
kilograms. Ordinarily, though the
mail is much less than that. On an
average day ii will run something like
800. OF this number probably one
half would be sent to some of the de-
partments. The others would be sort
ed and sifted and hand-picked until a
comparatively few remain TO greet
the president when he reaches his
desk. Many days he has only about
a dozen letters to answer personally.
Even on the average the number is
probably not more than twenty-five,
which is not more than the president
would get if he were merely a popular
cotillion leader or a city councilman
of Xenia, o.
In addition to these few letters that
he answers personally. however, are a
considerable number that are disposed
of for him and the answers brought
TO him for his signature. No one is
permitted to sign the presidents name
even to the most trivial matter.
Here of late tn communications to
Pres Wilson conveying the glad It'd
ings that a baby has just been named
for him, have averaged four day
indicating that by the end of the
present administration, If the same
rate should keep up, the name Will
be on the verge of becoming a drug
on the market. Four a day is con-
sidered too many letters of one class
for the president to answer personally,
and these are all answered for him in
a routine way. Hence If fond mother
goes rushing over TO the ne1ghoors
without pausing to wipe the dough on
her hands in her eagerness to show
the presidents letter To her. she is
making a great mistake. The presi-
dent probably never saw her note to
him and did not dictate the answer.
Copyright. 1913, by Fred Q. Kelly.
All rights reserved.)