The Washington herald., 1913-03-05
Induction of President Into office
LsCerenony Marked by Simplicity

had not capacity to accommodate them.
They were hard drinking, fighting from
tiersmen. campsters rather than cour-
tiers, and they made Washington city
surcharged with life and boisterous ac-
tivity which. 1t is recorded. broke bounds
and overfiowed to the point Of disorder.
It then became patent that some means
Of caring for and regulating the comfort
and conduct of Inauguration visitors was
expedient. From Jackson's inaugura-
tion on committees of citizens arranged
and prepared for the reception of the in
fiuX Of visitors on the Fourth Of March.
And with the inception of such commit
tees the inaugurals were more pretenti-
ously staged. Prior to that time there
had been little in the way of a process
sion. Military escorts were provided for
the new President, but little else. At
Jackson's Inauguration there was a good
deal Of street masking and an inaugural
procession which resembled a circus
parade. The procession was taken ad:
vantage Of for advertising purposes. The
parade was disorganized and conglom-
Grated SO when the day for the inau-
guration Of President Van Buren swung
around five companies of soldiers Were
ordered to march in the parade to give
1t form. The inaugural parades grew
each succeeding inauguration. There
were eleven companies of soldiery to
grace James X. Polk's Inauguration. The
crowds were increasing each period in
proportion. Twenty thousand stood on
the Capitol Plaza to hear Zachary TaS~
lor's inaugural address and fifty thou
sand app1auded that of Buchanan.
Fireworka and Balls.
Inaugural balls had been irregular af
fairs heretofore, and given, in many
cases, privately. \ temporary frame
building was erected in Judiciary Square
for Buchanan's Inauguration and 5000
was spent for arrangements and decora-
tions, an eXtravagant amount then.
That was the first Fourth OF March con-
Cerning which 1t Is recorded that there
was a pyrotechnic display. Fireworks
Were employed at subsequent Inaugural
tions but they never became unfailing at
tributes to the celebration.
On the occasion of the first Inaugural
tion of Abraham Lincoln there was con-
ceived to be imminent peril of assas ssina-
tion of the war President. Alan Pin
kerton unearthed a plot which had ri
pened to the pluckins point among the
secessonists of Baltimore City. To fore
stall the attempt Lincolns trip from
Philadelphia to Washington just before
the day of the ceremonies was projected
through devious channels. circuitous
routes being employed
There Were 2.0oo soldiers in Lincoln's
inaugural parade beside many other
features. The housetops We're lined with
with orders in their minds
to pick of any suspiciuosly active per-
sons in the streets below. The affair
passed OFF smoothly enough but the fol-
lowing week, a Captain Magruder. who
had commanded the Presidents personal
body guard. Joined the Confedcracy.
Lincoln read his second inaugural ad-
dress to the smallest congregation which
had listened to such a defamation for
many years. His military escort was
smaller than before for there was less
fear of covert violence. II was a rainy.
dismal day. and the unpaved Pennsyl-
vania Avenue was river of liquid mud.
Later InauEurals Brilliant.
More and more splendid became the
inaugura tions from that time on when
Grover Cleveland's election marked the
return to power OF the Democratic party
after the extended interregnum, si.GoO
was spent for fireworks alone. Mckinley
was twice brilliantly and smoothly in
the local inaugural commit
tees in power. having reduced the mat