The Bemidji daily pioneer. [volume] (Bemidji, Minn.) 1904-1971, 1921-03-08
WHITE HOUSE OFFICES CHANGED
FROM SOLEMN oUIETNEss TO
BUSTING ACTIVITY.
HARDING ATTRACTS TARoNGs
For the Present at Least, the New
4 Presidents Must Meet and Greet
!. With Smiles All His Fellow Citizens
Who Call. . .',..-;$ !.
By EpWANpss g. CLARK.

been changed in the proverbial twink
ling of an eye fr"m what might he
called the solemn quietness into an
almost crushingly bustlipg activity.
1t must not be understood that no
business has been transacted in the
Offices of the, White House during the
period of President Wilson's illness.
Regular routine business has gone
. on as usual. and the telephone opcr-
ators have been unusually active. but
= the visitors, to the White" House have
been few and far between, and those
r who have gone there have gone simply
because they had affairs which re-
CURED the immediate attention of the
! secretary to the president: '-','.
! on March s. 1913, tl,e day after the
advent Of Woodrow Wilson, the White
House Offices were SO crammcd with
visitors that moving from place TO
place. was almost impossible. Things
changed quickly. President Wilson
saw fewer visitors than any president
who has heen in the White House with
in the memory Of men. This does not
mean that he did not take an interest
In the affairs which the visitors wished
to bring to his attention. He did n
great deal by correspondence and much
more than most presidents through
his cabinet officers to whom every
body who had any business connected
with the departments Of government
was referred. ~
Thronos to Greet Harding. p,
On March S of this year, everything
changed and the man who could get
through the throng in the Offices on
that day did so ut the expense Of torn
clothing. There were handsh:kes in
hundreds and Office seekers in other
hundreds. No president ever at the
beginning Of his term turned Il cold
shoulder to the thrOng that wanted
to see him. He gives himself over to
the greeting of individuals and does
1t with 4 smiling face. At the end OF
the day he nurses a sore hand and It
Is probable lie suffers from IN ag-
grievett heart to think that simply be-
cause he Is president Of the United
States he should be "thus thrust
upon."
1t used to be said that President
Harrison would see only those whom
he must see, but at this he saw many
visitors daily. OF President Mckinley
it was said that he would see every
body, and so lie did during the first
months of his occupancy of the White
House, but even the genial Mckinley
finally had to call a halt.
Roosevelt was different. lie saw
everybody, but also he knew how to
get rid Of visitors after seeing them,
and to get rid Of them quickly and
leave them perfectly satisfied with
their reception. 1t was gift which
the strenuous president had and which
other presidents to come probably will
wish that they had. During the Roose-
welt days the visitors went into the
White House in stream. which flowed
out just us rapidly rs it flowed in.
- Taft Had to Call "a Halt.
President Taft adopted the open
door policy and lie had visitors in
thousands, but before gerry long he,
like Mckinley, was compelled to call
a halt. and he saw only those men
and women whom he knew that he
must see because Of the nature OF
their business. OF course Mr.. Taft
like other presidents, had his daily
hour for visitors, who merely wanted
to shake hands with a president and
to 80 home sayin. that they had done
so. This half hour usually began ut
what the society people call high noon,
and while the reception was perfume
tory one, more or less, you always can
trust president Of the United States
to put on glad look when he is meet
ing the dearly beloved citizens.
A great many Of the members of
the house of representatives, who have
been reelected, will remain In this
city until the extra session Is called.
The Republicans among them were
at the White House on March S. along
with the senator's. and goodly num-
her Of them will seek the presidential
presence every day until they have
cleaned up the states Of promises
which they have made to their fol.
lowers. Every Office seeker. or nearly
every one, has congressional spokes-
man.
Luckily the White House offices are
bigger than they used to be. Mr.. Taft
had the whole arrangement changed,
and while the Office wing was built
at the close Of the Mckinley admin.
istration, It is now much larger than
it was, originally. The president has
an Office certainly three times as large
as the one which Roosevelt occupied
The cabinet room has been increased
in size and now the secretary to the
president has large room to him.
self. whereas in thet old days, he was
compelled to share small quarters wi
! the executive clerk and one or =
&nb-secretarieA
Subscribe for The Haily Pioneer,