Evening star., 1921-03-05
Ready to Tackle Job He
Declares, Over His Desk
at White House.
GREETED BY MEMBERS
OF EXECUTIVE FORCE
Secretaries Hughes. Wallace and
Hoover Are Among Earliest of
Callers Received.

iN''i i'iSii''b dllf lN'' NlTdlt dllu ~
rttcm"ni of yesterday. President
Harding WAS at his desk u few min
utoS before Q O'Clock this morning
and. as n" expressed il smilinsly. he
was ready TO tackle the job"
With the Presidents apparent vital
ity and enthusiasm the machinery OF
the new administration started of to-
day with a snap George Il. christian.
secretary to the President and James
sloan. former Whit House secret
service chi"f, who has been with the
President since the day he was nom
mated. and who is at the White House
as an assistant To MIR. christian. were
on hand to greet the President when
he entered his Office. \ few minutes
later he was greeted by Rudolph
Forster. executive clerk; Patrick Nc
kenna. head usher. and other officials
of the White House force
In the office at the time of Mr.. Hard
ing $ arrival Were also his two private
stenogra pliers. Miss Eva Il. Ihl and
Miss coran-lla Mattern. The latter has
been associated with Mr.. Harding for
number of years. and the former. who
was formerly associated with Senator
Elkins of West Virginia. has been with
Mr.. Harding since early in his cam
paign
Cabinet Members Call.
Among Mr.. Hardng's first visitors.
were three members of his new cabinet
Secretary of State Hughes. Secretary
of Agriculture Wallace and Secretary of
Commerce Hoover. They conferred with
their chief separately. and each hurried
from the White House to the respective
departments to go through the formality
of being sworn into office.
They said that they called TO pay
their respects TO the chief. and at the
same time to OBTAIN his opinion of mat
ters regarding their departments which
would be likely to need settlement dur
ing the day. Ii was intimated that these
matters concerned the appointment Of
their respective assistants. Secretary
of the Navy DENLY called later.
Surveys Work Ahend.
Before receiving any one Mr.. Harding
had long talk with Mr.. Christian, dur
ing which they made "A preliminary sur
vey of the unfinished business left
by the retiring administration. 1t
was said that few changes will be
made in the personnel of the White
House staff. except for the filling OF
the vacancies caused by the resigna-
tons of the three or four persons
who came to the White House with
Mr.. Tumulty. The most important
Of these positions is that of chief
clerk and next is that of appoint
ment clerk.
Senator Lodge of Massachusetts. the
reDuDilcan senate ltdutT. ana REPRE-
sentative Mondell of Wyoming. the
republican House leader. called in the
early afternoon TO discuss with Presi-
dent Harding the calling of a spe-
cial session of Congress.
Charles T.. Hard of Portsmouth.
Ohio. who has been associated with
Mr.. Harding for some time. was today
appointed to the office STAFF of the
White House Although his duties
have not been defined. il is under
stood that he will he given one of the
more important clerk ships. Announce
ment to this effect will be made
later.
Secretary Christian received more
than fifty newspapermen today. He
said he would see them each day at
10 am. and pm. and that the Pres
ident would likely see them once each
week.
Receives Aircdnlc.
President Harding WAS presented
today with an Airedale dog. Caswell
Laddie Boy. who. because OF the fond
ness OF the new chief executive for
dogs is expected to become the most
popular of the White House pets.
The presentation was made by
Charles w. Quetsche of Toledo. Ohio.
who SAID the father of Laddie Boy
was Tern Tip Top. champion Airedale
of the United States.
Secretary of War Weeks called OF
the President shortly before noon ant
conferred with him few minutes.
SiShtseers Crowd Room.
The crowd of sightseers who jammed
into the east room of the White
House today. following the adoption
of the open door policy by President
Harding. became so great before noon
that il was necessary to close the
doors This order is only temporary.
1t was explained. and was deemed
necessary because of the great crowds
of tourists in the city and others who
were anxious for a peep at the inside
Of the house and the famous recep-
ton room. However. the public was
permitted to stroll about the walk
ways in the grounds.
Members of the republican national
will be received by the
President in his Office at o'clock this
of the committee, saw the President
earlier in the day.
Job Stevens of Ohio. the oldest
living man who served in the House
of Representatives. who came TO
Washington to attend the inaugura
ton. greeted the President at the
White House today.
No Date for session.
No date for the special session had
been settled, Senator Lodge and Mr..
Mondell said after their conference.
Ii was indicated that they would soon
again confer with the President on the
subject
Secretary Mellon of the Treasury
was MIR. Harding'S next
ca Her.
The President went to lunch at 1:30,
allowing himself an hour for the
MONDAY meal. He ate with Mrs.
Harding and members of their fami-
lies who are guests at the White
House. At 2:30 pm. he had an en-
to receive several delega-
lions of visitors