Indiana daily times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1914-1922, 1921-06-27
PRESIDENTIAL
JOB HAS JOKER
OF LARGE SIZE
Nations Chief Is Heir to
Many Duties Not Mentioned
in Constitution.
REQUESTS UNLIMITED

ing is now getting his first taste Of those
duties which contribute most to make q
Presidents life a problem and burden.
During the past few weeks he agreed
to become a member of a variety Of ma
tional associations, religious, sporting
and reforming. He accepted a bull pup,
bought tickets for the Daffodil ball for
the benefit of boys swimming pool,
posed for a statue and portrait sketch,
and gave $50 toward Madame Currles
radium fund.
Refusals are Of course, more numer-
Gus than the acceptances. Limitations
of etime, money, and strength make 1t
impossible for a President to do all the
things the people want him to do. He
must choose, in each instance, and
whichever way he chooses, he cannot hope
to please everybody.
This is the joker in the job of being
chief executive Of the United States. No
doubt a good many of our Presidents
who cheerfully assumed the trials OF
signing bills and getting along with Con-
gress would have refused the position
with dignity had they realized how many
statues they would have to unveil with
appropriate remarks, how many loyal
voters would insist on wringing the
Presidents hand, how many times they
would have to stop and turn around In
order to be photographed in character
istic poses.
These are the duties-left out Of the
Constitution-which make being a Presi-
dent one Of the most annoying Jobs In
the world.
Though the incumbent in office ac-
ouires great skill in meeting his obliga~
tons. for some reason he never writes
a guide book for his successors. The
value of volume on Things Every
President Should Know" by one who has
been there, would be incalculable. Aside
from scattered letters and articles, no
work Of the sort has ever been issued
As it is now, each executive and his
family have to pioneer for themselves.
And it is rocky ground. Everything they
do becomes a precedent. To take an
instance from Mrs. Harding's experiences,
a request came before Inauguration for
a small donation to be sold at ? fair.
5000 REQUESTS
FOR DONATIONS.
Don't do it," said a friend.
"oh, 1 am glad to help" said Mrs
Harding.
The week after, she saw what the
friend meant. her mail brought over
5000 requests for small donations which
could be sold or auctioned of at big
prices. as coming from the President
elects wife. One handkerchief, such as
she had sent the first time, meant one
dollar Three thousand handkerehtefs,
all for worthy enough causes, would
mean IS 900, not counting the wages OF
some one to buy the gifts, some enc
M fho n
postage. You can figure for yourself
that this is more than the Presidents
weekly salary, and Mrs. Harding's pin
money certainly could not cover such in
cidentals.
The trouble is that all the activities
of a White House family are given pub
licity. To send a donation to a charity
affair and request that no mention be
made of the source would be TO rob the
gift Of its attractiveness. The assoeia-
ton with the White House is what thS-
people want in such cases.
so the President and his wife have TO
pick and choose 1t is hardest at first
because the novelty of a new executive
attracts an unusually large number OF
people with the "gimmies." If the Presi-
dent is cautious in the first weeks, he IL
not worried so much later, though there
is scarcely a day when he does not re-
ceive an imposing collection Of requests
for gifts-autographs invitations, photo
graphs. and so on. The tide rises and
falls to a large extent according to the
President himself If ne becomes known
as a Joiner but not mueb Of a giver the
mail brings more invitations to join and
fewer requests for money.
President Harding we believe is not
vet classified He wants to be genial and
reasonable and democratic, but he is al
ready, no doubt, beginning to realize that
his supply of these qualities is limited.
No President has ever been able to meet
more than a small fraction of the re-
quests, and they are growing each term
as there are more people to serve.
Thus, when the President agrees soci-
ably to be honorable president of some
organization which appeals to some hob
by of his, he risks exposing himself to
deluge of invitations to join ORGANISE
lions he never heard Of before Such oe-
CARNATIONS are well aware that the Presi-
dent could not mingle with them at theiS
Tuesday meetings. They fully appreciate
the many demands on his time. But
they do think he could lend his name
and drop in on state occasions, and IL
he refuses, however politely, there Il
sometimes resentment.
NO REMEDY
YET EVOLVED.
There have been bills in Congress fog
the relief of every other sort of Govern
rnent ward, but the President has never
had any assistance offered him in this
difficulty He has his secretaries and
aides Many of them, however, are po'
liticaI appointees and are as new to the
business as their chief.
1t is suggested that special secretary
might help matters somewhat He would
have to stick close to the President on
all occasions, something like the royal
tasters at the tables of the old European
kings, who protected the monarchs from
poison. and his life would be worth about
as much as theirs. His duties would be
to cast the deciding vote in a tie as to
whether the President should spend the
evening at a musical comedy or adorn
benefit ball for Chinese babies.
The value of this attache would OBJ
viously increase with his years of serv-
ice which means that he would have to
be permanent fixture in the presidential
menage. This is admittedly a serious
obstacle. There have been White Housee
employees who spent years of service
there, but not in such positions of con-
fidential association with the Executive.
The ony suggestion so far put forward
is that this attache would have to be a
man of unbiased mind so far as political
parties are concerned. Where this supe1-
man is to be caught is not Clear. Peg
haps the best plan would be to pick
candidate out of school somewhere, and
bring him up in the White House at
-.