East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1922-03-23

SpliCSpollutlll.D
WASHINGTON, March 2s. = 81
must see the President"
The person making this demand at
the White House almost daily may be
OF either sex; may be dressed in rags,
broadcioth, silks or satins; may be
miid-mannered or loud-voiced, but
they are all equally insistent.
What happens to them?
How is President Harding pro-
tected from their opportunities =?
There is u simple yet very effective
method Of handling such White
House visitors through the medium
of the Secret Service detail. When
President Harding leaves the White
House in the morning to go to his
desk in the Executive Office Building
he is carefully guarded by several
Secret Service men. They remain
Quietly and unobtrusively on guard in
the immediate vicinity of the office as
long as the President remains.
Have to Tell Mission
All persons visiting the Executive
offices during the time the President
is present have to explain their mis-
sion to the two policemen en- on duty in
the loby. If the visitors mission is
apparently legitimate he is directed
| back to the doorkeeper who arranges
| for their reception by Secretary Chris
tian, to whom they explain in detail
| Their mission.
If the visitor has a suspicious man.
ner or gives the policeman the impress
sion of being crank he is asked to
wait in the lobby while the policeman
sends for the doctor" The doctor
is the head Of acting head of the Sec
ret Service detail. Without any os-
tentation the suspect is ushered into
one of the ante rooms of the Execu-
tive office building and subjected to
the most rigid cross ss-eXamination by
the Secret Service expert.
No third-9esree methods are used.
The visitor does not even suspect
that he is being grilled, but the op-
eratives gets his information and
acts upon 1t. If the visitor has an er
rand which may properly be laid be-
Ior the President he is taken in to
see Mr.. Christian, who makes an en-
easement for him with Mr.. Harding
IL the visitors errand may be more
eXpeditiously taken up with a mem
Der of Congress or the head of a de-
paitment he is given the necessary di-
fections as to how to go a bout It,
Conducted to Hospital
Some visitors, however, are not
amenable to these suggestions and
insist upon laying their grievances
before the President direct. Calmly
ana in soft tones, the inquisitor di-
rects the visitor to follow him. and
ne Is given a personally conducted
excursion to one of the large Govern
ment hospitals in WASHINGTON. where
ne is placed under observation and
treatment as to his mental status and
his relatives notified. The efficiency
of the Secret Service in handl;ny
these unbalanced pilgrims to the
president is a source of wonder ana
remark among those who are familiar
with the methods used.
'iiuiluiVus OF letterS nave been re-
ceived by the Secret Service detail
from anxious relatives thanking them
for the information on unbalanced
members Of the family. In most
instances the visitor is q victim of an
halIucination and has wandered away
from home. There are very few
violent cases handled at the White
House now, but there are n large
number afflicted with the mania for
insisting upon talking to the presi
dent about their real or faneieG
wrongs. A note to a relative usually |
brings expressions of gratitude and
prompt action in bringing the victim
OF the hallucnation back home, and |
the entire incident has passed without |
due to the efficiency of the (
secret Service methods.