Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1925-01-18

sands Of men and women apply for
admission to these receptions without
the necessary credentials. It is not
an easy thing to explain to many such
callers the routine they must first go
through in order to be identified
Strange to relate, many visitors at the
White House are seized with a bad
case of nerves" the minute they en-
ter the door. Not infrequently il
becomes serious
Whether it is stage fright or an
awful feeling of fear in the presence
Of powerful influences cannot be
stated, but the guards at the door
must handle each visitor with the
utmost care to prevent "a scene" This
is especially true in the case of
women. Many times the sergeant has
scarost3 begun asking some fair
caller. e he most courteous tones, 10
state her business when she becomes
frightened and almost gets hystericaI
The manner and form of asking
these questions is not the least differ
ent from that which a caller would
meet if he applied for admission to
the offices of any large business or
ganization. But the mere fact tina.
1t is the White House seems to terror
ize some highly strung persons, and
one of the tasks Of the guards is u
detect such persons on sight and
haHule them with kid gloves to
save their own feelings and the re
served quiet of the executive Offices.
x
or course, there is also the eternal
~ f1apper. The White House means
nothing in her young life she'll tell the
fair world, and if the blushing sergeants
happen to say no to some fair miss
who failed to obtain the necessary
credentials they are promptly vamped.
And incidentally. the fiapper learns that
there are at least two men in the world
upon whom her Charms" are lost
they just naturally fail to charm, be
cause those guards have their orders
Spring and Summer are the busy sea-
sons for the White House police. Some
conception Of the tremendous crowds
that visit the White House every year
may be obtained by the following Of
fetal figures for 1924: In January,
Ills persons passed through the gates
in February, l,195: March, G.i2l. April
24;Sao; May. 5000 June. 1885: July.
| October, 6,512i November 3,45I; De
cember, 5,675
OF course, not all of these persons got
in TO see the President Perhaps half
reached his presence, and the others
were shown through that part of the
White House which may be viewed by
the public There were thousands of
others. however. who had engagements
with the President but were not tabu-
| lated, so that the number of individuals
he actually must meet every year is
really stupendous.
He IS at the beck and call Of every
organization that comes to Washington,
or, at least, that is what the societies
seem to think. And Mrs. Coolidge, too,
must do her share of receiving" al
though she is not subjected to the awful
ordeal Of Misunderstanding that seems to
! have become part Of her distinguished
| husbands duty. Every now and then.
| however, some womans society or some
| delegation of children calls to present
| her with some triflng thing
| All in all, no one need envy Serst
DalrymDle and Sergt. Seaman their jobs
| Like the actor, they must have an ever
| ready smile for one and all, yet keep a
! calm mind behind the scenes. It would
! be quite fatal should either make a mis-
take that might embarrass one of the
Presidents callers on state business.
| Nor is there any desire to be less care
| full with the less distinguished caller.
| But first and foremost comes protection
Of the Presidents welfare.
| Since the war the number of mental
| ~ unsound persons who attempt TO get
| into the executive Offices has increased
astonishingly. Few might be regarded
| as dangerous persons" Most are poor,
broken veterans of the great red mill
they went through in Europe, begging
| for a chance to explain some grievance
against the Veterans Bureau to the
| President. But their minds and nerves
are in no condition to stand harsh
| treatment
| Most of them are treated with the ut
most kindness. When they show dan
gerous tendencies, however, they are
| removed to a place of safety for OBJ
| servatton, as quietly and courteously as
conditions will warrant. But many times
| it requires real diplomacy 10 handle
such cases, and to the White House
| guards must go the credit to protecting
| the peace of the White House and the
| life of the President both at the same
| time.
Doth Sergt. Dalrymple and Sergt.
~ Seaman are graduates of the hard
| school that Washington knows as the
Metropolitan police force. 1t was by
the ability and dashing bravery they
| displayed as patrolmen, pounding
beats in the Capital, that they were
| selected fit men to guard the
| President.
Sergt. Dalrymple obtained post
on the Metropolitan force in 1895.
In three years he showed his. ability
| and was detailed to the White House
in 1898. When the Executive Mansion
force was shaken up several years
ago, relieved from the supervision OF
| the Metropolitan force and placed
under United States command, he re-
ceived the ranking position of first
| sergeant in recognition of continued
good service.
Sergt. Seaman was the tender
foot" of the White House police the
day William Mckinley was shot.
Sergt. Seaman never says very much
about himself or his work, but when
he can be persuaded even to mention
the personal pronoun IL" the one
| thing he will tell you is the awful
impression that catastrophe made
upon him. And his conscientious
| faithfulness to duty has won for
him promotion, too.
If you should ask either of these
guards extraordinary to tell you what
in all the world they are most afraid
of, they would not even give you a
hint that they had heard your ques-
ton. They have been schovied to
keep their mouths shut. But the
newspaper men who are with them
every day are also schooled to watch,
and their guess would be the
one thing that will melt even a heart
of stone-a woman's tears.
Never a tremor or sign of nervous
ness does either Sergt. Dalrymple or
Sergt. Seaman display when standing
face to face with men who might
shoot them down on the spot. Pistols
: and bombs hold no terrors to them.
But just let a woman come around
and show signs of weeping under
some nervous strain and they will
literally break their necks trying to
stem the impeEd!na Good