The Wolf Point herald. (Wolf Point, Mont.) 1913-1940, 1928-01-13
CLOSE-UPS IN The
NATIONS CAPITAL
(By Stephen James,

IL 0ESRANNAA Ah
The annual New Years receI
ton at the White House is
glowing success, thousands brav
ing the rigors of the coolest day
in years to pass before the Presi
dent and the First Lady. More
than 5000 persons take a grip or
the presidential hand and Presi
dent Coolidge carries his wrist in
a bandage for days thereafter.
The reception is one of the most
colorful functions in Washington.
For hours hundreds of people fall
in line and wait for the doors OF
the White House to open. Among
certain of the inhabitants OF
Washington is a keen rivalry to
see which can be first in line for
as many years in succession as
possible.
The President and Mrs. Cool
idge stand in the Blue room. They
come down the stairs promptly at
II o'clock, to the strains Of "Hail
to the Chief" First the members
of the Cabinet wish him a Happy
New Year-and Mrs. Coolidge.
Then the members of the diplo-
matte corps, in their extravagant
uniforms, file by. extending felic-
itations in many tongues; follow
the Chief Justice and the Asso-
ciate Justices, the Senate mem
bers and the members of the
House who care to attend, and
most of them do, high ranking Of
ficers of the army, the navy and
the marine corps, and other of
the branches of the government
service.
AS the head of a diplomatic
mission, a justice of the Supreme
Court, you are switched back to
the Green room by polite White
House aides, to linger and talk as
long as you care to. Junior Of
ficials may retire to the East room
for conversation.
Afterwards, the great American
public is admitted, each man, wo-
man and child with the intention
of giving the President a good
strong ~handclasp. Three thousand
such grips are enough to incapac-
itate a stronger arm than that
with which the President signs
official papers. Thus the bandage.
Usually official Washington
turns out in its best bib and tuck
er. But a few that passed before
the executive head of the nation
were dressed just so so. Mrs.
Coolidge wore a black velvet dress
trimmed with lemon colored satin.
The BoIshevik regime may reign
in Russia. but so far as the United
States is concerned officially, the
Russian Republic, the old defunct
Kerensky government, still is rec
ognized by this people.
On fashionable Sixteenth Street
is a stately mansion, formerly the
embassy of the Car and later the
embassy of the Kerensky success
sion, stands with barred windows,
high fence and closed shutters,
duly listed in the diplomatic blue
book as the embassy of the Rus
sian people.
But for ten years, ten long
years of famine and prosperity,
war and rumors of war, the inn
posing building has been officially
Russian territory. But the Soviet
government, unrecognized by the
United States, may not claim the
property nor use it in any way.
Only an old caretaker, who
answers a knock at the side en-
trance, inhabits the structure that
formerly echoed to the toast to
the Car.
But more intriguing than the
building itself is the disposition of
the huge funds once administered
by Boris Bakhmeteff, last ambas-
sador from Russia duly accredited
10 LH6 OulISu OboICo. DohiAAlOIOh'
during and shortly after the war,
negotiated a loan of $3.50, 900, 900
from the United States. OF this
huge sum s125, OO0, 900 yer turned
owe to the Russian government,
and about s62, 900, 900 were retain
ed here. When Bakhmeteff left
washington he turned I'VE to a
banking firm in New York City
about SAT, 900, 900 to pay certain
obligations of his government, but
the remainder has never been ac-
counted for to the satisfaction of