Browning chief. [volume] (Browning, Mont.) 1941-1953, 1949-01-14
4S # 4
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Inaugural Week
IN WASHINGTON


inaugural week
THIS big home town which
L takes thrills and big events
in stride and usually with an
air of nonchalance is really
stirred up over the coming in
auguration of President Harry
S. Truman.
The entire week Of January 20
will be one Of notable affairs, of
formal and diplomatic receptions,
of state dinners, of holiday fun
making and the whole event will be
topped off by formal inaugural
ball to be held in the Washington
national guard armory.
This armory is a story in itself
since it is one Of the most beauti-
full armories in the nation, with an
auditorium about the size of foot
ball field. When the huge structure
was completed in the early years
of the war it was occupied by the
Federal Bureau of Investigation,
housing that departments millions
of fingerprint files.
On the east side Of the Capitol
building temporary stands have
been erected, the east steps
have been covered with plank
ing and a bird's-eye view of the
stands which extend out in front
of the Capitol building and
across the street onto the lawns
looks like acres of lumber.
Carload after carload, enough to
make building contractors mouth
water, are being used in the con-
struction of these temporary bleach
ers. Intermittent stands will line
Constitution and Pennsylvania ave-
nues from the Capitol to the White
House, marking the line of the in
augural parade. Already firemen
and police cars are on 24-hour duty
to prevent fire and sabotage.
President Truman has decreed
that thousands of the coveted seats
must be of the two-dollar variety,
although hundreds have gone on
sale by the District of Columbia
inaugural committee at prices said
to range as high as $50. But there
will be hundreds of free seats to
the members of congress and their
families, to members of the diplo-
matte corps, the cabinet and high
government officials. So the COM
mittee is asking congress to make
an appropriation, for the first time,
to help pay for these free ducats.
Hotels lining the route of the
parade, such as the Willard, the
Raleigh and the Washington, have
doubled their rates for the week
and all hotels are sold out for the
occasion. A committee has been set
up to house thousands of visitors in
private homes, and the expectation
is that the city will be crammed
with some 100000 visitors and that
approximately million persons
will line the parade route. Railroads
plan to house thousands in pullman
cars in the railroad yards.
Despite the Presidents request
that the ceremonies be made as
simple as possible, it will be one
of the most ornate inaugurals in
the Republics history and will be
witnessed by more people than ever
before. Other millions will see the
function through television, along
the eastern seaboard, and the news
reels will provide live action in
theaters throughout the country.
How quickly circumstances
change the picture. 1t was only
few months ago when the Ma.
tional Tax Equality association
had the farm cooperatives on
the spot in congress with probes
and hearings over taxation of
patronage refunds. With the in
coming new congress, however,
it seems that the co-ops will
have their innings, with the
NTEA the subject of a probe as
to where, how and when they
get the money to spend thou.
sands of dollars in lobbying
against the co-ops.