Evening Star Newspaper, March 5, 1933, Page 76

The Nation’s Progress Through the Yecars Has Been Reflected in In- augural Ceremonies. As the Country Grew in Size and Wealth In- augurations Bcecame More Elaborate. BY THOMAS R. HENRY. HE progicss ond changin? spirit of the ITuicn has been refloitzd in the flnciuating character cf the inaugu- ral patades and ccramonics which havc ccecmpanied the indaction into cfficc of its Presideats. At firsl they were simple affairc, in keeping with the cimplicity of #he naticnal life and character. There was a profound distrust of ostentation. Displays c¢f military formalism savored of kingship. Such Presidents as Jef- ferson and Jackson elearly catcred to the mili- tant dcmocracy of d:e people. Such Presidents as Washington and Monroe were fearful of spurning it. Transportation difficulties were such that it was impossible to assemble huge crowds at thesc early inaugurals. As the Nation grew in wealth and cohesion the inauguration ceremonies grew mcre elabo- rate. The great change came after the Civil War when the spreading railrcads made the gathering of great assemblies possible and the surviving veterans formed the nuclei ¢f march- ' ing organizations. These werc the days of huge crowds and ostentatious displays. A return to simplicity came with the World War. Gecrge Washington borrowed $3.000 from a friend in Alexandria before starting out by coach, April 16, 1789, on the long overland journey frcm Mount Vernon to New York to be inaugurated as first President of the United States. A! Alexandria, Georgetown, Baltimore, Wilmington, Philadelphia, Trenton and Eliza- " beth he was entertained at the homes of th: leading citizens. Houses were decorated. Little giris in white dresses strewed flowers in his path. Every tavern and boarding house in New York was filled. The morning of April 30 was vibrant with artillery salvos and pealing church belis. Washington was escorted from his lodg- ings by two militia companies, one made up of the tallest young men of the city and the other of German veterans. He took the oath of of- fice on a borrowed Bible. Those who arranged ithe ceremony had forgotten to provide one. He was nervous while he made the celebrated first inaugural speech. He trembled continu- ously. At his second inaugural in Philadelphia he rode to the Federal Building in a evach bear- ing the designs of the four seasons and drawn by cix white horses. He was dressed in black velvet with diamond knee buckies. Thomas Jefferson attended in a blue coat and crimson vest. The House of Representatives in Philadelphia was filled to its capacity for the inauguration of John Adams. “Altogether,” the new Presi- dent wrote to his wife that evening, “all agreed that it was the sublimest thing ever exhibited ~ in America.” S (OMAS JEFPERSON walked across a muddy field ful! of tree stumps from his boarding house near the present site of the Library of Congress to the half-finished Capitol to take the oath of office March 4, 1801—the day of the first inauguration held in Washington. He was escorted by a company of rifiemen from with yellow facings and brass buttons. Chiet Justice Marshall administered the oath to Jef ferson as President and Burr as Vice President, “The three men hated each other. ‘That afternoon Jefferson held open house at the Wkite House. Foster, the British minister, wrote to a friend in London: *“When he re- ceived all who chose attended and towards the close blacks and dirty boys drank his wine and lolled upon his couches before us all.” Eight years later Washington had become a small city. James Madison “was accompanied by a military eseort from his home, on the present site of the Cosmos Club, to the Capitol. Ten thousand people tried to force their way into the chamber of the House of Represent- atives. There were charges of graft in the dis- tribution of tickets. After Madison had read his inaugural address, wearing a black swit made from the wool of American sheep as an encouragement to home industry, nine militia companies passed in review before him. The first inaugural ball was held that night. Thomas Jefferson and the uniformed foreign ministers danced with the charming Deolly Madison. LARGE cavalcade of citizens on horseback escorted James Monroe from the Octagon House, his private residence, to the Capitol on March 4, 1817. He was received with military honors by the Georgetown Rifles and two com- panies of riflemen from Alexandria. He took the oath of office on the platform of the east portico. The outdoor ceremony, which has continued ever since, came as a compromise be- tween the House and Senate over the appor- tionment of seats, which had caused so much scandal at Madison’s inauguration. ‘The White House, burned by the British, had not been completely restored. Monroe had to commyje for a time between his Government job in Washington and his home, Oak Hall. in Loudoun County, Va. He used to quit early Saturdays and ride out on horseback, returning early Mondays. John Quincy Adams saddled his horse early the morning of March 4, 1829, and started on a long ride up the Potomac. He had moved out of the White House the day before. He was afraid of a scene if he came face to face with the man who was to sdcceed him as Presi= dent. It had been a “whispering campaign.” ‘The city was crowded with admirers of Jacks son, carrying hickory canes and wearing hicke ory leaves in their button holes. There had been no arrangements for an inaugural parades “The single military organization in Washinge ton, a light infantry company, was Whig in sympathy and refused to march. A little group of Revolutionary War officers organized them- selves into an escort for their old ccmrade and walked beside his open carriage. “I never saw such a crowd,” wrote Daniel Webster. ‘“Persons have come 500 miles to see Gen. Jackson and they really seem to think the country has been rescued from some dreadful danger.” Jackson wore two pairs of steel-rimmed spec- tacles—one for reading and the other for ordi- nary vision. The first pair were over his foree head. The glass glittered when the sun struck it. Pe in the crowd whisperet that the glasses were silver plates placed where his skull had been pierced by British bullcts at New Orleans. The new President held open house for everybedy, in the Jeffersonian tradition, after the inauguration. There were tubs full of orange punch in the east room. No guards were at the door. Black and white pushed their way in. Old Hickory tried to shake hands with them all. He was pushed into a corner by the half-drunken mob. Tubs of punich were overturned on the floor. Glasses were smashed., Men stood with muddy boots on the plushe covered chairs and divans. Hours later, when the crowd was cleared out, Jackson and John C. Calhoun had dinner together in the White House on the beef of a prize ox. Eight years later the dapper little widower,