The Book of Washington

This historic book may have numerous typos, missing text or index. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. 1922. Not illustrated. Excerpt: ... CHAPTER XXV AN INAUGURATION T was a cold morning, but the sun was shining and the sky was blue. The crowd began to I gather early. The inauguration address was not expected before half past one, but when I got there, at ten o'clock, thousands were already in place. I had decided upon a stone seat, a long granite bench with granite back, circling about a large grassy space as a retaining wall a long distance from the front of the Capitol, a long distance from the spot on the CapitoT front where the incoming President was to stand. I took a steamer rug with me, so as to be able to sit down on the stone bench whenever I wanted to: and when I arrived there was space left for only one person and I gladly took it. Every moment, more and more arrived, filling the open space in front of the Capitol, in front of the long granite bench and far behind it. By eleven o'clock the space was crowded, by eleven thirty it was jammed, by twelve it was only with the greatest difficulty that any one could twist and squirm through the jam, and, so it was estimated by those looking down on the crowd, at least a hundred thousand were there. On previous occasions only a few people had ever expected to hear an inaugural address. It would be sufficient if now and then a word could be caught, and if the ceremony itself could be witnessed, but this time was to be different. For the speech of Harding was to be heard for what was really an immense distance. Many a night, leaving the Library of Congress at closing time and emerging upon the great space then almost always lonely and practically deserted, I had heard mysterious and almost ghostly sounds sweeping over the empty space. Here and there I would come upon some one listening and noting: for it was the testing of a new apparatus, a sou...