ed to be correct, as I remembered the conversation,
I wrote my name on the bottom of it. I have never seen or heard
of the paper since.

Senator Hoar was very much interested in changing the date of the
inauguration of the President of the United States. March, in
Washington, is one of the very worst months of the year, and it
frequently happens that the weather is so cold and stormy as to
make any demonstration almost impossible. Inaugurations have cost
the lives of very many men. I was looking into the subject myself,
and I took occasion to write Senator Hoar a letter, asking his
views. He replied to me very courteously and promptly. I was so
pleased with the letter that I retained it, and give it here.

"Worcester, Mass., _August 26, 1901_.

"My dear Senator:--

"I do not think the proposed change of time of inauguration can be
made without change in the Constitution. I prepared an article
for so changing the Constitution. It has passed the Senate twice
certainly, and I think three times. It was reported once or twice
from the Committee on Privileges and Elections, and once from the
Committee on the Judiciary. It received general favor in the
Senate, and as I now remember there was no vote against it at any
time. The only serious question was whether the four years should
terminate on a certain Wednesday in April or should terminate as
now on a fixed day of the month. The former is liable to the
objection that one Presidential term should be in some cases slightly
longer than another. The other is liable to the objection that if
the thirtieth of April were Sunday or Saturday or Monday, nearly
all persons from a distance who come to the inauguration would have
to be away from home over Sunday.

"The matter would, I think, have passed the House, if it could have
been reached for action. But it had the earnest opposition of
Speaker Reed. It was, as you know, very hard to get him to approve
anything that was a change.

"I have prepared an amendment to be introduced at the beginning of
the next section, and have got some very carefully prepared tables
from the Coast Survey, to show the exact length of an administration
under the different plans. The advantage of the change seems to
me very clear indeed. In the first place, you prolong the second
session of Congress until the last of April; you add six or seven
weeks, which are very much needed, to that session. And you can
further increase tha