Volume 2: The crown and the hat are all over the capital, and the spirit is full of energy and enter the foggy city Chapter 59 Going to the Dance
Subtitle of this chapter: Transition, transition.
The inauguration ceremony of the President of the United States has three steps: the swearing-in ceremony on Capitol Hill in the morning, the parade on Pennsylvania Avenue in the afternoon, and of course one or several grand or not-so-grand inaugural balls in the evening.
The Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural CeremoniesThere are two small committees under this committee, one is the Inaugural Parade Committee and the other is the Inaugural Ball Committee.
Don't laugh or be surprised. The U.S. Congress likes to establish various committees. There were more than one hundred committees at the beginning of the 20th century, and the number reached more than three hundred by the end of the century.
The history of inaugural balls is long, and the venue and scope of the balls have changed over time, often depending on the wishes of the person being sworn in.
One week after President George Washington was sworn , an inaugural ball was held to celebrate the new president's inauguration.
The tradition of inaugural balls didn't take off until 1809, when President James Madison was inaugurated at the U.S. Capitol in Washington. That night, First Lady Dolley Madison, who loved balls so much that she was called "Queen Dolley," hosted a celebration at a hotel and sold 400 tickets.
The inaugural ball quickly became a highlight of Washington society, and every ball attracted a large number of people. So the organizers hoped that the ball venue could accommodate a large number of guests, and at the beginning they would build a temporary ballroom for the ball.
However, such makeshift venues were neither heated nor insulated, and if the temperature dropped, it would be a disaster. For example, the inaugural ball held by Ulysses Grant during his second term in office in 1873 was freezing cold. Guests had to dance in coats and hats, the food was cold, coffee and hot chocolate were gone, and even the canary used for decoration was frozen in its cage.
So after that, most of the inaugural balls were held in two indoor venues: the National Museum Building and the Pension Building.
However, Wilson felt that the inaugural balls were too expensive and unnecessary for the solemnity of the inauguration ceremony, so he asked the inaugural committee to cancel the balls during both of his terms.
By 1921, newly elected President Warren G. Harding wanted to set an example of frugality and simplicity, so he asked organizers to cancel the time-consuming and laborious inaugural ball.
The inaugural committee complied with his request and instead held a large private charity party at his own residence, setting a precedent that would be followed by subsequent inaugurations.
The chairman of this term is Andrew Mellon, he will also serve as the Secretary of the Treasury of the Republican government. If history does not change, Mr. Mellon will continue to hold this important position for the next ten years. In other words, he will be a veteran of the three administrations of Harding, Coolidge and Hoover.
Why is Mr. Mellon so awesome? Because he is the second-generation head of the Mellon Group.
The Mellon Corporation was the largest trust in the Pittsburgh area, controlling this American industrial center through financial institutions such as Mellon National Bank, Pittsburgh National Bank and General Reinsurance Company.
The consortium's Aluminum Corporation of America completely monopolizes aluminum production in the United States. The Gulf Oil Company owned by it is also one of the largest oil monopolies in the United States, and it also has an important position in the steel industry.
In short, the wealth owned by this consortium is only slightly inferior to that of the Morgan consortium, and even Rockefeller is left far behind.
In fact, all the members of Harding's cabinet were very powerful. In addition to the Secretary of the Treasury, who was a financial oligarchy, and the Secretary of State, who was the spokesperson for Standard Oil, the Chief of Army had served as the manager of the Boston Stock Exchange of Morgan Company, the Secretary of Commerce, who was Hoover, was the representative of the Electricity Trust, and the Secretary of the Interior had close ties with ...
So, Andrew Mellon's mansion was simply exaggerated. The temporary ballroom built on the front lawn for this dance party could accommodate two thousand people at the same time.
Before seven o'clock, our Master Yuan followed the two couples of Ministers Shi Zhaoji and Gu Weijun into the ballroom. Not long after, Warren Gamelier Harding appeared in front of everyone with his wife Florence Cline Harding. This was also the first time that Yuan Yanshu saw a lively American president in person.
It must be said that President Harding, now 56 years old, is indeed full of vigor and aura. He is tall and handsome, and looks like a big shot. So much so that there is a Warren Harding effect in later generations.
The so-called Warren Harding Effect means that most powerful people in the United States are relatively burly. In the 21st century, some people who had nothing to do did a survey and found that most male CEOs were over 6 feet (about 183 cm) tall, 8 cm taller than the average height of American men of 175 cm.
In contrast, his wife was not very good-looking. Not only was she ugly, but her expression was also gloomy and weird. She looked like an old lady who was not easy to get along with. So her nickname was "The Duchess".
President Harding gave a very short speech, mainly welcoming everyone. Compared with the inaugural address this morning, this impromptu speech was quite interesting. In fact, the president is really easy-going, humorous, and eloquent.
Yuan Yan followed the crowd showed his face in front of the first couple. He had not used the "Card - Tricky 2" these days, but the charm of 17 points was enough to attract attention. Moreover, he was now a popular writer, and even the Hardings had heard of his name.
So our Master Yuan had the honor to chat with them for a few minutes, which was much better treatment than that given to ordinary passers-by.
However, when the dance officially started, he had nothing to do without a dance partner, so he simply ran to the dining table and started eating.
"Mr. Yuan, are you here?"
Master Yuan, who was eating happily, turned around and said with a smile: "Mr. Nomura, we meet again in Washington."
"Yes, yes." Nomura Kichisaburo invited enthusiastically: "Mr. Yuan, I wonder if you are free. Our Minister Shigekiro Shidehara wants to meet you, the literary master."
"Oh. Minister Bihara wants to see me?" Yuan Yan put down the food in her hand and said while tidying up her clothes: "Of course I want to see him."
