Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER III PRESIDENT HARRISON SURPRISES THE CLUB Chief Executive Delights Members By A Witty Speech ? Calls Newspapermen Inventors And Discusses Re- Ports Of Cabinet Proceedings ? The Country Band The First Costume Skit ? Getting A Presidential Smile ? Can Sauce Back At Gridiron Dinners. BENJAMIN HARRISON was the first President of the United States to attend a Gridiron Club dinner. The Club was four years old and well established when Harrison succeeded Cleveland, but it was nearly three years later before he attended a dinner as President. And he enjoyed it so well that he would no doubt have come again, for he, as well as several members of his cabinet, had accepted invitations to be present at the annual dinner in the winter of 1891 when the sudden death of William Windom, Secretary of the Treasury, caused the cancelation of all administration engagements of a social character. He was again prevented from attending a dinner given at the close of his administration by the death of James G. Blaine. As a Senator from Indiana Mr. Harrison had been a guest in the days when the guests furnished entertainment for the Club instead of the Club, as in the later dispensation, entertaining the guests. When President Harrison came to the dinner in January, 1892, the Club did not indulge in any stunts built around acts of his administration, burlesquing them and his policies, as it has done with other Presidents. On the contrary President Harrison was treated rather ceremoniously as a very honored guest and not a word was said that could be construed into a roast. It seems remarkable now, since four other Presidents have been frequent guests, to recall that when President H. B. F.Macfarland, then of the Boston Herald, introduced President Harrison he thought it necessary to ...