A Gilded Lady by Elizabeth Camden

Author:Elizabeth Camden
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Published: 2020-04-06T00:00:00+00:00

Twenty-Three

Nathaniel made a final inspection of the train a few hours before their departure. With eight cars in the presidential entourage, the train was fitted out with everything the president would need to conduct business for the next twelve weeks. The dining car had been furnished to seat thirty people, for they’d frequently be joined by congressmen and prominent guests for segments of the trip. The parlor car featured enlarged windows for an expansive view as they traversed the nation. The president had his own sleeping car, while the staff had a male sleeping car and another for the cooks, the wives of congressmen, and of course, Caroline.

Most impressive was the system set up for communication. The traveling presidency would have a stenographer, two telegraph operators, a cable technician, and an officer from the railroad to handle any difficulties along the way. Rembrandt and members of the press would accompany them, and an entire railway car was set up for communication purposes.

Alfred Medina was the technician who would keep the system operating. A wiry man with thick glasses and a surplus of nervous energy, he was part electrician and part telephone operator, and nervous about working for the president. He blotted the perspiration from his bald head as he showed Nathaniel how the system worked.

“While the train is moving, we’ll be out of telegraph contact, but once we pull into a station, I can patch us into their wire and telephone systems in short order.”

Alfred gestured to the other side of the car, where a countertop bolted to the wall held four typewriters. “This is where the journalists can type up their reports. I’ll have a telegraph line open for the president at all times.” He tugged at his collar and mopped his brow again.

“Relax,” Nathaniel said. “You’ll find President McKinley an easygoing man.” He silently hoped Alfred would never need to cope with Ida McKinley, for the first lady could frighten a man like this into leaping off a moving train.

At least Caroline had consented to come on the journey. Their encounter on the roof still burned in his memory. They were becoming dangerously close, and this attraction couldn’t continue during the tour. Each day they would be in new towns and unfamiliar venues with thousands of people turning out to see the president. Nathaniel would honor his word to support her should the situation with her brother turn dark, but the rest of the time, he needed to keep her at arm’s length.

He gestured to a strange box that looked something like a telephone. “What’s this?”

“It’s the intercommunication box,” Alfred said. “If an announcement needs to be made to the other cars, that will do the trick.”

That caught Nathaniel’s attention. “Can I hear what’s going on in other cars?” If so, it could be a security lifeline, but Alfred shook his head.

“It only communicates one way, but it’s a better system than bells,” he said.

Internal bells were how the staff communicated inside the White House. This new system might be worth looking into, but that would have to wait.

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