At 3:00 PM on the afternoon of September 14, several members of President McKinley's cabinet arrived at the Wilcox house (now known as the Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site). They were United States Secretary of War Elihu Root, Secretary of the Navy John D. Long, Attorney General Philander C. Knox, Secretary of the Interior Ethan Hitchcock, Postmaster General Charles Emory Smith, and Secretary of Agriculture James Wilson. With them were Judge Hazel, Judge Albert Haight of the New York Court of Appeals, and United States Senator from New York Chauncey Depew, among others. Roosevelt met with them informally in the Library and, at the last moment, the newspaper men were all let in, but were prohibited from taking any photographs. Then, when asked whether he was ready to take the oath, he answered, "I will take the oath. And in this hour of deep and terrible national bereavement, I wish to state that it shall be my aim to continue, absolutely without variance, the policy of President McKinley, for the peace and honor of our beloved country." After his response, Judge Hazel administered the oath.
