The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1897-07-28
PET ADJUSTMENTS
OF OUR PRESIDENTS
Major Mckinley Has Not Yet Developed
His Special Fad.
A VARIED LIST OF PREcEDENTS
Nearly Every Chief Executive Has
Had Some Favorite Amusement to
Relieve His Mind of the Strain of
OHice--OId Hickory Went in for
Cock Fighting--W. II. Harrison
Did the White House Marketing,
and Tyler Was Fond of Poker.


Did the White House Marketing,
aud Tyler Was Fond of Poker.
Every president since the time of
Washington has. says the Post, had
some particular pet amusement and the
old stagers are wondering what Mr.
Mckinley will develop in this line.
Men who knew him we'll during his
congressional terms cannot recall any
fun-loving proclivity exhibited by the
man who is now president.
Mr.. Mckinley is not known as q
hunter, a fisherman, a card player, a
billiard or pool lover, a horseback rider.
golfer, bicyclst. or n society man.
He is a steady reader and regular
smoker, but those are such ordinary
amusements that they will not entitle
him to rank with his more active pre-
decesscrs. He is something of walk
er, but like everything else, he INDUCES
this with moderation. If he walked
twenty, or even ten,. miles day he
would go down in history as the ped
estrian president, but about three miles
is his average
One of the regulars in the Arlington
presidential stride here. Just wait un-
til the mighty horde of busybodies of
all kinds get after him, day after day,
and night after night. He is an ami
able, kindly man, and these traits will
be his biggest enemies. He will try the
herculean task of being pleasant to all
hands, and this impossibility will drive
him to the pitch of desperation. Then
he will look around for some means to
relieve the pressure on his mind, and
he will find some amusement, and this
amusement will carry him away from
the scene of his worries. Mr.. Cleve-
land was never much of a sportsman
until he became president. Then to get
little mental relief he took to fishing
and then to shooting. He found these
sports splendid foil to the worries of
office, and l will wager something that
inside of six months Mr.. Mckinley will
adopt some form of open-air amuse-
ment."
G. w. FOLLOWED HOUNDS.
AS every one knows George Wash
ington was a great sportsman. His
greatst pleasure was in following the
hounds, mounted on a tip-top hunter.
He was an athlete in his youth and his
love of outdoor life continued to the
day of his death. When he was pres-
dent his chief diversion was horseback
riding. He was fond of dancing, too,
| and regularly attended the assemblies
| in the long room in the City Tavern at
| Alexandria.
Thomas jefferson sought relief from
| the cares of state in his love for music
| He was a clever performer on the vio-
| lin and whiled away many hours saw
| ing away on his beloved fiddle. He
| had a taste for mechanical Inventions
| too, and some of his happiest moments
were those spent in trying to evolve
| some labor-saving device. History
| does not attribute any startling sue
cesses to him in this line. but as his
| mechanical knowledge was the means
| of creating the patent office it was pro-
J ductive of some good.
| President Tyler had a deep and abid-
| ing love for the good American game
| of poker. Surrounded by a few chums
| he spent many pleasant evenings draw
ing to bob-tail flushes, filling against
four aces and hosting tho full houses,
bluffins; on duces, bucking ant9. The
stakes We're invariably small, but his
tory says that he was a bad loser.
Mr.. Tyler was a great swimmer and
| his fancy in this direction once caused
him some worry and considerable en-
| barrassment. The historian of this in
cident says that at this time the whole
city was annoyed by a notorious wo-
man named Ann Royal, who edited an
| offensive papet called Paul Pry. One
balmy day when Mr. Tyler was walk
ing along the banks of the Potomac the
sultry weather tempted him to take a
swim. Small boy fashion he undressed
on the river bank and jumped into the
water, clad a la Adam.
| But when he was about to emerge he
saw a lady sitting on his clothes. II
was Ann Royal, and she told him she
intended to sit there until he would
consent to be interviewed. Standing II
the water up to his neck he threatened
multitude of disasters. but Ann sa
on. Then he became chilled, and finally
had to give in. He gave the interview
Ann departed, and the president of tn,
United States was allowed to dress il
peace.
JACKSON'S GAME COCKS.
Andrew Jackson had a form o
amusement which it would not be wis
| TOT fTeSluenI Mchlnley 10 ADOPT. Olt
Hickory was passionately fond of cocl
/ fighting, and when he left the Hermi
tage to run the nation at Washington
he brought with him two of his fines
| fighting cocks. These he matched
against the gamest roosters in the sur
rounding country, but the Tennessee
article made but a feeble shown!
against the Virginia breed. Presiden
Jackson brought on several other pairs
but his birds invariably met defeat
and in this respect he said that his ad
| ministration was a lamentable failure
| President w. II. Harrison was no
much of an epicure, but he had a grea
fancy for doing the marketing for tn
family. Every morning he would trudg
to the market place with a basket o.
his arm and return an hour later car
. rying forty or fifty pounds of produce
Gen. Grant was fond of fast driving
and he had some notable trotters 4
his stable during his two terms.
the evening he would play Boston wit
: some of his army chums, He care
/ little for riding, and was rarely see
on horseback in Washington.
CONSISTENCY.
| There is always something touching 1