The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1902-01-21
Ten Presidents of one Mind.

Washington. D. C: OF all the employees
Of the White House. the Oldest is Captain
Pendel chief doorkeeper and usher. He
was appointed by President Lincoln in
December 1854. and has held his place
through all the administrations since
the civil war. For more than a genera
ton. therefore, he has been showing Wis
itors into the East room, nearly two
million persons in all
one day 1Ir. Mckinley advised Pendel
10 write his "reminiscences The chief
usher acted upon the suggestion, and
volume setting forth his experiences dur
ing thirty-seven years OF service IN the
White House, has just been issued. In
its pages the author tells how il was he
VINO went 70 Boston and posed for the
figure OF Lincoln in the famous Hunt
portrait OF the great and good president,
and how the portrait was later destroyed
in the great Boston fire. Pendel it was
who accompanied Johnson on one OF the
rare occasions on which that president
attended services at the Methods church.
for, while Johnson was a Christian be-
lever, he was not a regular church mem
Der. Then il was the chief usher who,
through Grants two terms in Office. often
protected the president from the wiles
Of unworthy ofice-seekers who resOrted
10 al sorts of tricks 70 get the ear of
The general. Again he ate Thanksgiving
dinner with Hayes-the only president
who had ever invited the employees Of
the White House to share with him the
Thanksgiving turkey. When Garfield was
shot. the usher helped carry the wounded
president up stairs when the latter
reached the White House. President Ar
thur liked 6 certain modest brand OF
cigars. and II was Pendel who was com
Unissioned 10 stop at a little Pennsylvania
avenue shop and buy a smoke for the
T.re-~ -r.arr II
was who packed the duck-shooting kits
for Cleveland. He was reader-ln-ordi-
nary 10 Harrison. keeping the president
posted daily on events as summed up in
the newspapers President Mckinley
was his friend. And finally the chief
usher was the first employe Of the White
House TO grasp the hand of Theodore
Roosevelt a. president Of the United
States.
Among the usher's interesting collection
of tales ont Of school. is one citing sin
gular coincidence in which ali the ten
presidents whose habits he knew so well.
were Of one mind. This Is q story OF the
one thing besides soap and water. which
all the presidents used IN common. It
was little thing-but It is just such
trifles that impress upon us the fact that
great men are human. 1t was a toilet
article. There always have been many
rivals OF this particular article. bat curl
ously enough. all the presidents from
Lincoln 70 Roosevelt have had an identi-
cal idea concerning the brand of their
choice The presidents OF thirty years
ago and their successors used it. as did
all persons Of refinement in their time
Reference Is made to Dr. Lyon Perfect
Tooth Powder Today. as though the habit
were presidentally Inherited. one Of the
familiar blue euaueled boxes containing
the powder. stands beside every tooth
brush in the bed chambers of the Roose-
welt family As the package is metal
10 VIII not break, and as IL has a patent
telescope measuring tube. il is always
corkel and IS, therefore. a convenience
in toilet bags Of travellers as well as
q lusury in the boudoirs Of stay-at-horne
General Grant carried IL with him on
his tour round the world.-From New
York Press