The daily morning journal and courier., 1902-02-12
YOUNG ROOSEVELT BETTER
ANIMPROVEM ENp NOTICED EARLY
 LAST EVENING.
ever-Seems to be Holding His Own Condition of the Lad Hopefully Inn proved According to Secretary Cor telyOu.

Groton, Mass, Feb. 1.-The concen-
 sus of to-day's reports from the sick
 room of Theodore Roosevelt, jr. the
 eldest son of the president, who, since
 Thursday last has been ill with pneu-
 monia at the Groton school infirmary
 tended to show an improvement and at
 s o'clock tonight his condition was authoritatively stated to be better than 1 it was at the same time last night. The
 crisis of the disease is still to come and 1 is looked for within the next twenty four or thirty-six hours The president and his wife both believe their son will ! meet this crisis in good condition and,
 passing it successfully, will recover. In fact the slight favorable turn in the ! disease to-day has greatly relieved the
 strain on both of them. and, the day closed much more cheerfully than yes terday. Still, the reports issued
 through Mir Cortelyou, secretary to the
 president, ran between hope and fear.
 Beginning with the morning when the
 boy, after an admittedly hard night,
 was reported as Improved, although
 pleurisy in the right lung was mention
 ed, this favorable tendency was con
 tinued through the noon statement
 Then, at 2:45 o'clock in the afternoon, it was stated that the boys tempera- ture had risen, that it would probably remain high, and if anything increased a little toward morning, This sombre tone seemed almost to neutralize the mornings encouraging notes. The next report, at 6;30 in the evening, showed that notwithstanding the high temper ature, they boy had more than held his own all day and that his condition was favorable. Hopefulness was increased by an additional and voluntary report on MT. Cortelyou's part at o'clock, that the lad was in better condition than at the same time last night, al though he said there had not been much change during the day-meaning that the favorable condition of the morning had been practically main tained It seemed, therefore as if the result of the day had been to place the boy on a somewhat higher scale toward recovery. All these reports were au- tiuIlldliNt duu, III there WdS a cheery interview with Secretary of the Navy John D. Long, after a hur- ried visit of courtesy to his chief in which he frankly said that the boy was better.
 To confirm this came the presidents sudden appearance little later in the afternoon, at the new sporting dome, a recreation house built by MT. Gardner his own mansion. The pres ident was dressed in a suit of fiannels and seemed ready for some exercise on the new squash court. He did not play, | however, although he remained in the ! sunny building nearly two hours watch ing a game between Mrs. James Law | renee and Rev. Sherard Billings. Anoth- | ar interesting event of the day was the | receipt of telegram from Ambassador | Pauncefote at Washington, conveying | King Edwards expression of sympathy for the president and hope for the speedy recovery of his son. The re- narkable weather contributed not a lit- -le to the cheerfulness of the day, this oeing the sixth consecutive day during which the sun has shone brightly from morning to night, while the air has been always cool but dry and invigorat- ng.