Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-12-20
At THE White HOUSE
Half Holiday for Government
Employees.
SA TU RDAY AT NOON
OFFICES WILL CLOSE UNTIL THE
FOLLOWING TUESDAY.
President Will Attend the Lincoln Din
ner in New York Next
February.

| President Roosevelt and nearly all the
| members of the cabinet have demanded an
explanation of Secretary Hitchcock but he
| refuses to explain. They will insist on the
| Secretary of the Interior saying something
| that will relieve him of the charge of in
| sinuation.
| Secretary Hitchcock was talking to the
| President and the cabinet members today
| about the land fraud cases, and the part
| he has been playing with them. He spoke
| eloquently of the honesty of a man who has
| been identified with these cases. and the
question was asked why the man had never
been elected to office.
| He's too honest to be elected to Office
asserted Secretary Hitchcock. Secretary
Hay, Secretary Morton and Postmaster
General Wynne, who have never been elect
ed to office, nodded approval but as Secre-
! tary Hitchcock looked around he met the
| reproving eyes of the President and the
| amazed expressions of Attorney General
| Moody, Secretary Wilson, Secretary Taft
| Secretary Metcalf and Secretary Shaw, all
| of whom had at some time or other been
| elected to office.
| Secretary Hitchcock started to explain,
| but he was informed that the explanation
| would have to be a clear one to be received
properly. He was reminded that In france
| he might get a challenge for such a re-
| mark He stopped explaining and took
| refuge in silence. Before the cabinet meet
| ing was concluded however, he had re-esta b.
| lished himself in the friendly graces OF his
colleagues as was shown by the fact that
4 he rode away with Attorney General Moody.
| All the cabinet members said that there
| was little business transacted at the meet
| ing.
A Saturday Half Holiday.
1t was decided by the President and cabi-
| net that the government departments shall
be closed Saturday at noon, thus giving
| the employees a half holiday on Christmas
eve. The departments will also be closed
next Monday during the entire day.
| Not word was said as to story that
| has been in circulation of the intention of
! the cabinet to change the working hours OF
| the departments from O'Clock In the morn
| ing until ) O. clock In the afternoon. Many
clerks have seriously taken alarm at .ns s
prospect of an increase In work hours and
| the gossip has beer: handed around SO treely
| that it was declared to have basis. CABINET
| officers today said that they nave never
heard of any such proposition ana that II
had never been given conslderation AT
| cabinet session. Attorney General MOODY
has been reported to have had the matter
before him for a legal Interpretation OF LIE
laws governing employment, but ne laugh
ed and said there was no truth in the Story.
Tom Reeds Old Friend.
lanes w. Buck of Portland, Me, seventy
sve wears old, and declaring that he ex-
meets to live to be one hundred or more.
Maid his respects to the President today,
having been presented by Representative
Allen of Maine. Mr.. Buck knew Tom Reed
when the latter was a boy in college, and
they were always warm friends. Aside
! from his own personality, the most inter-
esting thing Mr.. Buck showed the Pres
jdent was a large Swiss watch, the only
one of its kind in this country now, that
weighs one pound and nine ounces. 1t not
only records the hours, minutes and sec
onds, but the month of the year, date OF
| the month and day of the week. 1t IKE
wise presents the phases OF the moon
strictly according to the evolutions OF that
luminary =
wears" said Mr.. Buck, land 1 am sorry 1
| bothered with that one. The fact Is that
don't take much medicine.
"Then how do you account for your
| splendid health and your prospect OF living
twenty-five years longer?
We'll, if you want to know will tell
| you what makes me so healthy and get
along so well. / buy one pound of EPSON
salts and add to this five tablespoonfuls
of sulphur and the juice of four large
lemons dissolving the sulphur and salts
! in the juice. Then l pour in about a quart
| of distilled water or any other KIND OF
water l put this away in bottle, and
when I feel a little poorly l take some
| for a few days"
| mo whisky or tobacco, then?"
| Il never smoked OF -CHcWtu Ill lily iIC.
and I have taken mighty little whisky.
] never danced, never played foot ball or
base ball, and if you catch me at any OF
| these games just run me off, won't your
You must have had some vices? sug-
gested Representative Allen, whose long
experience in politics and Congress has
| taught him that human nature is pretty
frail affair.
But Mr. Buck went on to ignore the
question and told about walking to the
| top of Mt Washington alone year ago
last summer.
| Nobody ever tried to go up there alone
before" he said, land I'll never try It
again. By the time 1 got up near the top
| 1t grew dark and didn't know what would
| shortly ran into the lights from the hotel.
| Next day / walked back to the bottom
Lincoln Dinner in New York.
President Roosevelt told William D. Muir
ply of New York today that he would ac-
| cept the invitation extended to him to at
! tend the Lincoln dinner of the Republican
| Club of New Yorlpon the 18th of February.
| The arrangements for the trip will be made
| later.
Senator Spooner presented Mr.. and Mrs.
NJ P. Rindlaub of Plattsville, Wis. Mr..
Rindlaub is the Oldest newspaper man in
Wisconsin.
Representative Rodenberg of Illinois pre-
sented Mrs. Marcellus Coke of Philadel-
| phia. Senator Long of Kansas and Repre-
sentative SOOper OI w lScOuSlH also present.
| ed friends. Mr.. and Mrs. Hugh Gordon
| Miller of Virginia were received by the
President.
The efforts in behalf of Representative
Vesparsian Warner Of Illinois for commits
| sioner of pensions were renewed today,
| when Representative Biedler of Ohio pre-
sented to the President the earnest desire
of the Ohio delegation that Mr.. Warner
| be given the place The President made the
same answer as to other callers-that he
| had offered the position to Major William
Warner of Missouri and hoped he would ac-