The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-08-20
"OPEN DOOR" POLICY PREVAILS
 AT PRESIDENTS SUMMER HOME
yrsrr HAVE SYCAMORE HIL-oNLY THE MOvING.-EvERY FOLKS GERS rROUDER OF

reconcile the dignity and safety of the
 President with the delight of weeks
 cruise on the sound in a small boat
 where a man Is his own skipper, crew and cook. He has substituted for this 6 days camping out in some secluded spot on one of the bold wooded head lands that run out into the Sound and make SO much of the beauty of the north shore of the Island. The spot selected for this annual excursion. the delight of the Roosevelt boys and their cousins. whose home adjoins Sagamore Hill, Is a carefully guarded secret into which even the secret service men are not admitted. Some time in the after noon the rowboats are loaded with pro- visions and the party rows quietly off across the Bay, the President himself at the oars They return the next morn- ing, happy but not communicative as to where they have been.
 After all, the "strenuous life" Of which President Roosevelt is the fore
 most exponent Is combined at Sagamore Hill with the simple life" Anyone who knows the President does not need i to be told that he is always busy. but l he goes about his pleasure in the same direct, unostentatious manner in which l he transacts the business of being President. Ills return from some one of the many trips which he Is con- | tinually called upon to make Is much | like that of the ordinary commuter re- | turning to Oyster Bay after his days | business. A few people gather at the
 station to watch the special train of | two cars as 1t swings around the curve and draws up at the station. The | President jumps off the rear platform l of Car No. 2000" followed by the other
 members of his party, group of news paper men tumble out of the forward
 car, perhaps a diplomat or two, whose
 visit to Oyster Bay is of course "en- tirely without significance" steps for
 ward from the watching crowd, shakes | hands with the President, and the I whole party climbs into the waiting carriages. The President raises his
 hat to the spectators and disappears
 around the corner on his way home, the
 crowd disperses. the newspaper men
 walk off together and the incident is
 over. There are no guards visible. no police, no regulations"
 In his leisure time there is the same
 simplicity. In spite of his love of out
 door life the President is an inveterate reader Much of the time that Is not
 devoted to business is spent on the
 broad varanda that almost encircles the house.
 From here one sees. over the trees that hide the place from the road Long
 Island Sound with the hills of Connect
 icut off in the distance. Tn the fore ground Is the harbor with It's yachts
 and the shore drive lined with the
 houses of old Long Island families who, like the Roosevelts, have been known
 in Oyster Bay for generations. Fond
 as the President is of this piazza, this year he has made alterations in the fn-
 terrior of the house to facilitate his literary pursuits A one-story brick addition, containing one room 42x3S feet, has been added to one side of the
 house. and in this Mir Roosevelt has
 stored his books and the antlers. skins and other trophies of his excursions
 into the wilds. The building is damp proof and is connected with the rest of the house by one passage only. It is both a safe store house for all his literary and sporting treasures and an | ideal place In which to continue the | students life the President was com pelled to relegate to second place when | he plunged into the political whirlpool. Tn fact 1t would be hard to find home more suited to President Roose- welt than Sagamore Hill or a better place to retire to when a mans work is done and he feels that he has earn ed the right to enjoy himself. Inland the rolling hills, the woods and fields call to the horseman to take his daily gallon: to the north stretch sheltered
 waters. deep enough for craft of any size and tempting to anyone who has ever known the charm of the sea- Around the house the quiet and peace of the country reign supreme and the only reminder that the city of New York Is a little more than an hour away
 is a glimpse of the railroad track across the bay.