The National tribune., 1906-04-05

on one string. The other day DR..
Graham Bell demonstrated that his
tetrahedral kite makes splendid wire
less telegraph tower" The kites were
sent up to height Of 1000 feet, carry
ing a steel wire, to which was attached
400 feet Of antenna Wire At the ground
a man held one Of the, wires and the
hand OF another man. and that man
held the receiver. The operator at the
receiver thus got through the kite and
these two men q message from New
York City Of over 500 words in shape
of letter. The experiment was tried
over in Virginia across the river from
Washington. ii
Some very small, business was in
dulged In by the House over the salary
which Is paid to Miss Belle Hagner,
the social secretary of Mrs. Roosevelt.
While there have been "sociaP assist
ants at the White House for a good
many years. 1t was not un.u a year
ago, when the Roosevelts came In. that
the social secretary" was paid out of
the sum appropriated for the main
tenance OF the White House and its
official staff. Miss Hagner gets some
thing like s1,400, and goodness knows
that is little enough for tho work she
does. Why. that sum viii not keep her
in presentable dresses for the society
functions at the White House. and Miss
Hagner is not q dresser by any
means. although she is always stylish
and pretty. Such an assistant is an
actual necessity 60 the wife of the
President. She is in no sense OF the
word maid" She Is to the wife of
the President exactly what the Secre-
tary to the President is to him. She
is a buffer" between Mrs. Roosevelt
.l,4 l.
people who would annoy Mrs. Roose-
welt with business matters. she opens
and sorts Mrs. Roosevelts mail-and
you would be surprised to know that
bushels Of letters addressed Mrs.
Roosevelt never reach her-she looks
after society details. such as the mat
ter of engagements for dinners, ban
quets, theater parties. drives, lunch
cons, music, and all that. Such a wo-
man has to be especially gifted. for
she must have consummate tact, gentle
manners, and she must be bright and
quick. The office is no sinecure, and
Miss Hagner earns all that she gets
and a good deal more. yet there was a
disposition in the House TO cut the sal
ary out.
The House Committee on Military
Affairs authorized favorable report
on bill authorizing the Secretary of
War to accept for the Government q
tract OF land near Greenviile, Tenn.
where lie the remains of Andrew john
son. late President of the United States
and establish the same as a National
Cemetery of the fourth class.
There is talk now OF making the
public Printer Cabinet officer. That
may be all right as a political necessi-
ty, but unless he is always a bachelor
and one or two of the other members
Of the Cabinet do not have wives as l.
now the case. there is going to be trou-
hie in the Blue Room. The receiving
line is about three yards too long now
For the Blue Room. the line reachinc
from entering to retiring door, and the
adde's pretty well crowded in, and Sec
retary Wilson andss Attornsy-G
Moody have no wives in the line. If
another member is added and all bring
their wives into the receiving line, It
will lop over into thei Green Parlor
IT may be that Mrs. Roosevelt will exc
"ute her long-thought-of plans OF cut
ting the Cabinet women out of the re-
"eiving line, as She thinks that the
President and herself are the attrac-
ton anyhow, and that is probably true
Most of the Cabinet women would not
mind being cut out Of that line. for of
all the deadly bores to stand for three
mortal hours and smile and smirk at
5000 people of whom you know about
50 we'll enough to call by name is the
deadiiest. sf
If the Public Printer Is added that
will make 10 Cabinet officers. From
1889 to 1898 the Secretaries of State
Treasury and War, the Attorney-Gen-
eral and Postmaster-General comprised
the Cabinet, with the President. The
Secretary of the Navy was added
May 81, 1898. Secretary of the Interior
was added March s. 1849. Secretary
Of Agriculture was added Feb. 13, 1889.
The Secretary of Commerce and Labor
was added Feb. 16, 1908. This make
but four new Portfolios in the Cabinet
in a little over 100 years. OF course,
the wife of the Vice President Is in the
receiving line. The new Cabinet men,
Der would be known as the Secretary
of Printing and Publishing" or by
some similar title. 1t should have as
Bureaus the Government Printing Of
fees in the Philippines and Porto Rico,
the Bureau of Engraving and Printing,
the printery at the Weather Bureau
and those at it's several meteorological
stations in the big cities. the printing
offices in the post offices at the great
commercial centers, and, in fact, all
the establishments where public print
ing is done. The most important bu-
reau or branch OF the proposed Execu-
tive Department would be that which
would have charge Of the preparation.
OF the great mass of Government pub
iications issued by the other Depart
ments. The publication bureau would.
in fact, be a great editorial department
where much of the useless matter now
prirted would be eliminated by the
Government editors with their blue
pencils. In addition, all matter in
tended for publication could be pre-
pared by these official editors accord
ing to an established style. so that
there would be a marked similarity IN
the style of such publications. One of
the very strongest arguments in favor
of the new Portfolio is that 1. will
work immense saving to the Govern
ment in the printing. The waste now is
simply sinful.
A peculiarly unpleasant condition of
affairs I'm Kentucky is revealed by the
visit here of delegation of comrades
from that State. Among these are
Floyd Ogden, of Louisville, KY, who
was Captain in the J44th Ind, and
l.. NJ. Drye, who was Major of the 9Th
Ky. Cav. and lives at Lebanon. XIV
Another comrade Is Gen. William e.
Woodruff OF the Marion Rifles. a mill
tia company that was OF the utmost
Importance In the early troublous days
when 1t was undecided with which side
Kentucky would throw her lot and the
fate of Louisville was particularly
doubtful. The Marion Rifles were made
up OF Union men. and they took de-
cided stand In oDposIti0n to the State