The National tribune., 1907-10-03


gan" is the way a popular tale runs
and it is applicable 10 the President. HI
reached Washington from oyster Bay
on Wednesday night last week, and pu
in a strenuous four days of shaking
hands on one side, while he signed off.
cial documents on the other and die
tated to a stenographer in front of him
and then he tore off again This time
to float down the muddy Mississippi
and possibly TO hunt wild things in the
canebrake of the Mississippi's mouth
The President looks well. He is bronZed
and seems full of eXuberant life. Wher
he went to Sycamore Hill he was pasty
of color, nervous of demeanor. and look
ed like a man who had lived up his
energies to the last frazzle. He needed
the rest, and he got it-not the rest o!
inaction, but the rest that comes from
change of work His brain got a little
rest, and his muscles got a whole lot OF
hard work. So things got evened VI
somewhat. The President will enjoy
his play spell on the great river, and
will come back to Washington ready tC
grapple with any old octopus that may
be flung in his front yard.
Mrs. Roosevelt, brown as a berry
and Miss Ethel, a shade less berry-col-
ored, accompanied the President home
Mrs. Roosevelt, whose health is also
much improved by her Summer of COM
paraTive quiet, will proceed to get her
self and her wardrobe in order for the
Winters campaign, and Miss Ethel will
re-enter school for a few weeks, later
to emerge as a White House bud. Miss
Ethel is not athletic. She is like her
mother, with nothing of her strenuous
father in her makeup. She does not
care for tennis, tho she plays a fair
game; she can play golf, but does not
i+ e-I1o i- Aa,-T'A l.
at a game of ball or football, but her
blood stfrs not a whit the quicker for
it. She does love horseback riding. but
does not indulge in that any too much,
and she does not go crazy over auto
mobiling, tho she enjoys a good horse
race. She likes a good book in a quiet
nook, and is credited with liking to sew.
Now, if she just sets the fashion for
young women to darn their stockings.
mend the rents in their gloves, and put
on buttons, what blessing she will be
to the present-day race of young wo-
men. Miss Ethel cares even less for
clothes than her mother. whom she
resembles in form and face. 1t is a
wel.-known fact that Mrs Roosevelt
does not care for clothes, and Miss Alice
cared about as little None of the
Roosevelt women have the air" of the
We're de We're in clothes, not one of
them. They buy good clothes. follow
the fashion implicitly, and let it go at
that.
Excepting young Quentin, none of
the Presidents children take after
their distinguished father in energy.
Kermit, for instance. got all that he
wanted of roughing it before half the
cavalry trip to Chicago and Fcrt Sheri-
dan was completed, and tho lie went
then on hunting trip he only remained
a few days. He'd a heap rather sail in
his little boat, row or read than tear
round the country in athletic sport.
and Theodore is a good deal the same
way. But, bless you. look out for that
10-year-old Quentin, the idol of his
fathers heart The youngster had two
pet snakes at Oyster Bay, and as they
would get loose in the house he was in
constant hot water with the maids, his
mother and sister. He brought the
snakes home to the White House with
him, but his father told his son that
the creepers must be taken to Schmidt !;
for the WiGter. Schmidt is the bird.
bug, snake man of Washington, and
you can buy anything from a humming
bird to a boa constructor to eat it from
him. Quentin put on his roller skates,
and chased himself up to Schmidt's with
his snakes in his pockets to obey the
Presidents orders, but when he got to
Schmidt's that gentleman had four per-
fectly lovely snakes, three little ones
ard big king snake, which simply fas-
cihated Quentin. so Schmidt loaned
them to Quentin for the day. Back to
the White House he skared with the
king snake wrapped around one arm
and the other three in paper bag.
The President was in the Cabinet
room talking to the Attorney General
ibout several important matters, and in
1 room adjoining Secretaries, Represen-
tatives and Senator'S were waiting for
an audience. Quentin has no regard for
people or place or power. He dashed
INTO the midst, untwisted the king snake.
and tossed it, wriggiing, on the Cabinet
able, and eagerly whispered in his faith
sr's ear The President laughed. Ouen-
in picked up his snakeship, dived into
his pocket for the bag of snakes. and
precipitatod himself into the midst of
.he group in the ante-room. Have you
ever said "M-I-C-E,' to a room full of
women 1t would hardly be correct TO
ell Just how those distinguished gentle
men scurried for high places when
quentin swung the wriggler at them
but they did, they certainly did, and
Representative Hepburn of Iowa. would
nave liked a pair of tongs to help ex-
tricate one of those snakes from the
sleeve of Quentin's coat into which il
crept but he manfully took his fingers
20 his snakeship, and yanked him out
by the tail. Then Quentin. having had
his fun, dashed off to terrify his sister
Ethel. Oh, he's all boy, he is, ana then
some.
DR. r. NJ O'Reilly, Surgeon-Generai
of the Array, reports 12.071 admissions
To the sick wards in the last year. OF
the boys who wear the Khaki and the
blue, 35S died in the year, OF which
number q were killed in action and
five died from wounds. The death rate
from disease was the lowest since the
occupation of tropical countries.
With the abolition of the canteen the
Surgeon-General reports that the rate
Of admission for alcoholism of 81 in
every 1000 was in excess of the CORE
spending rate for the preceding year.
The death rate for this cause was only
one-third as great, however In COM
menting at some length on the subject
ef alcoholism, the Surgeon-General
saSs This Office concurs in the opin-
ION expressed by most medical officers
Oh the Army, that the abolition of the
saie OF peer in post exchanges has much
TO 90 with the increase in venereal dis
ana alcoholism in the Army, by
drlvlns the soldiers to disreputabie re-
sorts outside of the post and beyond the
control OF post authorities
Soldiers were ready for dutv moro
regularly in Alaska than any Other