The National tribune., 1907-06-27
he recent revolutionary attack on Aca-

Julia.
President Roosevelts letter to Sec
retary raft l.. which ~ .eT=ii5ii5=Irtt I,,,i1
occasion to say that some of the field
officers Of the Army could not ride
hoI~ ebaCk as well as they should. has
resulted in an order being issued from
"a department headquarters III which
the Presidents suggestion was needed.
Brighten. T.. S. Godfrey. of the De-
par.ment of the Missouri. recently is
sued an order providing that Post Com
manders should require field officers OF
the line to participate In all practice
marches. encampments. and field cxcr-
ciStS of the organization with which
theT are serving. and all absences from
these exercises must be accounted for
by an explanation.
rs the wife OF the Secretary of War.
Mrs. Root. started several reforms in
social procedure in Washington, and
though they failed of recognition at
first. one by one Mrs. Roosevelt and her
social aids have adopted them. She
is working along other lines. and Of
her colleagues has said: IF Mrs. Root
remains with us long enough she will
reform the social code as completely
as her husband h the diplomatic aud
consular service"
Just now Mrs. Root is trying 10 have
what is locally known as the receiving
line at the official receptions at the
White House relegated to things obso-
let". Last Winter when Mrs. Roose-
welt and the women of the Cabinet
homes met on Tuesday mornings. this
absorbing question was discussed and
Mrs. Root presented her argument with
| eloauence worthy of a greater cause.
The burning question was: Shall the
President and Mrs. Roosevelt stand
at t,n Af a n nm
or shall the line of Cabinet women bc
cohtinucd?"
I'VE may believe people are inter-
ested in the other women in this line,
said Mrs. Root. land 1t is more graft
fying to pride to think that some want
to know us by sight. but the fact re-
mains that the great majority of peo-
pie who come to the White House want
to see the President and Mrs. Roose-
welt, and the rest Of us are mere obSta-
cles to get clear of as quickly as possi-
BILE Now, it seems to me that the
women of the Cabinet would be more
pleasantly and proftably employed in
other parts of the drawing rooms,
where they could chat with friends and
aid in making strangers feel at home.
Many strangers spend hours hunting
members of Congress or getting cards
of admittance in the hope of seeing so
and-so, and then imagine their disap-
pontmcnt. They were rushed through
the Blue Room. after grasping the hand
of the President and getting a smile
from Mrs Roosevelt; they fail to see
Now, were the Chief Executive to stand
with his wife the scene would be more
| impressive. and much embarrassment
would be saved. f'.-'
Then the Cabinet officials and their
wives could together greet their own
pa rticular friends. and some of the dis
NAL Formally would be eliminated
Kansas and Secretary Wilson arc
having another tilt. or rather. Kansas
is poking fun at the Secretary of Agri-
culture. 1t will be remembered that
Secretary Wilson once upon n time in
a moment of mental alteration. so to
speak. referred to Kansas as In the
| arid region" Now, you know a Kan
sar will not stand any reference to
"drouthy Kansas" in this day and age.
Once the heart Of the Great American
Desert" il is now the center of the
"Rose Garden of the World" to let a
Kausan tell it. Very shortly after his
"urid" break Secretary Wilson went on
| a speaking tour through Kansas. II
was the very wettest time the State cvcf
Experienced. The rivers "riz," whole
towns were washed away. and in To-
peka. the capital of the State, 1t was
possible to ride around in row boats
exactly as once was the case on Penn.
sylvania avenue, here. Secretary OF
Agriculture Coburn. who is statisti-
tcian from "FiggervIle." and who had
gone after the Secretary Of Agriculture
for the remark about Kansas. put the
newspaper cartoonists ION" and they
pictured Secretary Wilson as going
about in rubber boots. in steam
launches. and row boats in sections OF
Kansas 100 miles removed from any
thing larger than a run" The Sccre-
tary felt pretty sore before he got out
of the arid region and it was a long
| time before they let up on him.