Evening journal., 1907-10-08
Drank at Table.

Drank at Table.
Andrew Jackson, according to Mrs.
Throckmorton, whose son was in the
regular army during the civil war and
as such fought against his father in
the Confederate army in the battle of
the Wilderness, invariably drank at
table and always proposed a toast to
the women.
Mrs. Throckmorton spent the last
winter of the Jackson administration
as a guest at the White House. The
old woman, who died only a few years
ago, devoted the greater part of her
conversation during the latter part of
her life in repelling ISLANDERS, as she
called them, uttered against the friend
of her girlhood days.
Until Theodore Roosevelt became
President the White House had a wine
cellar and a dark room in the attic
set aside as a store room for liquors.
He did away with them both. The cell
lar is now used for machinery and the
attic room is part of the quarters for
the servants.
But he devoted them to other uses,
simply because he needed the room for
larger than the average President has
had, required more accommodation.
President Roosevelt has made the uni
que record of serving beer to a large
company in the White House
When Prince Henry of Prussia was
in the city a few years ago the Presi-
dent had a feast for him in which
casks of beer were the chief ornamental
afa 10 Il
not hold the equipment needed to serve
the beer, so the President asked local
saloonkeeper to send up ten or fifteen
dozen stems. When Prince Henry
drained his on the bottom of the stein
was disclosed these words, "Stolen
from Ernst Gerstenberg."
Stems Marked "stolen."
The thrifty Gerstenberg had paid
such heavy tribute to his stein-collect-
ing patrons that he undertook to stop
the thieving by having the legend
blown in the bottoms. President Roose-
welt at first was inclined to pummel
Gerstenberg but the legend added so
much to the gayety of the party that
instead of saying sarcastic things TO
the saloon-keeper, he thanked him for
his unconscious contribution to the fun
of the evening.
The President is a good hand at
tests of that kind but ordinarily he
is a very temperate man. At the cele-
brated Uncle Joe Cannon birthday
party, where there were strenuous
doings at the refreshment tables, the
President did his full share toward
making the evening a pleasant one for
the Speaker and those who came to
wish him many other birthdays.
The Presidents views on the ques-
tion Of drinking evidently are those of
WELL bred and self-controlled men
everywhere-namely that it is in the
abuse of liquor that the harm lies, Just
as it is in eating.
Alphonso Taft, father Of the Secre-
tay of Peace who was Secretary of
War and Attorney General in Hayes's
Cabinet, groaned every time he re-
ceived an invitation to a White House
dinner. President Hayes provided for
his guests only the richest food and
in the greatest abundance. In fact,
the White House has never since known
the intemperance shown in food that
the Hayes regime exhibited.
The elder Taft, an austere man, who
did not look as If he cared much for
the luXuries of the table, used to as
sert that it was positively dangerous
to eat a Hayes dinner because nothing
was provided in the way of alcoholic
drinks to aid the digestive organs.
1t was during the Hayes Admins
tration that heavy drinking among
public men came to a climax. Matt
Carpenter, Allan G. Thurman, George
r. Edmunds and Rag Baby" Jones
set the fashion in drinking then not
one or two high balls during a meal,
but whole quarts of high-proof whis-
key and fiery brandy
After he retired from the Senate
Humans habit was to go to his
favorite drinking place every day at
least once and sometimes three and
four times to get his nip" That nip"
was water glass, full TO the brim,
of whiskey. Since that time the size
of drinks has decreased and the inter-
wales between them have heightened.
William M. Stewart. Senator from
Nevada until a few years ago and now
an octogenarian still hale and able to
practice law with the youngest men,
was about the last of the heavy drink
ers among public men.
Grover Cleveland. thanks TO the ac-
tivity of his enemies, acquired a repu-
tation as a tippler. There is no ques-
tion about the only living ex-Presi-
dents appreciation of fine liquor, but
he could not get into the class of the
old timers mentioned even for an hour.
Bottle for Friends.
General Grant had fully as keen an
appreciation. He had wine on the
table at dinners, that is, those that were
not wholly family affairs, and he had
bottle for friends who came to see
him. Stories about his drinking were
carried to Lincoln. According to We
racious chroniclers of time, Lincoln,
who never drank anything, made care
ful inquiries as to the brand OF liquor
that pleased the palate of Grant so
that he might send some of it to other
Federal Generals
Whether that is a true story or not.
the fact is that Grant tried to do a
kindness for Hayes, his successor in
office. which did not bring thanks from
the cold-water Presidents wife. Grant
left hts VYfuae in fha XKrIffa TTouco NTH