The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-06-19
Nominee Expresses Himself In
 Very Few Words
THE NEWS AT WASHINGTON
Secretary Taft and His Family, With Number of Friends, Receive Bull letins and Result Gives All
 Joy and Happiness.

Washington, June 1S.-"Words do not find themselves at a time like this. l do not deny that I am very happy
 This was the response of Secretary VII liam H. Taft to a request for an express sion of his views on his nomination for the presidency. The sentences did not come easily Throughout the afternoon preceding the announcement of his nonin- ation the secretary had been laboring un- der suppressed nervous tension. The at mosphere of the offices was electric with excitement. Notwithstanding the great personal interest that he had Tn the pro- ceedings at Chicago, a thousand miles away, Secretary Taft did not permit poli- tics to interfere for a moment with his transaction of official business as secre- tary of war in the intermissions of the receipts of bulletins from the convention, the secretary disposed of several impor- tsnt departmental questions, and when his nomination for the presidency was announced his desk practically was clear ed of important official business. Through out the afternoon the private office of Secretary Taft and the office of his pri- vate secretary MT. Frederick Carpenter, were thronged with members of his family end intimate friends and newspaper men.
 Mrs. Taft on Hand.
 Shortly before i2 o'clock Mrs. Taft ar rived at the war department. She scanned carefully the bulletins which had beer received from the convention and distinct ly manifested her pleasure at the result of the action of the convention regarding the platform She Is a close and aecur- ate observer of things political and Is one of the best advisers the secretary has had throughout the preliminary campaign for the presidential nomination. Mrs Taft remained in the secretary's private office throughout the afternoon. She was attired in a becoming suit of pure white and wore big picture hat of pea green straw adorned with seal brown and pale green ostrich plumes. Accompanying her was the young son of the secretary and Mrs. Taft-little Charlie-whose special function it was to carry the bulletins re- ceived from the convention from the tele-
  He was the busiest person in the war de- partment It was to Mrs. Taft ordinarily that he presented the bulletins rather than to Secretary Taft, and he listened while his mother read them to the secretary and the assembled guests.
 Shortly after four o'clock before the nominating speeches of the presidential
 l,oI concluded Miss Helen Heron Taft, the secretarys daugh- ter, joined the group in MT, Tafts pri' vate office The secretary laughingly eN- plained that she probably would have been sooner if she had not been too nervous to withstand the strain. Miss Taft was inclined to resent this comment but it was apparent that she was in feoted with nerves" as were all others in the office.
 Taft's Announcement.
 lust before the beginning of the ballotng Secretary Taft announce that he had reached an agreement wlth Monsignor Aversa the Apostolic dele- gate to Cuba, providing for the pur- chase of all the Catholic church belong ings by the government in Santiago province.
 Governor General Wood practically reached an agreement several years ago for the purchase of the holdings for so35.OOO. This agreement was ap- proved by the then Palma government. The matter has been hanging fire since that time. The agreement reached to- day between Secretary Taft and Mon- signor Aversa needs only the approval of President Roosevelt to make 1t binding. It Is likely that the President will approve the document tomorrow. It provides for the purchase of the lands at a cost of s360O00 and will finally settle a matter that has been pending between this government and the Vatican for several years.
 Taft Browns.
 One of the bulletins received from the convention indicated that a speak . CT while nominating candidate, had been greeted with jeers. When Secre- tary Taft read 1t he, frowned. T am compassionate" said he, looking out of a window of his office, toward any one who goes through nominating, experience in a convention" Secretary Taft had arranged to visit the war college with Secretary Root at o'clock, but at the last moment he naturally concluded to wait the result of the balloting which was about to be taken in Chicago. By this time the situation in Secretary Taft's office had become tense. The door between thu secretary's private office and Secre tary Carpenters office was thrown wide open. In the former stood Secre- tary Taft, surrounded by members of his family and personal and political friends. In the outer room with Sec D, ,fnt~ xua h- ington correspondents, each handing or every word that came from the tele- graph instrument
 Much Excitement
 As the balloting began in the con vention the atmosphere in the two rooms seemed to be charged with ex- c,tement. Something was wrong with the official dispatches. The first an nouncement was that Massa chusetts
 
 frnNTUNuTEn nN DAGm