Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1908-06-19
Receives Bullttins Sur
rounded by Family and Friends.
WORKS UNDER NERVOUS TENSION
ae says Words DO Not Fina Them
selves at q Time Like This
Mrs. Taft is De-
lighted.

easily. Throughout the afternoon preced-
ing the announcement Of his nomination the
secretary had been laboring under sup
pressed nervous tension The atmosphere
OF his office was electric with excitement
Notwithstanding the great personal inter-
est which he had in the proceedings at
Chicago. LOO miles away. Secretary TAFT
did not permit politics 10 interfere for q
moment with his transaction Of official
business as secretary Of war. In the In
termissions OF the receipt Of bulletins
from the convention. the secretary dis
posed Of several important departmental
questions and when his nomination for
the presidency was announced his desk was
practically. cleared Of important official
business.
Throughout the afternoon the office Of
Secretary Taft and the office OF his private
secretary. Mr.. Frederick Carpenter. were
thronged with members Of his family, In
innate personal and official friends and
newspaper men
Mrs. Taft scans Bulletins.
shortly before Y o'clock. Mrs Taft ar
rived at the War department she scanned
carefully the bulletins which had been re-
ceived from the convention and distinctly
manifestedi her pleasure at the result Of
the action Of the convention regarding the
platform She isa close and accurate OBJ
server Of things politically 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
private office throughout the afternoon
she was attired in a becoming suit Of pure
white and wore a big picture hat Of pea
green straw adorned with seal brown and
pale green ostrich piumes- Accompanying
her was the young son Of the secretary
and Mrs. Taft. little Charlie whose spe-
cial function 1t was to carry the bulletins
received from the convention from the tele-
eraph operator to the seoretary's desk He
was the busiest person In the War depart
meni. While awaiting the coming Of the
bulletins he stood at the desk OF the tele-
grarh operator listening anxisusly TO the
fateful ticking Of the instrument. He wore
a suit OF khaki knickerbockers. with blue
and white stripped waist. AS each bulletin
came from the operators typewriter he
scanned II quickly and rushed with Il into
his fathers office. II was TO Mrs Taft
ordinarily. that he presented the bulletins
rather than TO Secretary Taft and he lis
tened while his mother read the bulletins
TO the sscretary's assembled guests.
shortly after o'clock Miss Helen Heron
Taft the secretary's daughter, Joined the
group in NIr. Tafts private office. The
secretary laughingly explained that she
probably would have been there sooner II
she had not been too nervous TO Withstand
the strain. Miss Taft was inclined to re-
sent this comment, but It was apparent
that she was infected with nerves, as
we're all others IN the office.
Important Business Transacted.
Just before he beginning OF the ball
loting began Secretary Taft announced
that he had reached an agreement with
Monsignor Aversa the apostolic delegate
| to Cuba, providing for the purchase Of all
the Catholic church holdings BY the gov
ernment in Santiago province Governor
General Wood practically reached an
agreement several years ago for the pur-
chase Of the holdings for 35S5.0Oo. This
agreement was approved by the then
Palma government. The matter has been
/ hanging fire since that time. The agree
ment reached today between Secretary
Taft and Monsignor Averss needs only
the approval Of President Roosevelt TO
make II binding. II is likely that the
president will approve the agreement to-
morrow. II provides for the purchase OF
the lands at a cost OF S3so,0oo and will
finally settle a matter that has been pend
]
/ ican for several years.
/ One of the bulletins received from the
convention indicated that a speaker while
nominating a candidate had been greeted
with jeers- When Secretary Taft read II
/ he frowned Il am compassionate" said
! he looking out Of a window OF his office,
toward anyone who goes through nom
mating experience in convention
The remark OF the secretary wss a side
I light on the man He knew what IL mean:
TO pass through so grave an experience as
a campaign for a presidential nomination
Secretary Taft had arranged 10 visit the
war college with Secretary Root al
o'clock. but at the last moment he naturally
concluded TO wait the result Of the ballot
which was about TO be taken in Chicago
By this time the situation in the seere-
1 tary's office had become tense. The door
between the secretary's private office and
Secretary Carpenters office was thrown
wide. In the former stood Secretary TAFT
surrounded by members Of hts family and
personal and political friends. Among them
were: Mrs. Taft Miss Helen Taft. Assis.-
ant Secretary OF War General Oliver. As
sistant Secretary Of the Navy Nswberry
General Bell. chief OF staff. and Mrs. Bell
General Edwards. chief Of the insllar bu-
reau: General Murray, chief OF artillery
General Aleshire. quarteTmaster general
General Noble Joseph B. Bishop. secretary
OF the Panama Canal commission. and
James 7. Williams. Jr.. one Of the assist
ants IN the seeretary's campaign In ths
outer room With scretary Carpenter wer,
twenty-five or thirty Washington CORE
spondenis each hanging on every wtrd tha
came from the telegraph instrument
Excitement Becomes Tense.
As the balloting began in the convention
the atmosphere in the two rooms seemet
70 be charged with excitement. Scarcely
a word was spoken Men who ordinAril,
are not affected by nervousness hung owe
the telegraph instrument as II their live
depended upon the words which the stont
telegrapher was ticking out On his type
writer. Something went wrong with N
official dispatches. The first announce
merit was that Massachusetts, had cas-
thirty-tWo votes for Taft Then the an
nounoement from Michigan was mad
with It's one vote for Cannon Al thi
moment Secretary Carpenters telsphon
! jingisd and william Pannen secretarl
Tafts personal messenger. received . flssl
from the Associated Press that Taft hal
been nominated The Information. eoa
vsyed instantly 20 Secretary TAFT create
q eomnouon- Mr.. Williams had the con