The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1908-01-24
mail Special to the Advertiser.)

A3ASttlN61ON, IL. I. JdHudIy u
All OFFICIAL Washington is either
"Tafting'' or "anti- Tafting." The
Presidential boom of the Secretary of
War is having a mighty uphft. 1t
fills Washington and according to re-
ports is filing the country. Within
very recent days there has been
mighty rush of activity. Momentous
conferences have succeeded one anoth-
err. The lines are forming everywhere.
Men are hurrying in from distant parts
and having mysterious talks with the
candidate.
The Secretary has taken personal
charge His Office as Secretary of War
is headquarters. Down he comes ev
cry morning bullying with business,
smiling cheerily, greeting people pleas
antly on all sides. There is business
| on his desk for the War Department
piled high. He pounds his way through
it, piece by piece, makes the entire
department jump around in the inter-
ests of expedition. Every little while
he does some jumping himself. 1t is
from his own big, broad desk, to
little telephone desk in the corner. That
is long distance telephone desk. 1t
has been put in to accommodate the
Secretary in the conduct of his boom.
Ting-a-ling tbe bell goes at various
intervals, whereupon any casual Wis
| itors are shooed out Of the room and in
high pitched voice the Secretary
learns how the boom is doing in the
| northeast section of the country, or
how things are coming on in Ohio, or
whether the Hughes boom is whiting
down in some section of New York, or
| whether some of the Office holding con-
tingent in the South has been bagged.
For, with his little long distance tele-
phone the Secretary is in talking reach
| of all the country east of the Missis-
| sippi river and almost daily the Sec
| retary's high conversational notes are
1 heard over an area of 1000 miles or
more north, west, and south of Wash
| ington. He feels the exhilaration of
such campaign. The reports are gen
orally enthusiastic. The boom is in
high feather. It is at the stage where
| it may develop into a nomination with
in few weeks, or where it may fiat
ten out. Much may depend upon the
Secretary himself. He realizes it but
| works away in a Jolly fashion, just
Saving wood.
WILD AND WOOLLY ONES.
There are two ante-rooms to the
Secretary s office. One is a big, gaily
! decorated show room, built as a re-
ception room. Men come up there all
day long. Many of them have heavy
overcoats and dress more fitting for
a colder climate Their boards are
| stubby or their faces may be bronzed
by the weather. Washington knows
quickly that they are not city men.
The messenger gives them seats and
they wait patiently half hour, an
| hour, perhaps longer. Meanwhile there
| are men in the inner ante-room, some
| of whom have come on War Depart
ment business. When they have all
been filtered through the door to the
Secretary office, stated their errands
and departed, there is a rafting sound
| of call bell somewhere under a table
in the inner ante-room. A messenger
| gets nod and the eountrymen, who
have been waiting without, are ushered
in. They step lively, for the messen-
ger leads at lively gait. Then the
doors all close and the Secretary takes
his time. 1t means that important
| politics, touching some locality, ques-
tions of strategy or of prospective ae-
cessions, are under discussion.
Such scenes, typical of busy day
at the War Department, beginning per-
haps at 10 clock and ending at 6
tramps away from the department as
| briskly as though his 300 pounds were
but half that weight. He has no time
for diversions. His military aid is not
horse, strong enough to bear him, is
waiting in some adjacent street for a
canter through the country las a
matter of fact the giant swayback, Sc
| cured last summer after securing sew
eral states, was struck by lightning
few weeks ago and the Secretary is
anxiously awaiting word that another
has been found. But in any event he
would have no time to ride giant sway
back horses these winter days.
/ He Hhikes" straight for his K
street residence. Probably he is late
for dinner or has half dozen things
to jam into a half hour or an hour
there before he can take his dinner
And when he is through with that there
is more political business. more political
conferences, more political plans to be
determined. Till those have been dis
posed of he is not at liberty to re-