Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1909-11-23
Gossip From The
National Capital
Washington Bureau of
The Ottumwa Courier,

| washington, ID. c., Nov. 20
A friend of President Taft who wen
to see him the other day to talk owe
various matters was asked what i'm
pressions he had got as the result o
his conference with the chief eXecu
! tive
'Well,' he replied. "Taft's attitude
is this: I'm president of the United
States and while I'm president I'm go
ing to be president
He explained that President Taft
was intent on running the Office OF
president as he thought it ought tc
be run. and not as someone else
thought it should be run: that the
criticisms from various quarters were
not going to be allowed to defect
him from doing the things he thought
should be done and doing them in his
way.
According to this caller. the presi-
dent has no purpose to balk what are
known as the progressive policies. He
feels that he is under pledge to carry
out these policies, but he is going to
do the carrying out in his own fash
ion. He cannot do it in the Roosevelt
ls-.'hAoL uliu Is IoJ S,oIuS, W VI .
He will handle these matters in his
own way and those who do not like it
viii have to rest dissatisfied. In re-
gard to certain railroad and corpora
ton legislation, this caller said the
president had gone to lengths on
some of these things that Roosevelt
had not. He added that it was the pur-
pose of President Taft to throw up a
barrier of law about railroad and cor
poration reforms that would make
them enduring.
No more will the president of the
United States have to go to meet the
minister or ambassador of a foreign
country. A change in the formula for
receiving has been effected. 1t has
been the custom, when a diplomat was
to be received by the president, for
the diplomat to go to the blue room.
The president would then enter the
blue room and greet him. This has
been Objectionable as it puts the chief
magistrate of this great nation in the
position of going to seek the repres-
entative of another nation. So the pro
cess will be changed. When diplomat
enters the White House to meet the
president he will be shown to the
green room. He will then be escorted
to the blue room where he will find
the president of the United States
in waiting to receive him.
Secretary Of the Treasury Mac
Veagh is entitled to be considered one
of the hard working members Of the
cabinet. In fact, no other member
plugs away at his business any more
steadily than Mr.. MacVeagh. He does
a lot of work on his correspondence
at his home in the morning before he
goes to the treasury. This enables
him to get rid OF a great stack of
mail without interruption. Then he
goes to his office and receives callers.
He does not quit at 4:30 when the
rest of the force does, but sticks TO
his desk until o'clock or later
Friends of Marse Henry Watterson
are hammering away at him to get
him to write his "reminiscences. They
say that if Marse Henry would tell
what he knows of men and things of
his day and inspire the book with
that divine fire Of which he is known
to keep large stock, it would be one
of the great publications of the cen
fury. But Marse Henry says nay. He
takes the view that if he wrote his
he would be regarded
as has been"
Representative Martin D. Foster of
the Twenty-third Illinois district, IS
one of the busy men of congress. If
you don't believe it, read his biog-
raphy. He was born on farm, went to
a country school in winter and work
ed on farm in summer, graduated in
medicine and practiced it, was twice
mayor Of his home town Of Olney and
is member of the knights Templars,
Knights of Pythias, Modern Woodmen
and the Elks. Also he was chosen sur
geon Of one of the Illinois volunteer
regiments in the days of the Spanish
war and has held number of Other
pr of honor, besides having been
twice elected to the house.
]. w. Welliver.
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