The National tribune., 1909-04-01

ID. c.. is the at-granddaughter o.
Martha Washington, bghfer first hus-
band. o I
Mrs. Taft is n Colonial Dame: al
| least. she is an honorary one, but has
the right TO be a whole Une if1she want.
to take the trouble tot prove up. The
Colonial Danes adoptea MRS Taft last
| week.
President Taft wants his Cabinet
members to be informed, and wants
them to travel as much as possible. He
intends to travel little himself. II,
is going to Seattle toifhe Exposition
and he may run up into the Yukor
country He is already the best trav
eled President we have ever had. Presi
dent Taft thinks, and wisely, it mus
be admitted. that it IS not feasible tt
administer the laws over a country Oi
whose people, environment and condi'
tions one knows only by hearsay. He
proposes to know things himself.
The Daughters of the Confederac,
do have a hard time of it. The Daugh
ters up hereabouts have been petitionec
by Miss Mary Nelson Pendelton, His
tOrian of the Virginia Division, to abol
ish their offer of prizes on the besi
essay on history which was made t.
Columbia University, New York. A
short time ago cracking good essay
from somebody who is student at Co
lumbia got the prize of 500, and afteI
the prize essay was published was
found that the essayist had called Rob-
ert E. Lee traitor" 1t was pretty
rough on the Daughters OF the Confed
eracy, but it is the truth that hurts al
ways. To pay out their good money for
an essay that assailed the loyalty to
country and Flag of Robert Z. Lee was
awful, and that's no joke.
Former Representative Edmund N
Morrill, of Kansas, died at San An
tonic, Tex, March a. He had gone
with his wife to Texas, hoping to re-
cuperate his health. Maj. Morrill, was
Governor of Kansas, and was a much
liked man. In Congress he was a mem
Der of the Pension Committee, and was
always the friend OF the veteran.
Edmund N. Morriirs life history since
the first days of the civil war runs par
allel with that of the State of Kansas.
He enlisted as private in Kansas
regiment, fought thru the var and at
the close was Major. He engaged in
banking after the war and remained
interested in that business until his
death. From 1883 to 1891 he repre-
sented his State in Congress, and in the
latter year he was elected Governor
of Kansas. His home was in Hidwatha.
Kan. His widow and two children sur
vive him.
John II. Starin, the noted steamship
owner, died at his home in New York
last week, aged 83 years.
Mr.. Starin was the head of the Starin
Line, with vessels plying between New
York and various New England ports,
and owned a shipyard, iron works and
drydock on Staten Island.
He was active for time in politics,
served in Congress from 1877 to 1881.
and was Vice President of the old New
York City Rapid Transit Company.
s1 Ct.@
President Roosevelt could azeuer have
become very popular down III some sec
tiOns of Virginia. for he is too fond of
the expletive bully" In some sections
of the South it is considered cause for
a fist fight at least to use the term
applied to the sire of any ami
NAL. You just refer to 1t as that male"
and let it go at that whether it is a
pig, horse. bovine or what-not.
Between President Taft and former
President Roosevelt there existed a love
that passed that of brother for brother,
for brothers will scrapeon OCCASION, and
these two men never did, The last
thought of Roosevelt was for Taft, and
he sent him a private message by Capt.
Archie Butt the last thing before going
aboard ship. And in.s his stateroom
there hung on the wall an enlarged
photograph of President Taft and Gen.
Edwards as they appeared on their
nomeward trip from the Philippines.
President Taft had the picture made
Durposely and secretly conveyed to
stateroom as a surprise, and
Roosevelt declared that nothing could
have pleased him better. One of the
beautiful things about Roosevelt is his
boyishness. He was as
full of enthusiasm when he left the
White House as he was when he left
college, and ne had not lost an atom
Of his enthusiasm at that time. Faith
in humanity and love of life keep men
1t Is when you begin to look on
the dark side and lose your grip on your
friends that the world sours on you.
Hold fast to your faith in something If
you would keep young.
Representative Watson did not come
back to Congress from Indiana. He
declined election to the House, and ran
for Governor of the Hoosier State, be-
ing defeated. He was the Republican
whip" OF the House, and valued Re-
publican. President Taft has been try
ing to locate him in nice, easy lame
duck" office, and Watson viii not have
1t that way. He has been offered the
office of Minister to Cuba, Governor of
Porto Rico or the first vacant place on
the Interstate Commerce Commission,
but he says nay, nay. He said to the
President: Don't bold one of these
open five minutes fO- me, because /
will not accept one of them or any
office that will take ME away from In
diana" And Indiana turned down
man like thati
Mrs. Tafts first formal reception,
which was to the Congressional wo-
H0uSes-was e,ninentIy sue
cessful. Mrs. Taft had the only Cabi-
net women in town to assist her. Mrs.
Knox, wife of the Secretary of State;
Mrs. Wickersham, wife of the Attorney
and Mrs. Meyer, wife of the
Secretary of the Navy. Mrs. Taft wore
pink satin vailed in silver gauze. Mrs.
Newlands, wife of the Senator from
Nevada, and Mrs. Parsons. wife of the
from New York, poured
tea. The flowers were particularly pret-
ty, big mats of pink roses or the state
table, Richmond roses in
the Red Parlor, pink roses in the Blue
Parlor, and white roses and carnations
in the Green Parlor and the East Room.
The Marine Band played, and it was a
informal and pleasant af-
fair.
One of the saddest of accidents mars
the pleasure that President Taft ex-
pected to experience. in the comrade-
ship OF one OF his Military Attaches.