Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-10-26
TRIALS OF RIVER TRIP
Governors and Congressman Having
Tough Time of It.
THROWN DOWN ON DINNER
President Wouldn't Come Over
When Feast Was Half Prepared,
Causing All Sorts of Trouble.
Special Dispatch to The Star.

/ Special Dispatch to The Star
! CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo-. October 20
AS early riserS the Cape Girardeau folks
| take the prize. The President held
daybreak meeting for them this morn
| ing. 1t was the earliest he has turned
out on his western trip, and the Missouri
people met him more than half way. The
sun was just beginning to light up the
eastern sky as the President stepped
ashore from the Oleander. In the morn
| ing light he found himself facing a
crowd of several thousand people. All Of
| them We're shvering and trying to, look
enthusiastic, but it was hopeless job.
| The President paused at his automobile
and tried to make out in the dim light
group of queer looking figures ahead.
Who are they?" he asked. "Oh. that is
your Indian escort" said one of the COM
m!tteemen. There were twenty real
| braves. their heads crowned with eagle
| feathers and their shoulders covered with
| bright colored blankets. The Indians had
| been borrowed for the occasion from a
| nearby ranch. There were also twenty
| cowboys, and the entire escort started off
| with a whoop that made the hills ring on
the opposite side of the river
"Get Up, Get Up! Everybody"
ernors played in hard luck at this stop.
The st. Louis Business Mems League,
which is giving the excursion, began to
| pound on their doors about ) o'clock in
the morning. Get up, get up; courtesy
to the President" was the song that was
sung before each door. The congress-
| men, including Uncle Joe. and most of
| the governors tumbed out rubbing their
eyes and with teeth chattering. Then
| atnIrf hole
mobiles waiting for the 200 passengers.
| Martyrs they; but every one of them
was tckled to duck for his bed again.
Ihe President was driven a mile to
| the state Normal School, and before the
sun had really shown it's face he had de-
| 'lvered a brief speech, inspected the
Schooi and planted tree on the campus.
| He was back on his boat at o clock. and
| the fotilla departed for Cairo.
Night Full of Trouble.
The presidential party's first night on
the Mississippi river was full of trou-
BILE for the twenty-five governors who
are following the wake Of the Taft flag
ship. The governors and newspaper
correspondents are quartered on the
steamboat st. Paul, which had the posi-
tlon or honor Immediately behind the
| PreSldentS boat in the twO-mile line
| When the gay1y decorated fleet Of fifteen
stern wheelers left St. Louis yesterday,
afternoon the governors had invited
the President to come aboard the st.
Paul In the evening as their guest at
dinner. The President had accepted and
| the governors We're happy.
The st Paul was hardly out Of sight
OF st. Louis when the governors began
to prepare the banquet room. Some of
! them pitched in and helped do the
| trimming themselves. The tables were
| decorated with roses and smilax. the
preparation of the feast was under way,
! khn ;,,to
stiff bosom shirts and evening clothes.
i when signal went up the f1agship's
masthead. A few minutes later the ST.
Paul was within hailing distance of the
! Oleander. the Taft boat. THE Presi
dent says he would prefer to come to
dinner some other night; his throat is
| botherng him. Do you understands"
were the words megaphoned back by
the Oleander's skipper.
They Understood, All Right.
! Did the governors understand? Well,
yes but they appreciated the message
better after it had time to sink in. Most
of them. as the heads of local committees
in states through which the President had
passed. have had him in their grasp at
one time or another They have been
mercless, they have loaded him with eX-
ira speeches. they have inflicted their
own oratory upon him. they have driven
him through dust cloud after dust cloud.
! They have arranged everything to suit
their OWE convenience and wishes, not
his, and the President had submitted
meekly But now the shoe was on the
other foot: now the President was in a
position to do he pleased. and he had
done it, The banquet was postponed and
il was up TO the governors to that
there was another ready when the Presi-
dent decided to visit them
| In the first place. a hurry order went
down to the kitchen to take the squads
in water and repack the ice cream. There
would be no other stop for two days
where the governors could get a banquet
fit for the President, and so they simply
ton of conserving the squads caused
more discussion than anything else.
Will Warm Over the Squads.
Stubbs OF Kans-s argued that it would
be better to keep them lukewarm back Of
the stove. but Hay OF Washington said
this would make them too dry. Hay won
the day and the half cooked squads were
allowed to cool and will be warmed again
when definite assurances are received
from the President. The saving of the
table decorations was undertaken, and
four colored boys were hired to sprinkle
the flowers in shifts and to snip off the
stems when they showed any signs of
whiting
the cooks and the walters excited that
nobody thought of dinner until along
about o'clock, and then they found
things We're upset that the would have
to- have just simple supper of cold ham
and potato salad. \ few of the governors
stuck II out with evening clothes but
most OF them sneaked back to their
rooms and got suits to match the sup
per.
Unspoken oratory in Type.
Every one of them. though. was full Of
suppressed oratory. \ good many of
them had committed their speeches to
memory, and. alas. had given them out
to the newspapers in advance.
There were the governors sailing down
the moonlit Mississippi. with 10 wireless
aboard, and back to st. louis, and in
their home cities were their speeches all
set up in type together with realistic
accounts of the beautiful banquet that
was given in the Presidents honor on
board the st. Paul. 1t is hard to say
whether the governors or the st. Louis
newspaper correspondents worried the
| Continued ON Eighth PaRal