The Washington herald., 1909-03-03
WASHINGTON CHAT.



the White House with becoming dignity
and ceremony. and on their arrival az
the house that IS TO be their homo for
the next four years they viii find every
thing IN perfect order. with every ar
rangement made for their comfort For
mer Presidents wives have declared that
their first Introduction TO the White House
was an altogether disagreeable expert
ence. no arrangements having been made
for their reception or entertainment.
Some Of them have found the place in
dire disorder. the laTder empty and no
servants. When Mrs. Harrison entered
the White House everything was In a
chaotic state. The Clevelands had gone
away hurriedly, and the house vas bar
ren, cold. and cherries when she arrived
there There was no food either cooked
OF uncooked. and. altogether. it was as
melancholy a welcome as one could well
receive At the end Of her husband's 5
second administration Mrs Cleveland
took care that pleasanter conditions
should prevail. She remained Al the
White House 20 receive Mrs. Mckinley,
had . delicious lunch awaiting the Presi-
dent on his return from the Capitol. and
deliberately missed her train TO make
her successor comfortable and at home
This course was directly opposed 10 ira
oition. for one OF the unwritten laws gov
erning the social conduct Of the White
House Is that the outgoing President and
bis family shall leave the house before
| his successor arrives a stupid and inhos-
/ pltable rule, and one that il Is safe to
/ predict. VIII no longer be regarded. The
reception OF the Tafts By the ROOseveits
! the day before the Inauguration Is so
much kinder and more sensible. nor can
objection be offered against st.
Society is naturally very much inter
ested IN Mrs Tafrs social plans, and
the news that Miss Hagner win have no
successor, IS received with abundant sat
isfaction- The position which Miss Hag-
ner has Sled for the past sew years
has been an extremely difficult one. She
has. however. done her work conscien-
tiously and well, and has perhaps filed
the place as acceptably as any one could
have done. but she viii give I'd the po-
sition without regret II not with real
relief
The announcement that Mrs Taft VIII
have no secretary. does not mean that
she viii herself do the work that Mrs
/ Roosevelt has entrusted 20 Miss Hagner
/ II means simply that she vii dirett her
/ own social affairs. and the real work Of the
| position. such as answering letters, keep
ing lists, and the Ike, wiz be done by
4 clerks as heretofore. Not since Mrs
/ Clevelands day have the women az the
/ head OF the White House attempted 70
answer their own correspondence Mrs
/ Cleveland wrote all Of her own notes and
/ did many other things that her success
I ors have left 10 other people, but she
/ was very strong. very energetic. and very
( methodicaL and no FIRST LADY, ever
worked harder or more persistently than
did Grover Cleveiand's young wife.
Mrs. Roosevelt has taken much more
/ interest In the domestic affairs Of the
/ White House than she IS credited with
doing. and the old servants there insist
that no one ever showed so much solicit
/ tude in their regard, or provided so well
/ for their comfort One Of her first orders
when she became mistress OF the White
| House was that no employe OF the house
! should be discharged Until she had been
consulted, an order that endeared her %
the house servants. who had, until then.
been under the supervision OF the stew
ard. whose rule was sometimes arbitrary
and harsh. She provided, too. for their
i physical comfort; had the attic finished
OF and divided into pleasant rooms.
which were sttractively furnished. &
striking contrast 20 the dark and dingy
rooms they had hitherto occupied IN the
basement.
Besides insuring the comfort of her
servants. Mrs Roosevelt has done many
other things TO improve the domestic
administration OF the White House One
/ OF the most important reforms she IN
troduced was 10 put the servants into
proper dress. Until then they had worn
whatever their fancy dictated. with the
| result that they were so scrubby q look
| ing lot as could be found, while to-day
I the servants and attendants at the White
House are as smart IN appearance as they
/ were formerly shabby. There had been
| many previous attempts 10 adopt a uni
| form for the servants, but whenever the
/ plan was suggested Il was vetoed because
OF the criticism II would excite, so moth
! ing was done about Il until the Roose-
welt regime. when Il was accomplished
so quietly that II escaped the notice OF
the contingent who have for their shib-
boleth democratic simplicity"
President and Mrs. RooseveIrs visit 10
the Austrian Embassy the other day has
been commented uP9n as breaking q
/ precedent, and the statement has heen
{ made that his luncheon there is the first
/ hospitality a President ever accepted at
a foreign embassy or legation. This IS
/ entirely wrong. for. while there Is a
/ tradition that the Chief Executive should
not visit the homes Of the foreign minis
/ ters. many Of them have ignored Il
notably President Arthur, who vas an
! intimate friend Of both Baron Won Eisen-
/ decker. the German Minister here IN his
/ administration. and his successor, Baron
Won Alveusleben, and he went frequently
/ TO the legation. which was then IN Fif-
/ teenth street. but a step away from the
/ White House. and was often seen walking
TO and from there. He visited other
/ legations as we'll
Apropos Of the recent discussion regard
ing the proper designation for the Presl-
/ dents house, the late Mrs Semole. =
daughter OF President Tyler. who ed
at the Louise Home here q year OF more
ago. was authority for the statement that
! the terms White House and Executive
Mansion were never used when her
father was President. and that IN those
/ days the White House was invariably
I known as the Presidents House.
How Germany Saves.
Willism h Tolnan, in the Century.
Regarding the accidents in the United
States. It IS the opinion OF the engineer
ing profession that one-half OF them are
Dreventabie. II so. the next question is.
how7 \ conservative estimate OF the
number Of annual accidents which result