Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1909-04-22
TAFT CABINET ON GRlDlRON
Special Dinner in Honor Of the
New Administration.
Ministers Open the show by Singing
"FIatinE Through Georgia"-Skits on
Cabinet Oflccrs and Senators Eli
In and the TarlR Bill
Twins.

and the new administration. In addition
10 President Taft nearly all the members
of the new cabinet, some Of the new
senators and great many other public
men were present. The funmaklng be-
gan rs soon as the first course was
served and continued until midnight,
when, when the dinner came to an end.
The principal entertainment Of the
evening was a performance by the Taft
Hitchcock Georgia Minstrels' (white)
who first gave big parade about the
dining room. Headed by band. the
minstrels marched in accompanied by
boys scattering handbils advertising the
big show. The MINISTRIES were attired in
linen busters and white hats and carried
umbrellas. After the parade they doffed
the busters and hats and took their
places for the performances. Members Of
the Gridiron club representing Vice
President Sherman, Speaker Cannon and
the nine members of the cabinet occu-
pied the front row. while other members
OF the company were massed behind
them. The performance began with a
touching ballad entitled Eating Through
Georgia; or, Down Where the President
Chased the Postum to It's Lair" part Of
which went this way:
EATING THROUGH GEORGIA"
Sound the good old dinner horn, we'll
sing another song
About the trip that Taft once made
when with digestion strong,
He ate his share Of everything that they
would bring along,
AS he went eating through Georgia.
We tackled the oppossum that they took
such care to bake,
We ate canned watermelon and a dish
they called hoe cake.
We didn't even draw the line at aliga-
tor steak,
.is we went eating through Georgia.
BY Southern hospitality our hearts were
surely won.
Ana we resolved to do the very best that
could be done
For democrats and so we saved some
pie for Dickinson.
AS We went eating through Georgit.
CHORUS.
IIuirah. hurrah. we sound the Jubilee;
fiurrah. hurrah, twas something fine to
see,
W e put away three meals day,
AS we went eating through Georgia.
Then there ensucd some lively CONVEX
sation between The middlcman, who
posed as the Vice President" and the
"ST eaker Of the House" and Cabinet
officers. who composed the rest OF the
troupe. After n good deal of sparring
over what was the meaning OF dead
Z tt,r .'' Nd l,nt1 rofh 70
Sanscr,pt or Aztec. an end man declared
it &c Ne Presidents message.
Say. Mr.. President" a number
of the cabinet inquired, do you remem-
Der the morning when all those boilers
hlew up and scared lot Of people?'
Oh, yes, l rcmember it perfectly. but
dc not see why it should have scared
anybody. 1t was merely q Zig noise"
Yes that was IL. Everybody thought
Mr.. Roosevelt had come back"
THE DEAR OLD TRUSTS"
please Leave the Dear Old Trusts
Alone they're Seeing Things at Night"
was the title of a song by James s..
Henry Of the Philadelphia Press. the
wonderful soft pedal baritone" In which
the trusts informed Attorney General
" iskersham that they were tired and
sleep. too. and appealed to him to put
them In their little beds.
Secretary Macveiyh was classcd among
| 81 varieties Of democrats and reformers
| who had great diflicuIty in remembering
when registration day came around. This
discussion was cut short by some refer
ences to the tariff which it was stated
was being talked pro and con.
Indeed" remarked the "Vice-Presi-
dent" with evident surprise.
Yes" replied the end man. PRO
means for-for the trusts. Con is what
the consumer gets"
The Gridroner who represented
Speaker Cannon explained for the bene-
fit of the man who unprecedented Secre-
| tnry Nagel what an anomalous condi-
ton meant, and MIR. Nagel said he knew
one.
Indeed. what is 1t? asked the
speaker
why the republicans are going to
pass tariff bill and a democratic sec.
rotary of the treasury is going to ad-
minister It,"
'Is Secretary MacVeagh a demo-
CRATE" asked the speaker.
Hes one of the ifty-seven varie
| tIcs was inc response.
To a suggestion as to what could
be done to stop the drain on the treas
| ury the answer was: we might cut
down Secretary Knox's salary some
more"
One minstrel had heard that John d
Rockefeller had said that the differ
ence between Taft administration and
the last one was the difference between
a s2s,ooo0oO fine and putting oil o.
the free list.
What is an insursent? asked one
of the intcrlocutors.
"A REPUBLICAN, who bites at the
Murdoch get famous quick scheme
What does he get out of it?''
His picture in Golfers Weekly, q
reading notice in La Follette's mag
azine and a reputation as a martyr
'Mr. Ballinger, how do you like
cabinet life?" was asked.
"Why, seem to be making a hit
The Indians went on the warpath as
soon as ! assumed office"
why do not the southerners be-
come republlcans?"
whats the use? They can gel
more jobs under republican admins.
trations by remaining democrat"
There was a song about Postmas-
ter-General Hitchcock. supposed to be
sung by The Solid South" This was
the chorus:
Hrsu l. III,