Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-02-20
HAVE FUN WITH TAFT
Cincinnati Knockers Admit
Him to Fellowship.
RELIEVED FROM SPEAKING
His Double Occupies Prominent
Place in the Entertainment.
MANY NATIONS REPRESENTED
Persia's Envoy Reveals Thoughts
of the Next President-Fare-
well to the Home City.
MANY NATIONS REPRESENTED

CINCINNATI. Ohio. February 90
President-elect William H. Taft was last
| night made Knocker ''at sight" His
initiation furnished entertainment for
one hundred prominent business and pro-
fessional men of the city at the Knockers
annual dinner.
The ceremony Of declaring the guest of
honor a Knocker ION sight was con-
Quoted in total darkness. with rumblings
of thunder and flashes of lightning, and
closed the festivities at table. The evo-
luton Of the Taft smile was afterward
| depicted through moving pictures In the
| assembly hall of the club, through which
the scenes Of notification day" were re-
| enacted.
Vaudeville features followed until the
hour was late.
Object Of the Knockers.
Cincinnati's Knockers organization Is
an auxiliary of It's Business Mems
| Club" Its particular business is to knock
hard and effectively everything tending
| to hinder the material advancement of
the city and to originate and promote
enterprises and undertakings for the
cltys welfare. 1t is unique In that it has
no known organization. and no one knows
VINO are Its members. It makes mem
bers of whom it pleases and dismisses
them at Will. The annual dinners Of the
| Knockers f1 CLUB have become famous for
| their entertainment features, and the
| stunts which begin with the first
course and continue throughout are all
calculated to have origin in some serious
| purpose or advancement, although depict
ed in merriment.
The President-eect was not allowed 70
| make a speech which was Interpreted as
a delicate compliment from his townsmen,
who were. In fact. saying farewell to him
as private citizen. AS the guest of
| honor at the dinner, it was his first es-
cape from oratory for twenty years. The
| tension upon Mr.. Taft was made even
| lighter than freedom from speaking, as a
| fully made-up double represented him
! In the entertainment features occupyine
| a conspicuous place at the raised table
with Uncle Sam and Miss Columbia.
| bia
Resplendent in Decorations.
The spacious rooms of the Business
Mems Club were Respondent in dra peries
of flags and decorations of ferns and flow
| ers At each of the sixteen tables sat
an appropriately costumed knocker to rep
resent one Of sixteen foreign nations. and
| during the evening a message to the Pres
ident-to-be was made known from each.
Emperor William Is wireless message
was announced to -ar Taft as kiss for
| each cheek and the hope that the Senate
| would not find it necessary to reduce the
presidential salary before the new Pres
! .dent could get in. Miss Columbia got
! one of the kisses from the enthusiastic
| German.
An Irish cook direct from the palace of
| King Edward was England's tribute, but
the cook at once began to make terms.
| Little Charlie must not be boss OF the
| White House. and Charlie p" must not
live with his brother, We're conditieas upon
which he would remain.
| Any one of his fifty-seven varieties Of
wives was offered Mr.. Taft by the rep-
resentative of the sultan, but Uncle Sam
would have none OF this, rejecting the Of
| fer with the assertion that "one wife is
| enough to keep man poor
| Taft's Thoughts Revealed.
| With hands upon Mr.. Taft's cranium
Persa's representative told the assembled
Knockers of the thoughts passing through
| his brain, as follows:
| He is just now congratulating himself
that he was made a Mason at sigh.-and
so is the goat.
| ''He is now trying to discover some
word to use instead of 'de-e-lighted'
| HE Is wondering whether the invisible
Knox, who bosses this bunch. can pos
sibly be the ubiquitous senator from
| Pennsylvania.
| He wishes he could find a caddy who
wouldn't laugh when he makes a drive.
| HE is now recalling the days when he
played The Sleeping Beauty at Pixies
| Opera House, and was kissed by the
| Prince Charming 1t was his first kiss
| and then he acquired the habit Of display
| ing his pearly teeth in a scraphic smile.
| He wonders whether a union cabinet
maker ought to work over eight hours a
day.
He wishes the cabinet would let him
write part of that message to Congress.
! He wonders whether if the Filipinos
had been cannibals he would have pene-
trated their interior.
| He resolves in the tariff war to lead the
| charge up to the very Cannon's mouth