Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1909-12-04
NORFOLK T|CKLED
THE TAFT PALATE
fsnecIal Correspondence.)

the past week President Taft mas de-
voted his time to his forthcoming
message TO Congress and such rou-
tine matters as have required his at
tcntion Incidentally the president. being
q patriotic American did not neglect
to do justice to the enormous Rhode
Island turkey which annually graccs
the White House board.
There are chroniclers who will de-
clare that of all the feasts which have
been served to William Howard Taft
during the past four months the din
ncr on Thanksgiving day in the
White House was the most enjoyable
to> the president of the United States.
But among those chroniclers there
VIII not be found q single one OF the
eighty odd newspaper writers who,
together with fifteen hundred others
sat with him at an oyster roast given
by the citizens of Norfolk, Va, TO the
president and the delegates to the
Atlantic Deeper Waterways convcn-
tion at Cape Henry on Friday Nov.
19. The four score scrlbes know by
personal observation that no man,
president or pauper.- could have
shown more keen appreciation than
William Howard Taft exhibited as he
sat at that spread. During his record
breaking tour from the Atlantic to
the Pacific and back from the gulf to
the Potomac the president had been
served with every imaginable culinary
delicacy- The cooks of every state
through which he has passed during
the summer and autumn fairly outdid
all previous efforts In their desire to
tickle the palate. and incidentally To
ruin the digestion of the chief magis-
The which they p-
pared arc wonderful examples of what
unscrupulous chefs can do il given a
free hand but 1t remained for Chair
man "Billy" Anderson OF the Nor
folk entertainment committee, and
caterer OKiefe of that hospitablc city
by the sea TO spread before the pres-
dent the dishes which he most appre-
ciated
WHAT HAPPENED.
When the president attends a din
ner" of the Gridiron club or ban
quet" given by some enthusiastic board
of trade in his especial honor it is
noticed that he eats very sparingly
of the delicacies placed before him
But not even the watchful Captain
Archie Butt could prevent the presi-
dent from going the limit at that
Norfolk feast With the old Atlantic
ocean at his back and nearly two
thousand hungry fellow citizens" all
around him the president that Fri
day afternoon started in with couple
of dozen Of the finest Lynn
Haven Bays" that were ever tong
cd from the waters OF Vir-
sinia- They needed no condiments to
add zest to their flavor and they were
not ruined by salt, vinegar or catsup
And then. while the old time darky
cooks were preparing the roast half i
dozen Virginia gentlemen, brushing
aside the regular walters. fastened 10
the presidential table with mounds OF
Smithf1eld ham. Those who have never
eaten Smithfield ham in Norfolk can
have no conception of what can be
done with a razor back hog. a mast
of acorns and chestnuts. hickory chips
in smoke house, and an old time
darky cook. Capt. Marryat has de-
scribed the wonderful ability OF
French cook on an English man-of-war
in Transforming small pig into a score
or more viands. The subjects of the
kaiser will tell you that only in West
phalia can real hams be produced. Rut
that English writer and those German
enthusiasts never tested a Smithfleld
ham prepared by an old Virginia NAM
my on the shore of the Atlantic for
the special delectatlon of q presidential
visitor. Lucullus never tasted such a
dish and Savarin, II he had had a
chance at that presidential plateful
would have been content to retire frori
his self assumed place as the arbiter
OF affairs culinary.
There is a popular superstition eXtant
to the effect that Capt. Archie BUTTS
chief duty is to see that loyal hospitable
citizens do not force too much food
INTO the presidential alimentary canal
IL this is the reason why Capt Butt
holds his commission he ought TO be
cashiered for his utter neglect of duty
on. Friday, Nov, 19. 1909 Not that it is
1ntimated that Mr.. Taft ate too much
on that occasion, but that he might
have done so while Capt Butt was
devoting his attention to Smthfield
ham and Lynn Haven oysters. The
president was like a school boy in a
jam closet. He jus sat there an Ct.
an ct, an ct" as described by a COL
ored gentleman of the old dominion
who was supposed to be a waiter but
who was so astonished at the prcsi
Dental appetite that he forgot to
wait and was subsequently fired
for inattention
Inc late Amos Cummings, that prince
or good fellows, used to say that about
nine. dozen "bluc points" made a fairly
good foundation for hungry mans
luncheon. His colleague from Long ls-
land, Jim" Covert declared at tbe
:.
gross was satisfying. The colored oiti-
zen Of Virginia swore solcmnly, as the
presidential automobile started back
from the Cape Henry pavilion. thai
ne counted l6S oysters. raw and roasted
as they disappeared into the depart.
ment OF the Interior of the president
OF the United States. The writer is
not prepared to say that this is an
eNaggeration, and Captain Butt was So
busy with ham and oysters himself
that II is understood that he failed to
Keep tally, but II is certain that Mr..
Jaft paid no attention to the dietary
intunctions OF Colonel Edie. the presi-
Dental physician. if he knew of them.
on this particular occasion. He was
there to enjoy himself and that he did
80 requires no affidavit To prove. The
president has eaten -'possum" Il;
Georgia, bear meat in Wyoming. clans
In Connecticut and all sorts of French
dishes in New Orleans Last Thurs
day he tasted a piece OF n six-foot pie
and. In fact he has tasted about every
possible delicacy that any whitc-capped
impressario of the kitchen ever
dreamed Of. But those who sat with
him at Cape Henry on that memorable
occasion VIII all swear that they never
saw man whose countenance exhib-
tied such signs ofecomplcte enjoyment
as were shown on the broad features
OF the executive OF these United States:
on that particular occasion
Norfolk fairly outdid itself and old
Virginia In the brand Of hospitality
which was served up to the waterways
delegates and the other invited guests
during the convention. The last two
days were devoted to enjoyment and
IN order that there might be no short