The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1909-11-26
WASHINGTON LETTER.

move slowly" This adage is negatived
in the example of the greatest in one
sense of President of the United States.
After $1,000 miles of railroad travel, ego
miles of automobiling, mingled with
several hundred dinners, luncheons and
breakfasts and spiced by variety of
speeches, the President of the United
States is still on the move and is, at the
present time, in Norfolk, Va, whittier he
went in the yacht Mayhower and where
he is entertaining Mr.. Carnegie and other
distinguished guests. After this week,
however, he will be at home. The time
is very close for the beginning of the
next session of Congress. Home at the
White House means more to the President
of today than it did to the Presidents prior
to Mr.. Roosevelt, or even to him, for
during the absence of the President this
summer his offices have been greatly ex-
tended and much has been added in space
and comfort and convenience. The entire
area of Mr.. Rooseve1t's tennis court,
made famous as the arena of his kitchen
cabinet, has been built over and is now
occupied as reception hall where the
President will receive members of Con-
gress, foreign ministers and others by ap-
pointment. It will be remembered that
the White House Offices were extended
during Mr.. Roosevelt's second term and
that extensive alterations to the Mansion
were made. These improvements gave
rise to much criticism, but after a prac-
tical test, both as a residence and as a
place for entertaining great. number of
guests, it was recognized that the changes
had added much to the comfort and con-
venience of the Executive Mansion with
out interfering with its original archi.
tectural effect. The, criticisms of the
New White House Offices were mainly
directed against their enormous cost and
petty architectural accomplishment with.
out regard to the fact that their virtue
and value consisted in the fact that as
edifces they we're minimized or almost
effaced in order that they might not inter-
fere with the architecture of. the old Ex-
ecutive Mansion or White House. The
architects, .McKim and White, were those
who built the Boston Library and the new
Union Station in Washington. Theyare,
perhaps, the most distinguished architects
in America.
1t has been said that man must serve
his time at every trade but critics are
already made, and the average senator or
member of Congress is not always CON-
petent to intelligently, criticise works of
art or architecture. A Senator, speaking
of the additions to the White House,
made the remark that they had but one
advantage and that was that they were
not freproof.
Much hard work has been accumulat-
ing during Mr.. Taft's absence and. in ad.
dition to the writing of his annual mes.
sage to Congress, there are many pressing
and perplexing problems to be solved
during the early winter. The Ballinger-
Pinchot controversy is one Of these. The
Sugar Trust frauds have assumed an
enormousness from Mr.. Loeb's investi.
cations unimagined before. Many i'm
portant appointments must be made as,
for instance, a Justice of the Supreme
Court of the United States, Ambassador
to Great Britain and ministers to other
important posts. Important, if not serious
complications are likely to arise from the
executionof American citizens during the
last week in Nicaragua.
49,
1t is said that the system of the Navy
Department is likely to be changed and
that this Department will probably under
go as thorough an overhauling as did the
War Department during the time that
Secretary Root had charge of the War
portfolio. No doubt, there will be sena-
torial opposition to the changes contem-
plated by the President and by his Secre-
tary of the Navy, for these changes con-
template the abolition of useless Navy
Yards. These Navy Yards, however, are
in States represented by powerful sena-
tors who have been in the senate from
twenty to thirty years and who look upon
these Navy Yards as their special per-
quisites. 1t must be understood that these
Navy Yards are worse than useless. They
cost the Government hundreds of thous-
ands Of dollars yearly but the port en-
trance to them are so shallow that they
will not admit the modern heavy dEaught
war vessels. They were established two
generations ago when there were no iron.