The Paducah evening sun. [volume] (Paducah, Ky.) 1906-1929, 1909-10-27


should be carried on only as rapidly
as II can be paid for out of current
funds in the treasury.
Not Strong For Postum.
The president last night was the
guest of the governors, who are
making the trip down the river on
the steamer st. Paul which immedi-
ately follows the Oleander. He had
been invited to dinner last night, but
was so fatigued and worn out from
the effort of speaking several times
in st. Louis that he begged to be ex-
cused until this evening.
The st. Paul was brought up in
midstream alongside the presidents
boat last evening and dashed there
while he and his party were conduct
ed on board. The same proceeding
was gone through yesterday, shortly
after the fleet left Cairo and the
president was presented with a pos
sum already cooked and surrounded
/ by delicious sweet potatoes ready to
be served at his luncheon table.
While the possum was being trans
ferred to the Oleander hand on the
st. Paul played the old negro melody
Carve dat possum; carve him to
the heart"
Although the impression has gain
ed ground since the Atlanta dinner
of last winter that the president was
fond of possum meat, yesterday was
only the third time he has eaten it,.
Although enjoying the novelty of
the dish, Mr.. Taft has admitted to
his most intimate friends that he does
no altogether "hanker" afer it as a
steady article of diet.
Meets Bigger Man.
Leaving Cairo, Postmaster-General
Hitchcock and Secretary Nagel of
the department of commerce and
labor, who had made the trip from
st. Louis to this point on the steam
er Erastus Wells, Joined the presi-
dent on the Oleander. They also
were guests of the governors at din
ner. Secretary of War Dickerson
will Join the presidents party at
Memphis today.
The president arose before day
light to keep his appointment at
Cape Girardeau. II was his earliest
speech of the trip, and he declared
he rather enjoyed the novelty of
speaking to the rising sun. The
president said he also enjoyed the
novelty at Cape Girardeau of being
escorted to the speaking stand by a
man larger than himself, attributing
that distinction to Eugene Regen-
hardt, chairman of the reception
committee, who was the presidents
superior in height and almost if not
quite his equal in breadth. He has
sons named for Presidents Mckinley
and Roosevelt.
Whenever the presidents boat
passed a point of the river near a
settlement, the banks were lined with
people, who shouted a greeting to
him over the waters.
Poker Game i'm Force.
The zig-zag course taken by the
Oleander in following the channel
which leads from one side of the
river to the other. often took Presi-
dent Taft i'm speaking distance of
those gathered on the banks. Shouts
from small groups. who were up late
last night TO see the fleet go by
seemed almost to come from the very
decks of the presidents boat. Flights
of wild ducks and geese frightened
from the river bars by the passing
boats were an interesting feature of
the day. Two boats of the fleet, the
st. Paul and the Erastus Wells.
| touched sand bars, but slid over
them with but little delay.
Passing the congressional boat,
which il was stated in st. Louis had
been provided with nine poker tables
President Taft called out to Speaker
Cannon on the hurricane deck
"If you catch anybody bluffing,
Uncle Joe, take the money"
Yesterday afternoon at Cairo,
every word costing him an effort, he
spoke for five minutes, telling the
90, 900 people on the levee that the
success of limited improvement of
the Ohio river justifies further de-
velopments and the fact that Cairo,
situated as il is. at the confluence of
the Ohio and the Mississippi, is not
great metropolis, is significant evil
dence that the waterways have not
been developed as they should be.
Speakers Stand Says.
| Speaker Cannon of the house said
that he was not in favor of the issu-
ance of bonds until the plans for the
lakes-to-the-gulf channel had been
assembled, but that in the meantime
hewas in favor of government funds
being spent on the contract system to
make further improvements, particu-
larly in the matter of levees. The
levee at Cairo was black with people
as the Oleander swung around at the
wharfboat there, except in one spot,
where there were touches of color,
the colors of the national flag rep
resented by variously dressed school
children. As the president stepped
upon the improvised speakers plat
form and bowed and smiled to his