Omaha daily bee., 1909-12-05

curse than Governor Tom Campbell Of
Texas. lie had 10 take part in tho Taft
Diaz meeting and il was up to him to do Il
right. He had never worn a plug hat be-
fore, but he got a friend to help him select
one and then announced that he would stay
with it through the day Sc II killed him
He stayed with it all right, but at the
end Of the day the hat looked fully as dis
gusted as the governor. The things fhr
vas all standing on end. and when some
body told tho governor he could get 1t
pressed he said.
stop you kidding, you're thinking Of
pants"
The governor wore this hat on two
occasions while the president was in
Texas. People were beginning TO com
plain that his taste was corrupted when
the president came to his rescue by de-
claring publicly that the governor had
agreed In Eel Paso to wear the hat out of
Difference to the president II Mr.. Taft
would consent while he was in Texas TO
wear a soft hat as a mark Of Difference
to the governor.
Ancient HeadEear Comes out.
The Taft trip brought out silk hats Of
all shapes and ages, especially in The
'~N~A NaNN nv SeAdA hAAAlA =
was there, also the one Of the concave,
laced corset effect with the wide brim and
the latest with the broad felt band. There
were some that looked as IL they might
be the old Benjamin Harrison white felt
campaign stovepipes CLOSED over with a
good coat Of stove polish. One man in
Los Angeles boastei that his hat had
greeted three Observation-Disclosures Roose-
welt and Taft.
II bought it to greet Mckinley" said
he, "and have worn it only twice since.
May it live long and prosper"
1t was easy enough to spot the com
mitteeman who was having his first ordeal
with a plug hat and a frock coat, and
there were a good many Of them too. The
novice always looked uncomfortable,
fretted more about the dust spects and
insisted upon smoothing his hat against the
grain.
Next to automobile dust clouds the perlls
that the local committeeman encountered
on the Taft train were the most trying
for their hats. The committeeman usually
boarded the train from twenty-five to 100
miles from their home city, and the presl-
dent never received them in his car, until
the train was pulling into their city. In
Wv Nie CoHlIllleGI0tn tried 10
enjoy life In a day coach ahead.
Trying Feature of Etiquette.
Somehow or other svSr-eammItteeman
felt it his duty to wear his high hat into
the presidents car. A committeeman
crossing from one car platform to another.
one hand planted firmly on the top of his
plug, the other gripping the iron railing,
mis- coattaiis Tapping in the wind and his
entire person enveloped in a sixty mile an
hour dust cloud, is an interesting sight,
EVERY local committeeman had to make
about five Of these crossings in travelling
from his passenger coach to the presidents
car. Their course also included a walk
through a baggage car in which they were
Kept busy protecting their precious lids
from swinging clothes bags that were
hanging on either side Of the aisle. A trip
through two Pullman kitchens and a
hurdle over a few pals and ice cream
f~reeEers brought them finally into the hall
way Of the presidents car. 1t wasn't I'M
usual to see a committeeman, at the end
OF his perilous trip. pause before a hang
ing dishpan. in the Pullman kitchen and
gaze sadly upon the reflected image.
The hallway In the presidents car i'm
which the visiting committeeman finally
landed was long and narrow, more than
t~hree-quarteTs of the car in length and
so narrow that two persons couldn't pass
In II. Often the committeemen in the
lead found the president engaged with
something or somebody else and were
ordered to halt in this hallway.
Ihat was the worst experience of all for
the local committeeman Those behind
Kept pushing forward, anxious to let Mr..
Taft see them. Those ahead couldn't
turn around and all finally were wedged
IN like 80 man figs in a box, each hold
ing his hat above his head and appealing
to the man behind him to have mercy.
Some or the committeeman when the
line was held up always got stuck Just
over the bumpers on the platform between
the Taft car and the one ahead Of it, while
others We're stalled I'm the kitchens. A
holdup in the hallway of the presidents
car invariably meant ruin to the appear
ance OF an committee. And all that they
got in the end was a presidential hand
shake and a pleasant SMILE
Where the Auto Gets On.
TIL use of the automobile in the up-to-
date presidential tour also has created a
problem in regard to guarding the presi-
800 N'e VI III NllicS put their DO-
licemen on horses and expected them TO
keep up with the autos. Next to the grief
OF the local committeeman tie misery of
these cops was the most pitiful thing
seen on the Taft trip.
Some Of the policemen never had ridden
before, and the figures they cut on horse
back were ludicrous. Many Of them failed
altogether to keep up with the autos and
some who managed TO stick it out were so
badly used up at the End that they could
scarcely walk.
Some cities, notably Memphis, had police
automobiles, but the trouble then was
that the bluecoats got the notion that it
was a police, no a presidential, parade.
At Memphis the police cars insisted on
crowding in, around the president so
closely that he was almost hidden in a
dust cloud.
One of the police machines got in IA
mixup with that containing the presi-
dents secretary, his physician and several
other members OF the Taft party. when
the members of the party tried to find
their automobile after a meeting they
discovered that the police had ruled 1t