Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-02-28
GIVE MERRY BANQUET
Fun and Wisdom Mixed by
University Club.
QUIPS AT BIG STATESMEN
Mr.. Taft Is Inaugurated Little
Ahead of Time.
TELLS ALL ABOUT CABINET
DR.. Pritchett Lauds Roosevelt as
Greatest President Since Lin
coln-Toasts and Speakers.
TELLS ALL ABOUT CABINET

Enthusiasm for the project for build
ing an eight-story clubhouse, for the
clubs first president William Howard
Taft. and for President Roosevelt. was
bountiful at the fifth annual banquet
of the University Club. held in the New
Willard Hotel last evening.
Three hundred college men sang ole
college songs over and over again
laughed at merry quips aimed at states
men and private citizens of prominence
although the guests included men of great
responsibility in national and municipal
government, apparently forgot cares OF
offices to join heartily in an evening OF
fun. mixed with wisdom
The presiding officer for the evening
was the president of the club, DIR. Charles
ID. Walcott The POSTMASTER, who saw to
it that there was no opportunity for any
guest to remember that he ever had to
work, was Henry E. Davis. And the toasts
were responded to by DR.. Henry 81
Pritchett, ex-president of the Massachu-
sets Institute of Technology. and now
president of the Carnegie foundation fund
for the advancement of teaching; Sena-
tor Robert L. Taylor Of Tennessee Louis
A. Pradt of the Department of Justice
and Representative Charles f. Townsend
of Michigan.
After the guests had assembled around
the richly decorated tables in the banquet
hall walled with the flags of many col
leges, America" was sung and an in
vocation was pronounced by Rev. U. G.
B. Pierce, pastor of All Souls Church.
While the menu was being enjoyed the
of dav
and parodies on popular airs.
Cheers for Mr.. Taft
Following the serving Of the coffee,
President Walcott presented Henry E.
Davis as the POSTMASTER. AS the first
toast of the evening Toastmaster Davis
proposed that the guests drink to the
first president Of the club and the man
soon to be the President Of ninety mil
lions of people-William Howard Taft
cheer that echoed for several blocks
greeted this announcement. Every guest
jumper to his feet and q minute later
they began singing spontaneously:
''Oh, he's jolly good fellow"
POSTMASTER Davis began with some adj
monitions to the persons who were to
speak. He declared that for them tc
speak of America as a world power of
the brotherhood of man would be consid-
cred an affront; that the expression bull
warks of civilization was tabooed; that
'palladiums or citadels of any kind were
to be forgotten; that speaker referring
to the strenuous life, to the early and
purer days of the republic or to Spartan
simplicity would be deemed enemy of
the country; to refer to Salome or the
Merry Widow would be considered very
bad taste. And he concluded that any
joke older than the Grant administration
would be led from the room.
DR.. Pritchett was the first speaker, his
subject being 1.-THE College Men in
Politics.
DR.. Pritchett was greeted with a song,
to the tune of ''Tammany," as follows:
''Pritchett he, Pritchett he,
Handles most of Andy's wealth
Worn out teachers keeps in health.
All can see, A Salaree.
Easy money here's to Bonnie Carnegie"
ct is hard to Judge the politics of the
American colleges" he said. will you,
for instance. judge the politics of Har-
Boise Penrose? VIII you fix the Yale
standard of politics by the principles OF
William II. Taft or by those of Thomas
c. Platt?
Recently I have lived in three cities
Washington, Boston and New York
While l have been living in those three
cities / have found that most of their
people are engaged in throwing bricks at
the man who will leave the White House
in five days. But you cannot judge the
sentiment of the entire people by those
cities.
Tribute to Roosevelt.
eff you want to learn the sentiment of
the people you want to go to Ohio, to
Illinois or Missouri. You will then find
that this man has a larger place in the
confidence of the people than any man
who has sat in the Presidents chair
since Lincoln. They think he stirs up
the animals more often than is neces-
sary. But he has been playing bigger
politics than has ben played in the last
fifteen or twenty years
This man has a grip on the American
people because he has played big politics
He has not been so much interested in
the conservation Of post offices as in the
conservation of the natural resources.
Men like Roosevelt and Taft have
changed the game of politics. The game
the future is to be an unselfish. not a
selfish game. national, not personal
game
Greeted With Song.
For Senator Taylor, who was introduced
to respond to the toast Major and
Minor Chords in Human Nature" the
college men also had a greeting in song,
written to the tune of the Princeton fac
fully song. as follows:
Here's TO Taylor of Tennessee.
legislative fiddler he:
Although his native state is dry
His oratory's flowing high
(ChorusD
"Hurrah, Hurrah, for fiddling Bob,
\ senator who's on the job.
PRAY tell us is your mountain dew
Stunned by the waterwagon crew"
Senator Taylor lived up to his reputa
! ton for playing on Notwithstanding bot i
the humorous and the pathetic strings OF
| the human hearts in his audience Ills lay
| was of his days in Happy Valley where
| he was born, where he heard the negroes
| singing and where he learned his Iir.
| prayer IN his mothers lap. When lie
/ concluded he was presented with fiddle
and a low
LoI.:S a Pradt conrrbut ID to the flow
/ of VIZ Which chara .teT.Esd The lauluet
To him The American Boys Opp Jrtu-
nifty was assigned as subject.
while i notice the speakers at ban
QuetS do not touch on the topics as
signed TO them" he said Il do not think
| there is any harm in doing So One OPP
portunity which a boy has is to become
| President of the United States-unless he
is democrat.
Another blessed opportunity of the
American boy is to court the American
girl And ] think he will embrace the
| opportunity"
Introducing Representative Townsend