The Elbert County tribune., 1909-03-18
THE M17E Aovos ON cA11J7zAs EVE

pertinenty still, how does it measure with the
record of the Roosevelt regime?
lhese are to-day queries of absorbing inter
est. and nowhere has this phase OF a-new adj
ministratfon quite the Significance that 1T has
at Washington Diplomats and back of them
the governments for which they stand are as
much Interested in the personality of the ris-
ing American powers their country
men.
Mrs Taft is neither the soft green of the
soul of Burke's ideal feminine nor is she Ma
poieon's adherence. intellect in petticoats She
is tnat rarer thing, a well-balanced woman.
Ihe Tories, said. Wellington when Victoria
ascended the English throne could hope for
little headway under female sovereign be-
cause he had no small talk and Pitt had no
manners Mrs. Taft is a woman whom one
might well imagine making allowances for
both shortages, provided there were such com
pensatons along other lines as Wellington and
Pitt possessed
youth, good health and ambition and the me-
cuiiar advantages her life has already given
her. few women have gone into the White
House SO well equipped to meet the exactions
Of the position of first lady of the land" Her
regime, moreover, has not that negative quality.
which circumstances have infused into the so
cial atmosphere of some previous administra
tions. She has tastes and enthusiasms which
will give character to the social life at WASH
ington, of which the White House is the center
for the next four years.
Music, which has fourished at Washington
under White House patronage during the seven
years Of Mr.. and Mrs. Roosevelts residence
there, has even more emphatic announcement
under the social sway of woman who was
one of the founders of Cincnnatis famous
musical organization. the Symphony orchestra
Not only is she patroness of music but is a
musician. She kept up her hours of daily
practice regularly until within recent years.
when the frequent changes in her life and its
many added duties made the continuance i'm
possible.
Though she does not regard herself as sufH-
ciently in practice to perform for a critical
audience, she has by no means lost her skill
and frequently plays for her husband and
children during their evenings at home These
more than might be supposed for Mrs
Taft is one OF the women who stays usually
at home unless her husband can go ont with
her.
Other avenues through which her artistic
taste finds an o'ltlet are her love OF pictures
and her appreciation of wood carving Charles
Taft's art collection has no more apprecia;iye
friend than his sister-n-law. She is enthusias-
tic about every treasure he adds to it. and en-
joys few things more than pointing out its
beauties to others. Faces and figures appeal
more to her than landscapes and recently
acquired Rembrandt has given her keen pleas
ure. She has made a study of wood carving
and has the nucleus of a collection containing
some excellent specimens. She is a connois-
seur of the craft, and knows the fine points
in the work Of various schools and masters
She is book lover. and has been a student
all her life. first because she grew up in a
home where books came down from the shelves
and made the worlds they contain part of the
domestic environment Elizabeth Bennett and
her sisters. with their heart affairs and all the
incidental character delineations stepped from
a worn copy of Pride and Prejudice bringing
into the Heron home in Cincinnati, with its