The National tribune., 1909-08-12

President Taft at last has rolled away
| in his special car for a long ng-discussed
and much-heralded vacation at Beverly.
| The Summer Capital of the United
States is now farther away from WASH
ington than 1t has ever before been. IL
| is twice as far away as oyster Bay,
where President Roosevelt used to keep
the seat of Government. A Summer
Capital has come into fashion only in
recent years. Mckinley never had a
Summer Capital, aitho he used to go to
Canton for brief periods almost every
Summer.
In the old days, however. the busi-
ness of the Federal Government was
not as large as 1t is now. Then a Presi-
dent could go away for two or three
weeks without taking a force of clerks
and stenographers with him. Formerly
Presidents did not take long vacations
away from Washington Now, while a
President may have little leisure upon
his hands occasionally, the business of
his Office is so vast that it is constantly
accommodating, and he cannot well go
away to remain for long time without
having at hand facilities for disposing
| of the more pressing matters.
| President Roosevelt came to realize
| this, for it is since the Spanish War
that business developing on the main
| land has grown greatly and has been
ing islands in the two oceans. He used
| to locate the Capital wherever he went
for recreation. At one time the tenn
porary Capital of the Government was
| in Colorado, where the President was
hunting bears, at another time in Mis-
, ,sissippi, where he was also hunting
bears, and again in Louisiana, when
| the President was in the canebrdkes
| tracking old Bruin. But the temporary
| Capitals in those out-of-the-way places
We're little more than stations for the
receipt of mail and other communica-
tions and also for the transmission of
letters and messages. Mckinley and
Roosevelt Travelled to the Pacific Coast,
while officially occupying the White
House, and they transacted public busi-
ness while en- route across the conti-
nent and back again. President Taft
Will undoubtedly do likewise when he
starts on his long trip to Washington
and California this Autumn.
Beverly, however, rises to the real
| dignity of a Summer Capital, as did
Oyster Bay. 1t will enjoy the distinc-
tion for a comparatively short time.
President Roosevelt was usually at Oys-
ter Bay from July / till about Oct. /.
President Taft plans to remain at Bev-
erly from now till Sept. Is, total of
about six weeks. But during this inter-
val Beverly will be equipped completely
as Summer Capital. Had it not been
for the delay in arriving on the Massa
chusetts coast, because of the prolonged
extra session of Congress. much more
public business would have been dis
posed of there.
| AS 1t is now, the President Is trying
to devote as much of his time as possi-
bic to resting. He stated before his
departure that he intended to give his
| forenoons to golf. AT that time of day
| the several splendid courses near Bev-
erly are not much crowded. The Presi-
| dent Is very anxious to keep in good
physical trim. He exercises much with
dumbbells and otherwise, to keep his
muscles healthy. But he feels the ne
cessity of lot of outdoor exercise, and
he will play golf hard while he tarries
| in Massachusetts His other chief pur-
pose at Beverly during his vacation, as
he also stated, is to get Mrs. Taft back
to good health. He intends to devote
his afternoons especially to her. and as
soon as the heat of the day is over he
will go riding with her. There are
! many beautiful roads in that vicinity.
The President and his wife will ride in
their automobile and have as enjoyable
a time as possible.
| All business will be disposed of be-
| tween luncheon, which will be at l
o'clock, and $3.50 o'clock, which is about
the hour the President and Mrs. Taft
| will start driving. No appointments
have yet been made, and the President
will discourage public men from coming
| to him at Beverly, but he Is well aware
| that matters will arise on which men
should see him. He will arrange those
meetings for the luncheon hour. Many
engagements to attend public affairs
given along the North Shore were made
for him, but they were contingent upon
the adjournment of Congress, and most
of those conditional dates have now
passed. There has been a great pres
sure of invitations upon the President
in the eastern part of Massachusetts.
They ranged all the way from church
picnics to great centennial pageants. the
managers of which were desirous not
only of giving their patrons an oppor-
tunity to see the President. but also to
swell the gate receipts. Perhaps a few
of those invitations will be accepted
during August, but the President will
decline as many as he can.
His Secretary, Mr.. Carpenter; his AS
sstant Secretary, Mr.. Rudolph Forster,
and stenographers and messengers have
gone to Beverly to man the executive
Offices. They will handle the big mail
which the President is constantly re-
ceiying. In the Executive Offices, in
the heart of the town Of Beverly, most
of the appointments to see the Presi-
dent will be made AS soon as the
President starts west the executive Of
fees will be moved back to Washington.
While the President was rolling away
to Beverly in his private car Congress
men were getting away by the train
load, and other officials were scamper-
ing for the station as rapidly as they
could arrange for leave. All this exo-
dus has contributed tos the rapid reduc-
ton of Washington to the status of a
country village. And yet a good many
people connected with the Government
in some capacity are continuing to do
something toward rendering quid pro
quo for the bi-monthly stipend which is
paid them.