Catoctin clarion., 1910-02-10
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 1O,1910.
WASHINGTON LETTER.
(FROM OUR REGULAR CORRESPONDENT.
W.o,,rNcroN n n EER 4

at the White House under the new
Administration was given Tuesday
night and the innovations of the Pres
ident and Mrs. Taft were put to q
final test. Four of these semi-public
receptions are given yearly when the
guests of honor are first the Diplo-
matte corps, followed by the Judici-
ary, the Members of Congress and
the Army and Navy. The Congress
ional reception is always the largest,
the least exclusive and heretofore has
been the dullest. For many years it
has been the custom to have the
guests form in line on their arrival
and wait until the President and re-
ceiving party had assembled in one
of the smaller apartments, the green
room or blue room. Then at a signal
from the Army officer and close friend
of the President who was in charge,
the doors were thrown open and the
guests were allowed one at a time to
pass in and shake hands with the
President and on the East Room into
a crowd which made it impossible to
move about and from which all sought
relief in flight as soon as possible. A
number of changes have been made
in this plan of entertainment since
Mrs. Taft has become the ruler OF
the White House (Mr. Taft being
the self effacing American husband
in social matters) and official and
resident society, for the most part
approves the innovations. TO begin
with Mrs. Taft announced that the
receptions should be more exclusive.
She drew the line at issuing invita-
tions to tailors, grocers and the hoi
polloi of trade" That enabled her
to reduce the list considerably. Then
she announced through a secretary
that those who were invited to one
reception need not feel slighted if
they were omitted from the list for
the others. 1t was the object of the
receptions to give all who were deem
ed worthy of it an opportunity to
greet the President under his own
roof and not to furnish a series OF
entertainments for them. This of
course further reduced the number
to be invited and as a consequence
made it possible to give the receptions
an air of hospitality that had been
lacking in all previous administra-
tions. Now the arriving guest after
removing wraps goes to the East
Room and may if he is early move
about renewing acquaintances and
greet friends. At nine O'Clock the
President descends with the receiving
party from the upper rooms and
the presentations are begun. AS the
guests leave the Blue Room after hav-
ing shaken hands with him they may
60 direct to the banquet room where
great variety of refreshments are
served. Later they promenade in
the long corridor in which the Marine
Band plays entrancingly and yet later
there is dancing in the East Room
and the President circulates freely
among his guests. At least that is
the theory of it. Perhaps no one is
to blame that it is a condition and
not a theory that confronts the White
House. Perhaps also, the old styles
was so bad that nothing worse could
have been devised but at any rate the
new system still has a few loose cogs.
The Ballingcr inquiry has sudden
ly halted. The testimony against
Ballinger had become quite hot and
a halt was called and Ballinger ad-
vised to employ counsel. Hearings
have been postponed until February
IL, but now at this writing two law
yfrs have already been employed and
they will spend the next week in
studying the case. Mr.. John YER
trees, a Democratic lawyer from Ten
nessee has been employed to defend
Mr.. Ballinger and has had an inter
view with the President. He was
taken to the White House by Secre-
tary of War, Dickinson where the
Ballinger-Pinchot situation was thor
oughly canvassed. Ballinger did not
stay to the regular Cabinet meeting
but left with Mr.. Vertrees to consult
with other Interior Department
officers. Another lawyer has. also
been taken into the case and two ex-
Senators it is said will be called in to-
assist Mr.. Ballinger.
sa E.tas Z