The Morris County chronicle. [volume] (Morristown, N.J.) 1877-1915, 1910-02-22
why TAFT is !:
LONESOME"
Callers Of Certain Sorts ThrOng
TO the White House.
CHUMS NOW WAIT TO Be ASKED

"Tennis" neutrality-suspicious. OF a
Friend Who Called UNLIMITED.
The presidents before Roosevelt had
Kitchen cabinets" Mr.. Roosevelt had
a tennis cabinet" a kitchen cabinet
under another name. Mr.. Taft has
neither kitchen cabinet. a tennis cab
met nor even golf cabinet 1t was
attempted to form one for him in the
days Immediately succeeding his inau-
guration last March, when he first be-
gan to go out to Chevy Chase and play
round over the links every fair after
noon. Senator Jonathan Bourne Of
Oregon qualified as caddie and wrap
carrier, but the cabinet never formed.
1t is rather curious that none has been
formed Mr.. Taft has highly devel-
Oped social instinct. He loves COM
pany; he is never happier than with a
group of congenial, pleasant, story tell
ing, laughing friends; he makes friends
easily.
And now Mr.. Taft confesses publicly
to the newspaper correspondents at
Washington that he is lonesome; that
nobody drops in for friendly, neigh
borly call This shows how alert is
the scrutiny and how rigid in the mat
ter of making selections are his door
keepers and secretaries. Many drop
drop out again without the president
ever learning anything about them.
Perhaps it is just as well. Most of
the knockers at the gate who are turn
ed away would add little to the pres-
dents happiness. nor would they sup
ply the companionship he Graves.
Most Visitors Want Something.
Most of the people who go to the
White House go to ask for something
Those who go to give have only ad-
vice to offer. Between the two classes
they have precious little diversion to
offer tired man. The drawback to
a kitchen cabinet from Mr. Taft's
viewpoint is that all the members
would want to talk shop. The presi-
dent has cabinet for that purpose
and he does not solicit or desire ire
sponsible advice from friends, not
members of his administration, about
how to run the government. What
Mr.. Taft expressed the other day
when he said he was lonesome was
the human desire for somebody to
play with. His old friends who used
TO seek him out in his leisure hours
and propose various diversions now
wait to be asked. They have proper
feeling that they do not want to thrust
themselves forward when the presi-
dent may have more important things
to do.
Since it has become too cold to ride
In the afternoons Mr.. Taft goes walk
ing. 1t has been remarked and wide
ly commented upon that he does not
seek the seclusion of Rock Greek park
or of the country about Washington
for his promenades, but chooses rather
to walk about the city parks or along
the streets, where he will brush up
against and meet people. The other
afternoon he rode out to Senator New
lands home in Woodley lane and
walked back home. Before that he
walked into a Pennsylvania avenue
at the clerks desk for Judge Horace
III. Lurton, whom he had just appoint
ed to the supreme court. Judge Lur-
ton was not in his room. and Mr.. Taft
fished out a card and left it for him.
His visit to the Press club the other
afternoon was made in the same cas-
ual way. He was out walking and
just dropped In"
An UNLIMITED Caller.
A man who has known the Tafts
for long time. in telling of an even
ing he spent at the White House last
spring, said
1 had just come to town and didn't
know that one wasn't supposed to call at
the White House without being invited.
1 had known the Tafts for a long time.
and after l had finished my dinner at the
hotel l walked up to the White House and
sent in my card Almost Immediately l
was taken into one of the parlors where
found Mrs. Taft and one of her sisters.
They were glad to see me apparently, and
we talked along about every sort of thing
for three-quarters fan hour or more
until the president came downstairs. He
had been up in his study debating. He
was unaffectedly glad to see me.
After we had talked for awhile he
wheeled out into the room one of those
big cabinet graphophones or gramophones,
and we had some music. They had rec
Ords made by various opera singers, and
we sat around and listened. About II
Z O'Clock l got up to go back to the hotel,
md the president walked with me to the
front door, He said he thought he would
sBosto bed. too, as he had had hard day.
and as l was leaving the whole house
hold was making preparations to go up
stairs and go to bed. 1t all seemed fine
and simple and democratic to me.
caught myself wondering how many thou
sand other American families had spent
the same sort of evening in chatting
with neighbor who had just dropped in
and in listening to some music. either
canned or extracted from the piano by
the daughter Of the house.
No New Eliminates"
President Taft has made no new IN
Inmates since he has occupied the
White House. He always takes Cap
tain Butt. his chief military aid, with
him when he goes abroad, and some
times General Clarence Edwards,
chief of the insular bureau. Once at
east 1t is of record that John Hays
Hammond went walking with him In
the afternoon. and once or twice Sec
rotary Meyer was one of the riding
party last summer. Yet none of these
men can be called intimates in the
sense that qualified members of
kitchen cabinet are intimates.
Mr.. Taft. 1t would seem. is too cath
Ollie In his sympathies and tastes to