The Washington herald., 1912-01-23

| PhiIander Knox, Secretary OF State' -
neat person. as particular about MS
personal appearance as a leading man
HIS clothes fit him, and he has them
pressed every little while. A colored mes
senEer In the State Department once re-
marked:
THAT man will put on a clean shirt
I'll bet YOU, when all he'd need to DO
would be lust to reverse his cuffs
one hot day last summer Secretary
Knox did what was for him remark
able thing. He laid on his coat. Whiie
he sat at his desk in his shirt sleeves
the Secretary received word that Am
bassador Jusserand had come TO Keep
an appoIntment. owing 10 a mistaken
| signal, a misplaced decimal, or some sueh
duke. the French Ambassador was ush-
cred in a moment or two ahead OF scheu-
uIe, while the Secretary was In the act
OF putting on his coat.
Knox would have been no more en-
barrassed II he had been caught in the
act OF shaving. or changing MS shoes'
He flushed with notification
But the French are polite at the slisht-
est provocatiou and NJ. Jusserand, Win
out a seconds delay. pulled on his own
coat, hoping to put the Secretary at MS
ease.
And indeed It did help. They carried
on their diplomatic discussion with coats
OF.
Representative Joseph Slayden. OF
Texas. who doesn't look as II he came
from Texas at all. being the only Rep
resentative who wears a plug hat 10
his work, is something Of scholar.
But scholar though he Is, he has al
ways held a cordial hatred for the
study OF dead languages. His chief
aversion IN his school days was Greek
He had It drilled into him both in high
school and college. but he hated the
stun and didn't make much headway
| at il. With the aid of pony he
managed to pass his examinations, but
he never became the pride of his Greek
| instructors.
The professors were preJudiced in IA
vor Of those who showed bursts Of
speed in Greek and they made IT plain
TO Slayden that the best he could hope
for would be to exc out an existencs
as day laborer, or corn doctor.
Such comments made slayden hate
ancient tongues all the more diligently.
and he never overlooks an opportunity
TO assist plain English in handing
Greek or Latin a body blow. Even
q Greek or Latin inscription on a mon
ument makes Slayden's long gray mus
tache bristle with belligerence.
The other day an opportunity arose
for Slayden to even up many an old
score against his youthful enemies.
| that Is. those who teach. advocate,
write textbooks on, OF excel at Greek.
II was at a meeting OF the Committee
on Military Affairs, and the members
dfarFtRafnu
army aeroplanes.
"By the way" suggested Slayden,
why couldn't we refer to an air craft
as an sirplane instead Of aeroplane?"
Nobody saw any special reason why
air wouldn't do just as well as aero.
and Slayden's preference prevailed.
From now on. to Slayden's great Joy,
all bills for airship appropriations must
read ''airplane', rather than aero
plane"
There was much confusion the other
day in the kitchen Of the Senate restau-
rant. A large boiler Of rice was scorched
in some way and the cereal made unit
for human consumption.
''Oh, well.' said the cook, I'VE can
scratch rice of the menu this noon
Nobody will miss IT,
But one OF the walters was disconso-
late.
Nobody miss it," says he. senator
Newlands won't ever do any more good.