davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-12-29
Two Blocks OF THE, :,
PLAIN PEOPLE
FOR TIE PRESIDENTIAL
II ANDShAlI

President accepted the offer. but when ne
learned that the 5000 workmen with -
band marched with the piano to the sta
ton, and that at every point en- route
the piano was featured as destined TO
be played on by the fair fingers of the
first lady OF the lasd.' the ClcVelandS
became disgusted and sent the piano
back. Scores of such experiences led 10
the rule, now strictly enforced. that the
White House steward shall buy nothing
from "A dealer who will not guarantees
that the presidential patronage snail not
be used for advertising purposes. Mr..
Roosevelt rebuked all concerns which
used his portrait in advertisements lie
went so far as to request the withdrawal
of a booklet by the Spokane Chamber or
Commerce using his portrait on the tile
page. An order for 10000 of the PAM
phlets haD To be cancelled and steps taken
TO call in those which had already gone
ont.
This ma gic of the presidential name is
seen wherever it is written or printed
One of Mr.. Mckinleys autographs on a
piece of paper otherwise blank sold at
auction for S6.25 "a few weeks after his
death In another generation il will
doubtless be worth ten times much.
Twenty-Five volumes of the works OF
Theodore Roosevelt. each volume bear
ing the presidential autograph, sold for
$500 in Philadelphia in 1904. And as
soon Theodore. jr.. entered the plant
of the manufacturers who employed him.
their business is said to have realized a
boom on the strength of the magic of
even his name
Wall street will trade on President Will
sons pulse and temperature When they
go up the stock market will 20 down.
The daily procession of figures on the
tapes of the tickers will be altered also
by what he says and writes on Industrial
topics. Men will be employed to guard
the manuscripts and proofs of his mes
sages and speeches against possible leaks
which might allow some especially in
formed stock jobber to enrich himself at
the expense of those who have not had
an equal chance of informing themselves
When Mr.. Roosevelt made his western
tour in the fall of 1907 he took special
precautions against the furnishing of adj
vance press copies of his speeches to
Wall street publications and the ticker
service. His Provinctown speech of the
previous month had leaked in some way
and advance copies had gotten into the
hands of brokers, who profited by II.
President Roosevelt was peculiarly SEN
sitive to exploitation and criticism. Once
he went SO far as to order the wea; her
bureau to suspend it's forecasts supplied
to a paper which accused one of his chill
dren Of abusing a turkey sent to the
White House. President Taf; has never
appeared to be ruffled by such incidents.
When he entered the White House he
knew just what was coming to him
and has since lost no sleep over imposi-
tions which would harass any one of less
tolerance.
His successor will save himself a vast
deal of unhappness if he emulates this
example and closes his eyes and ears to
that element which perpetually plaques
public men with its petty schemes and
seedlings.
Copyright. 1912. by John Elfreth watkins.)
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-12-29
ny the Asaac of Beokd@ Is dcsd to the Reader the Public Library

ali hours of the night, overdressing. and
SO on.
"Our children's department was estab-
lished twelve years ago Some of the
old-fashioned authors, very well known
to the parents of the children who now
use the library, never were included in
it, simply because we found that We
could buy better books with the same
outlay of money. HoratiO Alger. Oliver
Optic. Harry Castleman. 'Pansy' and
the Elsie books never found a place on
our shelves, not because they were bad
for the morals of the child, but because a
new school of juvenile authors had risen
which could write stories that interested
children more and which at the same
time had more literary value.
Neither did the mawkish, anemic.
goody-goody stuff that clogged the aver
age Sunday school library generation ago
have any consideration. We put in James
Otis and the Rev. Elijah Kellogg. though
the latter was even then getting little
passe. Some Of G. A. Henty's books also
got on the shelves Of our children's de-
partment. His stories are all cast in the
same mold. but they did contain histori-
cal material Of educational value. writ
ten in a fairly entertaining way, and
often leading the child to read something
Horatio Ewing went in complete, or near
ly so, as did every CLASSIC for children
and every writer of genius who appeals
to children, no matter how old he might
be.
People seem to think, merely because
they themselves are perfectly familiar
with Charles Kingsley's Water Babies"
Grimm's Fairy Tales SCOTS ''Ivanhoe"
and so on, that naturally the same tales
must also be old stories to their children
oc hing could ha
illogical
AS illustrating his point, Mr.. Bowerman
told this story:
1T was the week before Christmas.
when a gorgeous limousine drew up to
the main door of great toy shop on 5th
avenue. Out stepped Nine Benjamin T..
Bullion in costly sables, orchids in her
corsage. disdain on her pouting lips. AS
the door swung open the chief saleslady.
Mile. Beauchamp. from Montreal, said :
What does madame please to want this
morning?
~ want to give me kids something nice
mex week. Whatcha got?'
Mile Beauchamp led the way to the
doll counters and waved her hand:
Madame, we have those beautiful dolls
from Paree, from Vienna, from Londres
from New York also. They are dressed in
the latest modes--two of them wear the
hobble skirt. One young lady. behold her.
she walk when you please to wind the
key. All close the eye when they retire
This one in pale blue sings chanson
from Gounod'
Huh, Aintcha got anything but these
old dolls the same as last Christmas and
Christmas two years ago?
Madame. Those doll is old. Those
baby chez vous is newt,
And in buying books for the children"
concluded Mr.. Bowerman with smile
I'VE try to remember that. no matter how
familiar they may be to grown-ups. they
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-12-29
WHERE Pre- MpENT WILSON WILL RECEIVE, BUSINESS
CALLERS. TIE WHITE House OFFICE. ANNEX

nation in an endless game of hide and
seek since the days when George Wash
lngton himself uttered his lamentaton
that the tourists surginS through the then
presidential residence in New York stuck
their inQuisitive noses even into Madame
Washington's bedroom.
Every freak and phenomenon who crops
UP in the land will imagine that Woodrow
Wilson is restless with Impotence to see
him. An accompanying picture shows
an old Oregon pioneer who drove all the
way across the continent to call upon
the President. Another shows d White
House visitor who drove all the way from
Alaska with his dogs. Mrs. Tom Thumb
has called on every President since Lin
coin. Another recent caller of this class
was a man who was walking around the
world on wager and who wanted the
presidential autograph which he got.
Then there are the lunatics, who pre-
sent a problem much more serious. Every
insane man with any imaginary griev-
ance or pet scheme for saving the coun-
try will want to confide it to the new
President. Some time ago caller of
this class presented his card on which
was printed Acting President" and
about the same time there appeared at
the White House a New Yorker offering
to sell his leg to the President for $500.
He followed a lunatic who wished the
chief ma gistrate to remove a hypnotic
SPELL which had been put upon him.
The procession of cranks increases from
year to year. in spite of the fact that
each is promptly clapped into EST. Eliza
beth's." the awesome national bedlam.
and is there detained until his state
authorities send for him.
Although the system of espionage which
will perpetually protect Wilson from
these cranks is as perfect as human IN
genuity can now make it, it is doubtful
whether, when outdoors, he can ever ban
ish the suspicion that some deluded per-
son, hidden in the cheering crowd or
along the roadway where he drives, may
be laying for him. Since Lincolns time
all Presidents have doubtless felt this
dread although none would. of course.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-12-29

as is the President of the United States.
who cannot issue a mandate turning down
the limelight that shines upon him. as did
the German kaiser some time ago, when
he curtailed the court bulletin
Wilson will be the greatest show
feature. the biggest drawing card in the
land. for the next four years. Thousands
OF men. women and children, in a snake
like line two squares long, will wait out
side his door to shake his hand when he
gives a public reception. Everywhere he
goes people will stare at him as though
he We're the Siamese twins or the sacred
white elephant Only when shut in be-
hind guarded doors will he escape the
gaping multitudes, whose staring eyes
will haunt his very dreams. Long before
the end of his stay in the White House
he will fully realize the utter futility or
his announced plans to maintain the
open door in the White House and
make himself accessible to all citizens
who wish to consult him.
He has already received his initiation.
Since he became a presidential possibility
every detail of his life has been press
featured and magazined. His ancestors
tinized. and had any of his grandfathers.
even with a dozen greats. been hanged for
stealing sheep. We should have heard al
about it long ere this Already we have
been told all the details of his religion,
his anthropometric measurements. is
diet, his clothes. even to the time of mis-
daily shave and the particular key in
which he snores at night. But his troubles
have barely commenced, and enough
money to make YOU or me independent
for life will be annually paid to a corps
of circumspect gentlemen especially Sc
lected to act as buffers 'twixt him a-,d
the elastic-necked throng-to keep them
from tearing the very buttons off his
clothes, or even his clothes off their very
buttons, in the eager grab for presidential
souvenirs. For the President of the Uni ed
States has been sit" against the whole
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-12-29
A PMaRIm From OREGON

examined Mr.. Mckinley as to this. At
another time when Mr.. Mckinley was at
the Capitol signing bills, some mineral
water was carried in to him. and spying
temperance woman reported to preach
er that the President was guZzling wine,
and the divine in turn continued to an
nounce this at meetings until called
down by an official in charge of the
Presidents room at the Capitol. Mr..
Cleveland was continually harassed in
this way, and once when minister ac-
cused him of intemperance before Il
ligious conference in Massachusetts, he
issued a statement branding the divine
as "a dissemination of wholesale lies and
calumnies not less stupid than they are
cruel A French journalist who visited
Washington some five years ago, wrote
a story which set forth how Mr.. Roose-
welt, while seated with him in one of
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-12-29

Mr.. Taft more than any of his recent
predecessors, has kept his children out of
the spotlight. AS long as they have been
of school or college age he has kept them
out Of Washington. His younger son has
been at the White House only in vaca-
ton times.
The new President will find himself the
target of many so-called reformers. There
Will be constant protest against the estab-
1shed custom Of serving wine at state
banquets. Mr.. Roosevelt was censured by
a temperance convention for allowing
wine to be served on board the special
train carrying him on one of his western
trips. Whether Mr.. Mckinley drank wine
or not at state dinners was a constant
topic for discussion at temperance con-
ventions. Once, when there was a con-
vention of bishops in Washington, one of
them came to the White House and cross
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-12-29

But vivid biography. American his
tory and stories for girls comprise three
classes of juvenile literature that it is
very hard to fill. In spite of the tremen-
dous interest in the subject, really good
nature material is also very scarce, for
the books are mostly thrown into story
form, and as such are not enjoyed by
children.
after a number of years Of experience
I have drawn up few simple rules. by
following which it is possible to form a
quick judgment as to the merits of a
child's book.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-12-29
Applying 1t to Religion.

"TIIs scientific management idea"
said Samuel Gompers. in an ad-
dress in Boston, won't go, because ir
lacks sentiment. Men are not machines.
Scientific management, with its total
lack Of sentiment. its handling of flesh
and blood as though they were steel and
iron, reminds me Of little Boston boy
Benny said this boys mother one
night. Benny. you didn't say your pray
ers.'
Didn't say my prayers? cried Benny,
with loud laugh. Indeed, j did, then,
Why. gracious mother. I'm five weeks
ahead"
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-12-29
\ White, House CALLER.
FRDN ALASKA

the story. But this sort of thing has been
going on since President Washington
was charged with overdrawing his ac-
count. Jefferson was another of the
early victims. and one Of those who
abused him worst was the Irish poet.
Tom Moore, who published some almost
unprintab le things about the father of
democracy. Our national resentment at
these insults was emphasized century
later by the omission of Moore's name
from the honor roll of poets inscribed Oh
the walls of the Congressional Library
Manufacturers boomers and promoters
by the thousands will fall over themselves
to exploit Pres dent Wilson as an adver-
tisement for their schemes. Real estate
boomers will offer him beautiful country
homes by the score If he will only come
and live in them in the summer and lend
his name to the community. All of these
men Will want to use him as Harrison
was used when given summer cottage
at Cape May. But Harrison. when he
realized that he was being used as a
real estate advertisement, drew his per-
sonal check for the value of the prop
erty. Even as an eX-President Mr..
Cleveland found that he doomed sur
rounding property where he bought AS
soon as he settled in Princeton building
lots there took sudden upward squirt.
Dealers in every article under the sun
will send DR.. Wilson generous samples
of their wares with the hope of receiving
some word Of praise which can be ad-
vertised as testimonial. A mere ac-
Acknowledgements from the White House sec
rotary will suffice as a basis for a poster.
president Wilson use Shocks Soap
Mr.. Mckinley while in Congress once
sent down from his hotel room a note
to the cigar stand asking for some per-
fectos of certain brand. The shrewd
dealer kept the note until Mr.. Mckinley
was elected and then had facsimiles
electrotyped and pasted on each box Of
these cigars. A piano manufacturer once
wrote to Mr.. Cleveland that 1900 of his
admiring workmen wished to present a
piano to the first lady of the land. The
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-12-29

achievement in the form of stories of
athletes. frontier life or any others de-
picting hardihood, courage and success.
Now. in selecting library to meet
ing tastes we find a great wealth of ma
terial at some points and great poverty
at others There is a treasury of reading
for little children and an embarrassment
of riches in the field of fairy tales, myths,
legends and foreign history. We find
some good books also on travel and
occupations as we'll as a number of suit
able stories for boys.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-12-29

with note from their parents. In this
way we insure that our sex-hygiene
works are not consulted by those whose
only motive may be curiosity. while at
the same time they are quite at the dis
posal of those who can make real use
of the knowledge contained in them.
I'm the matter of instruction in sex
hygiene. by the way, there has been a
complete and abrupt revulsion of popu-
lar feeling. Ten years ago the librarian
who permitted these works on his shelves
would have been anathema from one end
of the country to the other; today, the
librarian who does not have them Is
standing out against an insistent public
demand. In this city the desire of the
people to know more about a phase of
their physical and moral life which may
be called vital in every sense, has,
think. received a marked impetus through
the series of lectures given under the
auspices of the Woman's Clinic, as well
as through the first Washington confer
ence on the boy and the home, held last
fall by the local Y. NJ c. A.
However, these works discuss sex life
from a purely instructional or scientific
point of view, and the fact that they are
placed in special collections is not the re-
suit of such moral considerations as i'm
PEELED US to the establishment of the In
ferno. in which We retain the classics
dealing with sex in an entirely different
spirit.
Another type OF book which does not
conform to the moral standards set up
by our purchasing department is exem-
plifed in the Rallies series-books
which glorify crime, celebrate the tri-
umph of lawlessness over society, chuc-
kle at the clever way in which crooks
outwit the police and represent a sneak
thief and swindler as a gentleman. In
this connection l remember that when
an eighteen-year-old boy was arrested
in this city some time ago after per-
forming a series of audacious robberies
III
of one of the 'Raffies' books.
#*s
six months ago the library officials
might have been called prigs for not
keeping these books: today l think that
our policy in this respect has been amply
justified. OF course, if no one but ma
ture readers, people of cultivated habits
and of clear outlook on the world. were
TO get hold of this type of book no harm
would result, for they would read it with
the realization that the author was mere
ly writing in literary form analogous
possibly to the picturesque novels of
Spain. But this class of reader is only
one OF the many served by the District
Public Library. All our fiction is on
open Shelves which means that any one,
including children and people OF the
Schrank type. may go in and pick and
choose at will.
In selecting books for our children s
department, of course, We apply the same
standards as those on which books for
adults are judged. In addition, we also
see to 1T that the childrens reading does
not include tales of practical jokes, which
cause suffering to others, and stories
which may tend to impair parental dis
cipline. or which may represent boys and
girls of tender years as living the lives
of fashionable grown-ups. staying UP at
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-12-29

admit it. Mr.. Cleveland was long haunt
ed by 1t. and had sort of superstitious
dread of the old 9th street station, with
its brass star. marking the spot where
Garfield stood when shot For some time
he alighted from trains outside the sta
ton yard, where his carriage awaited
him.
Secret service espionage over President
elect Wilson commenced soon as
he was nominated, but its full force
will not be felt until he rides in
the inaugural parade with detectives
lining his carriage on both sides.
he will soon come to feel like a
prisoner with a death watch set upon
him, and then he will try to kick over
the traces and escape his guards. Once
he steps out of doors he will never be
out of reach of these inquiring eyes, for
even if he wishes to hike out for soil
tary stroll in the woods the secret serv
ice men must keep watch on him whether
he likes it or not. Such an incessanI
suggestion of danger must indeed be
nerve-trying. Even within the private
confines of the White House there will be
guards watching every corridor and hall
way leading to the room in which he
happens to be. Should he slip out into
the sleeping-room corridor in the mid
die of the night there will be guard
even there to witness the presidential
pajama parade.
He will have to nerve himself also to
the realization that his daughters, too,
will be continually in this limelight glare
for the next four years. This danger
caused Mr.. Roosevelt considerable anX-
iety. When he entered the '. lite House
he impressed upon his children that they
were in no wise superior to any other
youngsters How this training took ef-
feet was shown once In reply by young
Archie to a fawning society woman, who
had asked him if he did not dislike going
to public school with "all those common
little boys" He answered: My papa
good and bad boys"
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-12-29
Special Correspondence Of The Star.


LONDON, December Z, 1912.
once more the tyranny Of the hat
- was asserted this week in the
house of commons. which, though it
claims to be the most dignified legis-
lative assembly In the world, is in many
ways one of the most ridiculous. In
the house no end Of "fussy'' old tradi-
tions are kept up religiously which
really -businesslike assembly would
have 'scrapped" years ago, and there
are terrible outcries from the old fos-
sis on both sides of the chamber when
new or absent-minded member forgets
some unimportant if not actually non
sensicar point Of order" but most
ludicrous of all is the part which the
hat still is allowed to play in the legis-
lation of the greatest empire the world
ever has seen.
1t seems almost incredible that in the
English house of commons no member
can raise a point of procedure during
the division unless he is sitting down
with his hat on, but so it is solemnly
laid down in the rules, and it was for
this reason that one silk hat had to
serve three heads during the debate on
home rule a few nights ago. 1t is the
custom, of course, for members of the
house to sit with their hats on (this
legislative assembly being the only one
in the world where such a fashion OBJ
tains), and many and various are the
rules as to when an NJ. P. must keep
his hat on and when he must take
1T of. In the house of lords. by the
way, there is none of this hat nonsense.
and how the commons ever came to let
it become such a fetish is a mystery.
When a member of the house adj
dresses that body he is supposed to
rise and remove his hat before begin
ming, but the rule that he must be
seated and wearing his hat when he
takes an exception to the ruling of the
chair is an ironclad one, and even Glad
stone at the top Of his power was called
to order on the one occasion when he
forgot to observe it. This, if memory
serves. was in 1884 or 1885. when the
grand old man was prime minister, and
for some reason or, other he thought
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-12-29
WLL Wilson'S Door .
MW@ STAY OPEN AT THE
" WHITE HOUSE !?

WILL Find Himself in
w Fierce Light Far Worse
Than That Which Beats
Upon a Throne-Must Nerve
Himself Against 1ncessant
Stare of the Maddening
Throng-Every Freak and
Lunatic in Land Will Try to
See Him-Espionage Over
Him a Constant Suggestion
of Danger-The Limellght
Always on His Children Also
He Must Prepare to Be
illuminated, Insulted and
Exploited-His Advertising
Value-Magic of His Name
Wall Street Will Trade on
His Pulse and Temperature.