The Washington herald., 1914-12-20
TAFT WRITES OF WHITE HOUSE LIFE

went with a party OF young people. in
cluding the Charles Tafts. to coast down
a fine steep hill In Mount Auburn. VIII
Taft was there and after being intro
duced to me he took me down the hill
on his big bobsled. After that we met
very frequently.
"A small circle Of us went in for anna
teur theatricals with much enthusiasm
and great earnestness. We launched
ourselves in our histrionic careers In She
Stoops to Conquer which We gave az
the house of one of the company. Then
came a Scrap of Paper in Mrs. Charles
Taft's drawing-room, in which both VIII
and I took part. We had become very
ambitious by this time and sent all the
way to New York for a professional
stage manager to help us with the pro-
duction.
My father had given me a very nice
lot at the end of Mcmillan street, on the
site of an old quarry. which commanded
a fine view of the Ohio River and the
surrounding country. and Mr.. Taft and
I determined to build a house on il which
should be ready for us when We got
back from our wedding trip. So the VIM
ter before our marriage was filed with
architects plans. contractors estimates,
and all the other fascinating details of
building, and we thought that We had
with every requirement of good taste and
modern comfort.
For our wedding trip we went abroad,
and l had my first taste of the foreign
travel OF which 1 had always dreamed
We crossed on the City of Chester,
which was the oldest, and therefore the
cheapest ship of the Inman line. We
chose her for the simple reason that her
rates accorded with our means, but we
found, much to our astonishment, that
We were the only people on board who
had deliberately selected her. Everybody
else had been forced to take her be-
cause of some emergency or some mishap
One man had to miss the Germanic in
order to give his dentist time to relieve
a very troublesome tooth. Another man
was called to court just as he was about
to board the Britannia
Those were the proud ships of the At
lantic in those days, and it was not at
all difficult to understand why anybody
should prefer them to the City OF Ches-
ter, but it amused us greatly to hear the
shame-faced excuses of our fellow-pas-
sengers. Ny husband and l were not
ashamed. nor were we so particular about
our comforts that We did not thoroughly
enjoy ourselves. Besides, we had the
gratifying consciousness of the money
which the low rates had left i'm our
pockets TO be spent much more proftably
abroad.
Trip Took 100 Days.
Our trip from Cincinnati to Cincin-
natl took just 100 days and cost US Just
s1,OOO. or s. a day each. I venture to
say that could not be done nowadays,
even by as prudent a pair as we were.
"Mr. Taft was strongly opposed to TAX
ing the Philippines He was not an
nti-imperialist in the sense that he be-
lieved the Constitution required us to
keep the boundaries of the United States
within their continental limits. but he |
thought the AntipOdes rather Il far
stretch for the controlling hand, and he |
thought the taking Of the Philippines |
v oud only add to our problems and re- |
way the effectiveness and usefulness OF
our government.
oddly enough. he had expressed him |
self to that effect when he happened, |
during the Spanish war, to he dinms |
with a number OF judges. including JUS |
tioe Harlan, who, although later an anti |
imperialist. was at that time strongly |
uphOlding the policy of taking over Span !
ish territory in both oceans.
MIR. Taft knew just about as much
about the Filipino people as the aver I
ags American knew in those days. What
he definitely knew was that they had
been for more than three centuries un-
der Spanish dominion and that they now
wanted political independence He was
heartily in favor of giving it to them.
1T was one day in January, 1900, thu.
he came home greatly excited and placed
before me telegram.
Called to Capital.
' What do you suppose that means
said he.
II would like to see YOU in Washing
.or on important business within the
next few days. On Thursday, If possible
I read And it was signed William Nc
Imlry.'
I'VE didn't know and We couldn't
think what possible business the Presi-
Dent could have with him. 1 began to
conjure up visions of Supreme Court ap-
pOirtments; though / knew well enough
that Supreme Court appointments were
not rendered in that fashion, and, be-
iides there was no vacancy.
Mr.. Taft lost no time in responding
TO the Presidents summons. and I
awaited his return with as much pa |
Liencc as 1 could muster. In three days
he came home with an expression so
grave that / thought he must be fac
ing Improvement. But when he broke
mis- news to me it gave me nothing but
pleasure.
The President wants ME to go to
the Philippine Islands,, he said, in
lone he might have used in saying, The
President wants me to go out and jump
off the courthouse dome Want to go?'
ne added.
Yes, of course I answered without
/ moments hesitation. l wasn't sure
\ hat it meant, but 1 knew instantly
hat 1 didn't want to miss a big and
novel experience. I have never shrunk
,efore any obstacles when l had an
to see a new country. and
must say 1 never regretted any adven-
Ure.
I" The President and Mr.. Root want to
establish a civil government in the Phil
rpines,' said Mr.. Taft. and they want
ne to go out at the head of a commits