Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1917-01-05


to the donor usually is given in a
legend hung upon the cage.
Opossums Frcfa the President.
The list for one year contained the
interesting item, "Hon. Woodrow Will
son, Washington D. c., opossums."
These presumably were a gift to the
president which he passed on to the
Geological park. The following year
President Wilson contributed only one
OpOssum. The most noteworthy con-
tribution of this kind was the cOllec-
ton of animals sent by King Menelik
of Abyssinia to President Roosevelt.
The park also contains fine collec-
ton of South American animals, gift
from the governor of the state of Para,
Brazil, and lot of lions and other an
imals of East Africa, presented by w.
M. Mcmillan, the wealthy American
big game hunter, who has interests
there.
Animals received from these sources
often have been rare and of especial
interest and always have been gladly
received but the park officials, not
having means to provide suitable per-
manent quarters for them, have been
compelled to house them temporarily
in such structures as could be built at
the smallest possible cost. This is es-
pecially true of the bird collection,
which includes many valuable and in
teresting specimens but is exhibited
in frame building of the rudest and
cheapest construction, with the pretty
creatures necessarily hustled together
with relatively little regard for their
habits or needs.
For years the superintendent has
tried to point out to congress the ur-
gent need of new structure, but so
far without lifting the annual apprO-
priation above it's prohibitive level. 1t
is not even good business to continue
the use of this old shack. This build
ing, like many others in the park, is
continually supplying object lessons in
the ultimate costliness of cheap tenn
porary construction. A new aviary
could be built for $4,000. Visitors
often contrast this building with the
houses for birds which are to be seen
in other American cities, such as the
one In Philadelphia geological park, re-
Gently completed at cost of some
$4,000; the beautiful building in
Franklin park, in Boston, built in 1912
Ii, which cost about $15O,OOO, and the
great general aviary building in the
New York geological park.
President a Hard Worker.
With eight-hour, immigration, cor
rupt political practices, and ten or a
dozen other forms of important legis-
Iation confronting him in congress,
President Wilson has mentally anx-
ious time of it, and physically hard
time Of it with score Of daily duties,
but he manages to find time for recre-
alton and such rest as recreation
brings, plus a comparatively short
nights sleep.
The president of the United States
gets up early, sometimes as early as
FIVE o'clock, although it probably is
not true that his invariable practice is
to rise sometimes more than two hours
earlier than at this season the sun
leaves it's bed. Woodrow Wilson, how
ever, probably will go down in history,
If history pays any attention to de-
tails, as the earliest-rising president
in the history of the republic up to the
time that the chronicle is written.
All presidents Of the United States
-. ronao13 ~ x.,orly hord There NAV
have been men who held the preslden-
tial position who by nature were lazy,
but nature sometimes has to give way
to the force of circumstances. Mr.
Taft was not lazy, but he was leisure
". He had habit of putting OF
things until day or so, or perhaps
an hour or so, before they must be
done. Then he would pitch in and do
the work of four men and do it without
eating or sleeping. 1t is said that Mr..
Taft was glad of the chance to be
forced to abstain from eating because
in his presidential days he was over
weight.
Works Before Breakfast.
For an hour or two before he eats
his breakfast President Wilson die
tates letters to his stenographer. Then
he has to meet callers, some of whom
are on business bent and more of
whom are not. An attempt has been
made recently to keep down the num-
Der of mere handshaking visitors.
Their ranks have been growing in re-
cent years until something had to be
done to limit the handshaking attend
ance during the morning hours in the
White House.
When Theodore Roosevelt was pres
ident he met hundreds Of visitors of
the handshaking class. He had the gift
of saying something nice to each one
of them and getting rid of him almost
instanter. President Taft could not do
4I,so oo711d& COW Y1i0Q THINGS all