The Washington times., 1920-09-19

happens political even' but, which
is rare. 1t was mat Or Of purely
local, rather than ma 8 onaI. politics.
1t was the Presidents appointment Of
Miss Mabel Boardm ~. as a member
of the Board OF Co pmissioners which
runs the District OF Columbia. and
the announcement that she would ac-
cept the position tdnd come down from
her summer ho fle at Murray Bay to
take up the titles thereof within a
Week NOT fonly was Washington
thrilled by trtt announcement, but 1t
was thrill which must have pene-
trated pretJJ well all over the coun-
try. For SIabel Thorp Boardman Is
known Wb ereyer the American Red
Cross Is Known-which means that
her faT T comes pretty near to being
world = ide.
Matt Stally the appointment was
greet . i with acclaim. II was abso-
luteI non-partisan-and in a way
nor political. For Miss Boardman's
al iation~ so far as she has any. are
r. her with the Republicans than with
f,e Democrats. She was personally
IL close friend OF the Tafts both dur
4 ing Mr.. Taft's service as Secretary OF
! War and later on during his Presi-
dency. And she remains close
friend of the Taft family now that
they are no longer in public life.
Those who know them best have al
ways guyed them more or less about
their perfectly open Filtration"
Taft, during his Presidency. when
he had an old-fashioned theory that
the President OF these United States
was expected to confine himself with
| in their borders during his official
term, established the summer White
| House-since his pet resort, Murray
Bay. was over the st. Lawrence, in
Canada-at Beverley, within easy
reach OF windyclifre, the Boardmans'
summer estate. And after Mr.. Board
mans death, the Boardmans-Miss
| Boardman and her mother-gave up
that big place Ut has since been oc-
cupied, and 1t seems to me that they
bought il, by the Isaac T. Manns, also
OF Washington and puilt themselves
| most attractive cottage at Murray
Bay, where for the past few sum-
mers they have been regular members
OF the flourishing American colony
there. which the Tafts Immediately
rejoined
Then again. the family is connected
by marriage-the marriage of Miss
Boardman's sister-with the most re-
dictionary, stand pat, hard shell ele-
ment of the Republican party. Her
sister, Miss Josephine Porter Board
man, married Murray Crane. at that
time Senator from Massachusetts, and
thep, as now, a power in the Republi-
can councils. That romance was as
l remember IL, the outcome OF that
famous Taft trip to the Orient in the
Roosevelt Administration, when Cupid
was very much on the job. and mark
cd among his victims, Alice Roosevelt
Nicholas rtrn
Cochran and Anne Ide, daughter of
Henry Clay Ide, OF New York. who
was then governor OF the Philippines
Another OF Miss Boardman's sisters Is
Mrs Frederic Keep, a leader, in Wash
ington's ultra exclusive society.
1t was Characteristic OF Miss Board
man herself, that during the years
that she was the actual executive
head of the Red Cross-I believe they
called her national secretary"-of
which the President is usually the
titular head, she wore the plainest.
most businesslike of clothes, coat
suits OF the severest cut, and the sim
plest OF tailored white waists She
was n millionaire's daughter, for her
father, the late w. j. Boardman, OF
cleveland, was a very wealthy man,
and woman OF assured social posi-
tion, but she was very much more
|
whose living depends upon her work.
During all those years she left her
Dupont circle residence about s o'clock
in the morning, and was at her desk
in the office assigned to her in the
War Department well before the de-
partment opened, and stuck at II pret-
ty closely till along about I 80, when
she went home to luncheon. And II
there was any unusual rush in the
work, she was not particular how
long she kept luncheon waiting,
though she did like to 20 home be-
cause she felt that she owed some OF
her day TO her mother. Sometimes
she was back at her office during the
afternoon, although she was not sup
posed to be. and occasionally even
well into the night Really for TWEEN
ty-four hours n day she was working
for the Red Cross. II was never far
from her thoughts, and she never
missed an opportunity 20 interest the
people she met socially or officially