The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1923-07-05
PRESIDENTS TRIP

} early morning hours, and when 1t
} reached Brigham City the president
} was not dressed, but came out on
!, the platform in a bathrobe to greet
the people At Cache Junction he
was met by Governor Moore and wife,
Idaho's senators and congressman
and a few citizens, including DR..
Numbers Of Weiser who had gone to
= school with Warren Harding when
they were about six years old. At
that time Warren was called Winnie
by his mother and few close COM
panions, and as the years went on
it was dropped, and the two boys
were separated for half life time.
On this occasion when DR.. Numbers
was presented to the chief executive,
the Doctor said, Hello Winnie
And the President showed his sur
| prise and pleasure at meeting COM
panion of his barefoot days.
AS the train sped on into Idaho,
it Stacked speed at the stations where
people were assembled, so the presi-
dent could greet them as he passed,
and no group gathered at switch
! or wagon crossing was too small to-
receive his attention as he stood on
the rear platform enjoying the per-
feet weather and chatting with
friends. At McCammon, all trains
stop to register, and the President
addressed the thirty or forty people
gathered there. stop Of two min
utes was heightened to six or seven,
and as the train glided thru the Port
Neuf canyon the party stood on the
platform admiring the rugged gorge
that showed so plainly the action Of
the elements in the time of the
bursting of the bonds Of Lake Bonnie
vile and it's overflow into the valley
of the Snake.
At Pocatello the mass of people
banked along the line with dainty
touches of color was beautiful and
inspiring spectacle, and in the yards
hundreds of shopmen and other rail
workers stood in their working
clothes with flags, banners and other
symbols, expressing theif greeting,
while a fleet of locomotives whistled
their welcome.
Phone Service on Train
One of the most unique and inter
esting phases of the work in connec-
lion with the handling of the presi-
dents train was that of the telephone
company. At each stop special pre-
parations are made for telephone
communication with Washington.
At Pocatello the train was moved
from it's original stopping place and
in order to take care of that angle of
the telephone service, temporary in
struments were hung on fence posts
in the railroad yards. Washington
newspaper men stepped to these in
struments, placed calls for their
homes or offices and in less than two
minutes time were talking with the
parties called When the train came
to it's permanent stop the wires were
connected with the cars.
At Idaho Falls it was possible to
connect the wires direct with the
cars and government officials sat in
their compartments and transacted
business with their offices clear &C
cross the continent. The service was
remarkably rapid and efficient. Jack
Greenwalt, publicity man for the
Mountain States Telephone company
and "Johhnny''r Johnson, traffic ex-
pert for the telephone company, were
on the train. At PocatellO H. R.
Risley, Idaho manager joined the
party and when the train reached
Idaho Falls the first man ON the job
was Manager Harry Morgan with his
crew OF experts
Special arrangements were made
in the central office for handling the
calls but aside from that and the
special wiring the telephone men
said ut Is over our regular COM
mercial circuits"
Discusses Transportation
Having been told by Senator Borah
and other Idaho officials, including
Senator Gooding, Governor Moore,
former Governor Hawley and Repre-
sentative Smith and French that the
transportation was paramount in in
terest in Idaho, the president de-
voted considerable portion of his
address delivered from the rear
platform of his train here to that
topic. He referred to the prospects
of the best crops Idaho has had In
five years and added:
mo matter how bountiful you pro-
duce, it is vain unless you can
market your products"
The president said he was glad to
note the initiative taken in Utah to
obtain relief from transportation
troubles through building up at home
of new industries, speaking partic-
ularly of the step taken in the state
to produce sugar, and added that so
long as he was president every pro-
lection would be given to the do
nestle sugar industry"
Against Strikes
Speaking directly to group of
men gathered beside his car
the president continued:
Railroad men are just as con-
,erned with transportation as the rest
If the population. l think that the
men who are engaged in transpor-
alton in this country ought to be
he best paid of any industry and to
oil under the most favorable condi-
ions. You haven't any right under
my conditions to bring about sus
pension of service. | don't mean
hat govrnment ever will require
you to work against your will. We
ant do that in free America. But
do mean you shouldn't suspend
I'LL t.xr. <<E