Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-08-11
BY J. RUSSELL YOUNG.

President Hoover's dream of having
his camp on the headwaters Of the
Rapidan River, in Virginia, become a
permanent vacation spot for his sue
cessors in the White House Is not likely
to be realized.
At least not to the extend ne hopes
for-of having future Presidents and
their families and friends using fire.
quently the attractive retreat he has es-
tablished In the quiet beauty of the Blue
Ridge Mountains.
That is the opinion Of those who are
familiar with the varied likes and
habits and temperamentS Of Presidents
In the past In the matter of vacations
away from the heat and worries OF
the Capital. History shows that the
difference In tastes Of Mr.. Hoover's
predecessors has been such as to ind;
cate the futility Of his idea for estab-
fishing . permanent place.
Idea Not New One.
His idea Is not new one. 1t has
been suggested frequently In the past.
but the thought always has faded away
when the impracticability was realized
| It Is an established fact that 1t Is diff
cult to get two Presidents who would
| be entirely in. accord regarding the
/ ideal spot for q permanent presidential
ferent from the man in the street when
1t comes to slamming down his desk
and rushing away from Washington To
play and rest. Therefore, what one
would like in the way of place of re-
treat or for q long vacation another
| one, would frown upon. Some of them
prefer the Seashore, some like places
, remote places far removed from civtli-
cation, others think only of places
where the fishing is good, or wheip
there Is opportunity for boating o.
cunning or golf.
DisaGrees With Coolidge.
This was shown very clearly by Presi-
| thumbs down on Mount Weather, at
Blusmont, Va. which had beeR selected
as permanent presidential retreat by
! President Coolidge.
| President Coolidge liked to spend his
vacations In reniots places where ne
could rest and relax in solitude and
! without much fear Of interruption, but
ho thought Presidents should have
| permanent place close to Washington
where they could 40 for brief visits, or
! for the whole Summer II they desired.
That was his reason for obtaining an
appropriation of $4,000 from Congress
| for the purpose OF putting Mount
Weather, which Is owned by the Gov
eminent, in proper condition for the
comfort and pleasure of presidential
families. He had never been to Mount
Weather. but he had heard much about
| the scenery Whereabouts, and OF the
good fishing In the Shenandoah River
not far away. Considering all this and
the fact that the Government already
owned the house and the tract of land
! comprising Mount Weather, and Its
nearness 10 the Capital, he decided that
it would be great vacation spot for
! his successors.
Maybe some future Presidents will
! agree with him, but President Hoover
t did not While loafing around Wash
| ington just before he was to move to
the White House he and Mrs. Hoover
| motored to Mount Weather and in
| spected the layout. They were not at
all impressed, The $4,000 appropri-
ated by Congress could be used for no
| other purpose. and it IS still In the
! Treasury.
HoOvers Like Camping.
President Hoover has never said just
/ why he did not fancy Mount weather
| II is at least two hours motor ride
| closer to Washington than Is his re-
treat on the Rapidan. Thoso who know
| his ways well contend that Mount
| immediate surroundings were not WHO
enough. Besides, when he goes 10
retreat in the mountain woods he pre-
fers to live more In conformity to the
immediate surroundings than would
have been possible ut Mount weather.
President Hoover Is said to look UPON
the place he has established on the
Rapidan - ideal for the purposes he
and Mrs. Hoover choose to use 1t.
There they can rough 1t and be lar
removed from the din and turmoil OF
the busy world outside: they are Sc
Guided and beyond prying eyes OF the
curious, yet they have comforts and
conveniences and opportunity to play
and loaf in the open. The mountain
tract at Catoctin Furnace. near Fred
erick. Nd, purchased early in the year
by Lawrence Richsy. one OF his secre-
taries. has bsen visited by the Presi-
dent and Mrs. Hoover, and they liked
it immensely. The layout corresponds
/ very much to his Rapidan retreat, and
1t Is quite likely that he and Mrs.
Hoover will 20 there frequently In the
! future, especially during the trout
| season.
Rapldan Greatly Improved.
The President and Mrs. Hoover had
greatly improved their Rapidan camp
since their first visit early in the
Spring, and shortly 1t will reach that
stage where it will be dificult to i'm
prove further. The President has pur-
! chased the tract Of land upon which
/ the camp is located. and he plans to
deed it to the Government as part OF
the Shenandoah National Park. In
making this known the other day. he
revealed his idea OF having the place
developed and made otherwise more at
tractive and comfortable to be used as
q permanent place for his successors
| In ONCE to visit
The records and history Of presidential
| vacations is interesting ana enlight-
| ening. For instance, Mr.. Coolidge
picked Mount Weather and Mr.. Hoover
| now picks his place on the Raptdan.
| President Harding would not have con-
sidered for q minute going to either
place for o vacation. The same woulo
Chief Justice Taft when he was presi-
dent. Col. Roosevelt would have en-
| loved himself at either place. but he
never deserted his old home, sycamore
| Hill, at Oyster Bay. N. Y. 1t would
! be dificult, too, to picture William Nc
Kinley trying to have good time at
| Mount weather or tramping over the
mountain trails or fishing the streams
around the Hoover mountain camp.
aest that he may have been tempted
! to 70 to such places occasionally, but
only when the trout season was open.
President Cleveland devoted his vaca-
ton mostly to fishing. He generally
went to Buzzards Bay on the Massa-
| chusettS coast. Frequently he would
Ash on the Potomac and the Chesapeake
and would 60 for long cruises on the
| palatial yacht Of Col. Benedict. But
such q thing as Summer White House
| aid not concern him greatly. He spent
| two Summers at Red Top, house
purchased by him in what is now Cleve-
| iand Parlr and nne Summer ut Woodley.