The Western news. [volume] (Libby, Mont.) 1933-current, 1934-03-08

|- erected more lhaH one President be-
! cause he was born In log cabin"
or some such humble dwelling place,
there have been times when 1t has
not been averse to limitations OF royalty In az
fairs OF government. 1t has accepted dictator
ships and despotism-sometimes benevolent and
sometimes not so-n fact II not In name, and
ID various other why's 1t has departed rather far
from the tradition OF pure democracy
II would resist to the utmost the comforting OF
any such title as king or emperor" upon its
Chief Executive but once upon time 1t con-
ferred the unofficial title of princess" upon the
daughter of President and rejolced In doing 80
And for a time Princess Alice daughter OF
president Theodore Roosevelt, was symbol In
Inc minds OF the American people quite as much
as the prince of Wales Is a symbol In the minds
OF the English The reasons which could be as
signed to that fact are various
Perhaps the best one lies In the fact that she
appeared on the scene at the turn OF the CEN
fury when. as one writer has expressed It.
America was just beginning to feel Its interna-
Iional oats, so THE public that idozed her IA
tner made OF Princess Alice heroine after the
pattern OF Its own desires and dreams" And
they felt somehow justified In comforting ROYALTY
upon the daughter Of their President when. q
few years later she went on grand tour OF
the Orient and Everywhere was received like
crown princess AMI presented with lavish gifts"
Another possible explanation lies In the fact
that, like her father, she was vivid personality
which naturally attracts attention to itself but
withal remains unspoed by much lIme-lightng
and keeps the common touch" without conde-
scendng. So the American public accepts such
personality as zone of our kind" and then,
paradoxlcally exalts 1t to pedestal OF herowor-
ship or Invests it with robes Of royalty
When Alice Roosevelt was a child she could
spend hours OF time pretending was a fiery
horse, preferably cream-colored like Cnderellas
horses, able at bound to cover vast regions OF
the earth and also able at will to turn Into some
thing quite different such as a princess with
very long hair, or extremely martial prince"
There's something bit prophetic about that, for
In her future career she was to cover some of
those regions, to become princess" BY popu-
lar acclaim. to talk with cowboys and kings,
emperors and expresses and gypsies, to behold
a multitude OF pageants and all sorts OF people
and things" So it's quite appropriate that she
should choose for the title Of her "reminiscences
the two words Crowded Hours" and that book
published recently by Charles Scribner's Sons
la. q record OF the crowded hours In the life OF
Alice Roosevelt Longworth, she who was-and
still Is to many Observation-Disclosures Alice"
To some extent political history of the Unit
ed States during the last quarter OF century,
In that she has been participant In, as well as
an observer of that history during that length OF
Time Crowded Hours" Is even more interesting
as a lively memoir of the great and near great
whom she has encountered In that center of all
political activity, Washington. d. G. Before her
father had left the White House she had mar
ried man destined for future political impor-
tance-Ncholas Longworth, congressman from
Ohio later speaker OF the house of representa-
tives and man whose friendships among all po-
1tical factions made him unique SO. as his wife
the reign OF Princess Alice" continued long
after her father had left the White House.
Princess Alice" was initiated into politics
when she was only six. Her father appoint
ed federal civil service commissioner and she
was taken to the White House to meet the first
President she was to know-4the small bearded
Harrison and later have memory OF Mrs
Some OF her characterizatIons of later Presidents
and their First Ladies not so kindly but
they are the opinions of a strong personality
strong In dslIkes we'll as likes-and interest
Ing because OF that as well as because they are
based upon nrst-hand knowledge
The first of the vivid memories OF Princess
Alicesn crowded hours are Of the Spanish-Amer
lean war which was sort Of glorihed picnic
to Alice and the other young Roosevelts. visit
to Camp Wyckoff, where her fathers regiment
was stationed, exciting experience In
more ways than one. AT fourteen and half
if was in love with Rough Rider. / was In
love with twenty, even though did have pig
tail and short dresses"