Evening star., 1935-01-20

the last 20 years has carried in
visitors cards to the Presidents. II
the visitor has no card, in an adjoin-
| ing room he will find some blanks on
which he can write his name and his
business. Senator's and Representa-
tiveS are admitted without cards, and
these often bring constituents with
them, whom they introduce to the
President. The gray-mustached mes
senger who takes in the cards keeps
possession Of them afterward, and I
doubt not in his collection he has
some in the handwriting Of GarnelFs
assassin, Guiteau.
The cards presented to our Presi-
dents form curious collection. Those
OF today, for instance, were Of all
kinds. Some were carefully engraved
on heavy bond, while some were rudely
printed In highly colored inks on
tinted paper. Some of the cards have
beveled edges, and one noted had
the words Chairman of the Iowa
Central Committee" below the name.
one card was penned by a woman's
delicate hand, and another looked as
though schoolboy had written it.
some were big square business affairs.
and others small strips of card board
an inch wide and two inches long On
some were written the desires Of their
owners. On one, II only want three
minutes; on another, Merely to pay
respects, and on third, which was
presented some days ago. a nail was
attacned, the card representing n
leading nail-making firm of Bellaire.
ONO. Some Of the cards of today were
from naval officers, others represent
generals well known In history. and
saw the name Of a writer who has
mace his reputation in the literary
word as a novelist lying beside the
caro- OF one OF the most noted sculp.
tors of America.
Inc guards who take In the cards
ana who admit visitors have a great
responsibility placed upon them. They
nave 10 size up the man whom the
caro- represents and to decide whether
UT not ne Is crank. You can have
no IDEA how many cranks come to
washington, and how they invariably
go 10 the White House at the first
chance. Often as many as a dozen a
week are turned away, and now and
then one gets in. Harmless cranks.
such as Mary Walker, are admitted
They take their chances of seeing the
President as ordinary visitors. but the
dangerous ones must be disposed Of by
strategy or force, as the necessity de.
mands.
During Mr.. Arthur's administration
a number of the cranks who called
were women who were willing to
marry the President, and the Hon.
Jere Black used to say that when he
was Attorney General under Buchanan
ne often received letters from women
whom he did not know who wanted
MIN to undertake negotiations by
which they could marry the bachelor
who was then in the White House.
The crowds of office-seekers are as
numerous as ever. CONGRESSMAN An
derson thinks that two hours every
day should be devoted to them, and
that visitors, to pay respects should
be excluded during these hours.
Judge Foraker.
Judge Foraker, the Republican can.
didate for Governor of Ohio, has one
OF the noblest heads among the public
men OF the Nation. His features were
widely commented upon at the Chi
cago convention, where he made an
eloquent speech nominating John
Sherman. 1t was predicted there by
men who have been long in public life
that the young orator would have q
great future. Judge Foraker has a
full
which heavy growth of brown hair
is pushed back
1 recall couple of stories Of For
aker's boyhood, which were told when
he was running for Governor before.
Young Foraker was raised on q farm
in Southern Ohio and his patriotism
! developed early. During the Free
mont campaign when flag-raisings
and mass meetings were setting the
country wild, young Foraker's parents
went away on visit leaving Ben, who
was then 10 years of age, at home.
The boy decided to have f1ag-raising
of his own and he found on the other
side of Rocky Fork Creek a tall,
straight sassafras tree, the very thing
for his purpose. He cut 1t down with
a hatchet, dragged it to the Rocky
Fork, threw it in the water and swan
across, pushing it in front of him.
The story of his expedientS to get it
up the hill on the other side corre-
spends with that of Robinson Crucoe's
trials in making a boat to get away
from his desert island. Ben's little
sister helped him, however, and the
pole was finally planted after a week
OF hard work. The boy then took a
couple of his sisters flannel petit
coats. one red, the other blue, and
with these and one of his fathers best
white shirts he made flag which he
hoisted to the top of the pole. When
the family returned they found young
Ben triumphant and the red, white
and blue waving over their farm
house.
Mrs. Foraker, the judges mother,
gives the following as a true version
of Ben FOraker's coffee-Sack trousers,
which were made and worn about the
same time as when he raised the flag.
The Foraker house was at a distance
1IOiu ally bUWu, dAIu yOu11S DCA1 II OilC
of his wild adventures tore his only
pantaloons to such an extent that O
new pair was needed at once. The
men about the place were building a
dam. There was no one to go fer the
cloth Mrs Foraker says:
Il did not know what to do about
the boy for full hour I wanted him
to 60 to school and he had to have
some trousers. All at once thought
Of coffee sack that we had In the
house and I made the trousers out Of
it. When I showed them to Ben he
looked crestfallen. I don't want to
wear them, he said, all the boys will
make fun Of me-
Never mind said I, If you make
smart man, people will never ask
what kind Of trousers you wore as o
boy"
Young Foraker wore the trousers
and suppose the boys laughed, but.
as his mother said, 1t does not matter
now. Foraker is said to have been q
great help to his mother when he was