davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star., 1941-06-08

When Andrew johnson succeeded Mr.
Lincoln, he found the east room mess.
For many years, during the daytime, it
had been used as a general lounging
place by visitors to the city, and during
the war, then just ended. few were re-
fused a comfortable place to doze or
while away the time. The result was
that the furniture became infested with
all the breeds of chinches from this part
of the country known to the entomo-
logist. This furniture was all removed
and other furniture substituted, and
when Gen. Grant became President he
found the mansion was equipped as it
had never been before, and thereafter
lounging in the great reception room was
not permitted
1t was during Grants administration
that Nellie Grant and Algernon C. Sar-
toris were married on May 81, 1874.
The cost of Miss Grants wedding gown
was placed at $500 and the estimated
cost of the gifts was 100000 This is
said to have been the most brilliant
social function ever held in the White
House up to this time.
Passing over the wedding of President
Grover Cleveland and Frances Folsom,
which did not occur in the east room
the next of the famous weddings to
occur there was that Princess Alice"
Roosevelt to Nicholas Longworth which
took place on February II, 1906, and
which was certainly one Of the foremost
events of its time
Two Of President Woodrow Wilson 9
Evening star., 1941-06-08

The Secret Service was created on
July 2, 1864, by an act of Congress as
signing it TO protect the Nations money.
This was its main duty until, following
the Mckinley assassination, it received
the additional function of safeguarding
the Chief Executive. Since then, the
Services White House detail has per-
fected the highly efficient system by
which it carries out this mission.
Nowadays, a President never makes a
trip unless one or more Secret Service
agents preCede him, going over every
mile o. railroad, highway and street over
which the President is to travel, and
arranging with local police authorities
for police assistance and for help in
selecting the route.
The White House detail, headed by
Col. Edward w. Startling. is usually re-
inforced by Secret Service agents from
other cities when the President leaves
Washington. For example, on President
Roosevelt's trip last August to the First
Army maneuvers at Ogdensburg. N. Y,
agents from New York and Buffalo were
brought in to supplement the White
House staff.
Agents in the field are familiar with
local conditions, and thus are espe-
cially helpful on these trips Chief Will
son said. The service always is ac.
corded wholehearted cooperation by To-
cal police departments from which plain
clothesmen usually are assigned to serve
with the White House detail under COM
mand of Col. Startling"
Constant Protection.
No stone is left unturned to protect
the life of the Nations Chief Executive.
Picked Secret Service agents remain close
to him at all times, whether he is speak,
ing in a convention hall, dining in a
hotel or receiving visitors at some public
place. And in every audience listening
to the President as he speaks, Secret
Service agents are constantly moving
about, their eyes rowing through a sea
of faces to make sure that no one con-
templates false move against the Presi-
dent.
Wilson is the first man In 30 years
from outside the Secret Services own
ranks to become its chief From 1920
until 1886, he was an operative in the
Intelligence Unit of the Treasury Bu-
reau of Internal Revenue. During these
years, he achieved fame for his investiga-
tions that preceded the convictions Of
Scarface AL Capone and his brother
Ralph; Terry Druggan and Frankie Lake,
the Gusick brothers. Sam and Jack:
Frank Nitti and other notorious Chicago
gangsters, and for his work in the Lind
bergh kidnapping case, which included
the perjury conviction of John Hughes
Curtis and listing of the serial numbers
of the ransom money collected by Bruno
Richard Hauptmann.
The Secret Service Chief started his
career as a businessman in Buffalo and
first became an investigator when he
served the United States Food Admin
istration in his home town during the
World War. After the war he decided to
continue in his new profession and
joined Internal Revenue Intelligence. He
succeeded william H. Moran as head OF
the Secret Service In 1896.
Evening star., 1941-06-08

The Presidents recent fireside chat,
which was delivered in the east room of
the White House in the presence of
an unusually distinguished audience.
and which was heard over the air by
millions of Americans as well as by a
multitude of people in foreign lands. GER
tainly added a prominent notch to the
history Of this already celebrated room,
famous for its early christenings, its
notable weddings and funerals. and its
dances, receptions and entertainments.
And not infrequently, We find, by
scanning over past events, that merri-
ment and happiness have only too
often given way to sadness and grief.
However. the east room was not
always the splendidly decorated and
furnished room it is today, and the con-
trast between what it was in 1900,
when President John Adams first oc-
cupied this mansion and now, is cer-
tainly a great one, for it was then I'M
finished. and in it Mrs. Adams hung the
family wash and it is probable when the
British burned Washington it was still
what it was IA years before. For a time
during the administration of James
Monroe, the White House children
used the state parlor. or principal apart
ment as the east room has been called,
as the Children'S play room but it was
evidently furnished before Monroe
turned over his office to John Quincy
Adams, for in this great room the
guests were entertained following the
marriage of the Presidents daughter,
Maria Hester Monroe, to Samuel
Lawrence Gouverneur, and here Mr..
Monroe received Lafayette in 1924.
1t was not until Al years after the
mansion was first occupied that the
grim specter visited the White House
and President William Henry Harrison
died. Harking back to this important
event, we find the details of his death
chronicled in the National Intelligencer
Of April 5, 1841. which says:
President William Henry Harrison
died at the Presidents House, in this
city, this fourth day of April, Ammo
Domini 1841, at thirty minutes before
one o'clock in the morning.
"+ The last time the President
spoke was at 9 o'clock-a little more
than three hours before he expired; and
the words which he then uttered were so
remarkable that they deserve to be
recorded and remembered. While DR..
Worthington and one or two other at
tendantS were standing over him, having
Just administered to his comfort, he
cleared his throat. as if desiring to
speak audibly, and, as though he fancied
himself addressing his successor or some
official associate in the Government,
said: Sir, wish you to understand the
true principles of the Government.
wish them carried out. 1 ask nothing
more"
On the day of the funeral, which took
place from the east room of the White
House, all stores and places of business
in Washington were closed. The religious
services were conducted by the Rev. w.
Hawley, pastor of St. Johns Episcopal
Church, at H and Sixteenth streets, and
the body was temporarily placed in the
receiving vault of Congressional
Cemetery.
Though this was the first death to
occur in the White House in nearly half
Evening star., 1941-06-08

bower Of palms On his right was his
secretary. George Cortelyou, who later
became Secretary of the Treasury. and
on his left was John G. Milburn, presi-
dent of the exposition company and one
Of Buffalo's foremost citizens Just op-
posite them were Secret Service Agents
Foster and Ireland the latter identified
by The Star of September 7, 1901, as
Samuel R. Ireland.
The Secret Service men, however were
with the President as an escort rather
than as bodyguards. 1t had been the
Presidents custom to ask that one or
two agents accompany him on some
occasions to perform secretarial work,
aid local committees in arrangements
and to handle details relating to trans
portation.
The President was shaking hands with
each guest as an almost endless line of
admirers came forward to greet him.
One of them, young man. had hand
kerchief over his right hand, apparently
using it as the bandage for wound.
He was Leon Czolgolz, an anarchist from
Detroit, who had journeyed to Buffalo
for the express purpose of killing the
President. AS Czolgolz reached out his
right hand to shake hands with the
President, he fired a revolver concealed
in the handkerchief and two of the
bullets entered Mr.. McKinleys body, one
in the right breast and the other the
abdomen. The Secret Service men and
police closed in on the assassin and he
was Immediately arrested and rushed to
the police station under heavy guard.
Asked why he had shot the President,
he replied, II have done my duty"
Fatal Outcome.
President Mckinley, meanwhile, was
rushed to an emergency hospital on the
exposition grounds, and later was re-
moved to the Milburn home on Delaware
avenue, Buffalo's main street, where he
finally succumbed to his wounds on
Saturday, September IA, 1901.
Vice President Theodore Roosevelt
succeeded to the presidency, and short
time later a distressed Congress passed
a law imposing upon the United States
Secret Service the responsibility of pro-
tecting the lives of the President and
his family. Subsequent legislation has
extended this protection to the Presi-
dent-elect and his family.
At the time of the Mckinley assassina-
ton, Frank Wilson was a youth of IA.
The wilson's lived two blocks from the
Niagara River, near the docks at Ferry
street, from which boats piled the waters
to Skaters Point above the falls on the
Canadian side of the river.
Frank Wilson was proud of his father.
The elder Wilson, who himself had ex-
pressed pride that everything had gone
well with the Presidents visit to Buffalo
in 1898, was more than proud, when, 35
years later, his son became head of the
famous Government organization that
protects the President.
On that fateful day in 1901, Septem-
Der s, Franks father was i'll at home, as
already mentioned. Young Frank often
sold newspapers in those days and when
he learned that the President had been
wounded, he dashed down to the Buffalo
News. All he had in his pocket was a
lone nickel. He bought five extras and
In . few minutes they were sold, at
Evening star., 1941-06-08

feet from the breech and scattered
death and desolation around. Mr.. Up
shur. Secretary of State, Mr.. Gilmer, so
recently placed at the head Of the Navy;
Commodore Kennon, one of its gallant
officers, Virgil Maxcy, lately returned
from a diplomatic residence at The
Hague, and Mr. Gardiner of New York
formerly a member of the Senate of
that State), were among the slain"
On March l the bodies were brought
to this city and placed in the East
Room Of the White House, and funeral
services were held the following day over
all the distinguished dead except the
remains Of Mr.. Maxcy. whose body had
been removed from there to the home of
his son-in-law, Francis Markoe, jr, a
clerk in the State Department, who re-
sided on the north side of I street be-
tween Twentieth and Twenty-first
streets northwest, now the home of the
Arts Club of Washington, and num-
bered 20l7 I street and thence to the
estate of the deceased at West River,
Md, there to be inferred in the family
vault, in accordance with the wishes
of the family.
Following this. in 1850, came the fu-
neral of Zachary Taylor, the second
Chief Executive of the United States
to die in the Presidents official home,
after but brief illness, he having taken
i'll on July 4, after attending an In
dependence Day celebration at the base
of the Washington Monument, the cor
ner stone of which had been laid but
two years before.
Upon this occasion. it is stated, the
weather was intensely warm, and the
President partook freely Of ice water
during the period of the exercises Feel
ing hungry when he returned to the
White House, he ate very heartily of
cherries and iced milk and more ice
water. At dinner he did not heed the
warning of his physician, DR.. Wother-
Evening star., 1941-06-08

daughters were married in the White
House during his administration, Jessie
w. Wilson to Francis B. Sayre, in 1918,
and the following year, Eleanor whom
we heard with pleasure over the air
a few nights ago, married the late vii.
liam c. McAdoo
A funeral that took place from the
east room on october 27, 1924, strikes
rather home to our present Vice Presi-
dent, Henry A. Wallace, when We recall
that his father, Henry C. Wallace,
Secretary of Agriculture in the adminis-
tration of President Calvin Coolidge,
was buried from the same room from
which our Chief Executive recently gave
his historic address.
1t seems that something ludicrous
must be associated with every famous
structure, and the east room of the
White House is no exception when We
look back to the days Of President
jackson, and recall the cheese his many
admirers sent him and which was served
on one of the public holidays. The
cheese weighed 1400 pounds and
measured 4 feet in diameter, and was
two feet thick.
Gen. Jackson ordered that chunks of
it should be cut off and distributed at
the great reception. To make the story
short, his orders were obeyed but not
so by his friends, whose lack of judg-
ment was shown by the generous use
they made of the carpets in trampling
on the cheese and the subsequent OdOr
that prevailed thereafter.
Evening star., 1941-06-08
By John ClaeeH Proctor.

a century, yet it was to be but three
years after the death of President
Harrison that gloom should so soon
again envelop this historic structure,
when the bodies of Abel P. Upshur
Secretary of State in the cabinet of
President John Tyler: Thomas w.
Gilmer, Secretary of the Navy; Virgil
MaXcy, in the diplomatic service; ex-
Senator Gardiner of New York and
Commodore Beverly Kennon were borne
there after the disaster on board the
frigate Princeton off Broad Creek about
miles below Washington.
The prominence and positions of those
killed naturally made this event all the
more notable and historic. Commodore
Kennon had as his second wife Britannia
Wellington, daughter of Martha Parke
(CuStiS) Peter, the granddaughter of
Mrs Washington. Britannia Peter had
married Capt Kennon at Tudor Place
on December 8, 1842, and was therefore
left a widow after a brief married life
of but two years.
Largely because of the impoSsibility
of keeping from making errors, which
happens even with the best of writers.
especially upon historic subjects, the
writer has always deemed it safest to
90 back to the beginning of things and
find out just what the press said on
subjects like these at the time, and
even then sometimes he finds it quite
advisable to check up in other ways.
And so the writer has taken the fol-
lowing report from the National Intelli-
gencer of February %, 1874, which seems
perfectly accurate:
yesterday was a day appointed, by
the courtesy and hospitality OF Capt.
Stockton, commander of the Princeton,
for receiving as visitors to his fine ship
dying off Alexandria, a great number
of guests. with their families, literally
and numerously invited to spend the
day on board. The day was most fav-
orable, and the company was large and
brilliant. of both sexes; not less probable
in number than 400, among whom were
the President of the United States, the
heads of the several departments, and
their families.
After the arrival of the expected
guests, the vessel got under way and
proceeded down the river to some dis
tance below Fort Washington. During
the passage down, one of the large guns
on board carrying a ball of 225 pounds
was fired more than once, exhibiting the
great power and capacity of that for
midable weapon of war.
The ladies had partaken of a sump-
tuous repast; the gentlemen had sue
ceeded them at the table, and some
of them had left it; the vessel was on
her return up the river, opposite the
fort, where Capt. Stockton consented to
fire another shot from the same gun,
around and near which, to observe its
effects, many persons had gathered,
though by no means so many as on sinl-
lar discharges in the morning. the ladies
who then thronged the deck being on
this fatal occasion almost all between
decks and out of reach of harm.
The gun was fired. The explosion was
followed, before the smoke cleared away
so as to observe its effects. by shrieks
of woe which announced dire calamity.
The gun had burst, at point or
Evening star., 1941-06-08
Father of Secret Service Chief Once Guarded Mckinley

As chief of the United States Secret
Service, Frank j. Wilson is responsible
for the safety Of the President and his
family. And in the performance of the
duty that responsibility involves. he is.
in a way, following in the footsteps of
his father.
william Mckinley made two trips to
Buffalo during his tenure as Chief
Executive, from 1897 until 1901. The
first occasion, and great one 1t was
for Buffalo, was the annual convention
of the Grand Army Of the Republic in
1898.
In those days, there was no bodyguard
for the President of the United States.
no organization charged with the
responsibility of protecting the life Of
the President and his family. Until that
time two Presidents had met death be-
fore assassins' bullets-Abraham Lincoln
and James Abram Garfield.
The Buffalo Police Department, there
fore, had the job Of protecting Mr.. Nc
Kinley when he went there in '98 to
address the Union veterans. Six mounted
policemen, the pick of the department,
were assigned to accompany him about
the city and to and from Fort Porter, a
military establishment within the city,
where the G. A. r. was encamped.
One of these policemen was the pres
ent Secret Service chiefs father, John
Frank Wilson, able law enforcement ON
Ger who once served as president Of the
Buffalo Policemen's Association and
also helped to secure passage Of legisla-
ton for shorter hours and a retirement
plan for policemen.
All went well with the Mckinley ap-
pearance in Buffalo in 1898. The Presi-
dent also was a Union veteran, having
risen from q private to the rank of
major during four years of service in
the War Between the States. He spent
quite bit of time with his fellow vete-
rams and was their main speaker.
From the time the President reached
Buffalo until he departed, the mounted
police detail Travelled with him. Every
last one of the officers was not only
proud OF the assignment, but sought
to make a creditable showing for his
city and its police department. Just
before the Presidents departure, each
of them received five-dollar gold piece
as a special reward for his services.
Second Visit.
The second occasion that brought
President Mckinley to Buffalo was three
years later. in September. 1901, when he
went there, six months after his second
Inauguration. for the great Buffalo Pam
American Exposition. The President
spoke before tremendous crowd at the
exposition. He was the guest Of honor,
the center of attraction and was widely
acclaimed.
Another picked detail of Buffalo police
men was assigned to 60 with the
President as he travelled about the city
and the exposition grounds. John Frank
Wilson, however, was not member of
this second Mckinley detail, being con-
fined to his home by illness.
On Friday, September 6, President
Mckinley was greeting exposition Wis
itors at reception In the Temple Of
Music on the fair grounds.
The President was standing under .
The weekly echo., 1941-03-21

S L t. Why does my wife take such
little interest in me? Is there any
thing wrong with her according to hel
ways?
Ans: There isn't anything wrong now
but l warn you-if you don't start
showing her a better tins doing more
for her-you won't have wife. She
Likes to go to shows-have little fun
and you are keeping her top close at
home.
The weekly echo., 1941-03-21

/ j. have been going with boy for
the past two years He has nice man
ners and seems to love me very much.
He wants me to marry him and he
has one fault. Tell me if I should ac-
cept him or not?
Ans: The boy is in love with you and
YOU love him. The habit he has Of
drink. g might or might not cause you
worry ard discomfort Although / feel
that person as sensible as yourself
could handle a situation of this kind
without it breaking up your home. You
NUT use your own Judgment about
The weekly echo., 1941-03-21

M c. Should l make my arrang aments
now for the Easter party? Am I to be
disappointed or not?
Ans: Not this time This young man
is and has been pinching pennies every
since the middle of February in order
to come to your city to escourt you a
round in the Easter Parade. Get your
new clothes togethar-you are going to
have the time of your life.
The weekly echo., 1941-03-21

M W / wrote you private once and il
did me LOTS of good. My husband gets
jittery when I mentioned a certain
woman and baby and few people have
limited things to me. Is h ethe rascal
that l believe him to be?
Ans: In some cases, it pays not to
hsow too much ahout the past affairs
of your husband. l recommend that
you say nothing more about it and
if any of the lady's in the neighhpr-
hood try to talk to you-don't allow it
No, he isn't a rascal-but I assure you
he won't try this trick again.
The weekly echo., 1941-03-21
marrying this man.

M c. had a little girl raising ii,
am her aunt Her mother came ano
took ths child from me after l raised
it up and l want to get it back. Tell
me if l can or not?
Ans: l doubt it. You should have a
dopted the child at the time you took
it. then the mother could not take the
child. 1t is unfortunate for you, but
under the circumstances forget it and
do not try to make trouble for the mo-
Their Adopt you another baby.
M s. hava been here for long
while now and I am not so well. Tel
me if I should get work here or g
back to whre l came from? / an
looking for a husband too?
Ans: Stay there where you are ant
try to get you a job. You will get pn'
if you try hard enough Next, arrang'
to 60 to some good doctor there and ge
trea se--~r.e. fer ro,Ir condition Ate
you have regainsd your health-tak
more interest in the social activitie
around you'll believe you will get
husband within the next year.
The weekly echo., 1941-03-21

What America wants, says Dan
Beard in BOYS LIFE. sis a racs Of
husky. spartan lads. hard-ehaded, tough
bodied, tender-herated boys, who, Like
Abou Ben Adhem and Abraham Lin
coin, love their fellow men,"
The weekly echo., 1941-03-21

America sone of the few place on
earth today where work does get you
somewhere" Writes Dan Beard in BOYS
LIFE.
The weekly echo., 1941-03-21

A. L. Lewis, chairman of the hoard
of the Afro-American Life Insurance
Company, Jacksonville, Fla, speaks
over the wings Over Jordan" program
Sunday on the subject ."What the Neg
roes of Florida have given towards
racial uplft" Mr.. Lewis is the only
living prison among the group of foiln-
lers of the insurance company and has
made an enviable reoord in the bust
ness life of the nation through 40 years
of activitfS.
The weekly echo., 1941-03-21

Ane: Don't marry the boy now or be-
come top infatuated with him. YOU
are still in high school and he is young
"a marriage now would not be for the
best. Let him 60 on 70 the navy and
when he returns, if you both feel as
you do now-get married.
The weekly echo., 1941-03-21

L M D. am in love with young
man who is going to the navy and he
has asked me to wait for him and ]
wish to npw if I should marry him
now or when? Would he forsaloe me if
/ married him?
Henderson daily dispatch., 1941-06-26
Attend Assembly,.

Ni-ec~ Gl0rIG Van Dyke, ShITIoy
Ba.s. Caroline Finch, Patsy Mccall
lulu. and Mary Ann Johnson are at
tending the Methodist young PEG
pies assembly Louisburg college
his week.
Henderson daily dispatch., 1941-06-26
To C'amp.

Miss Mary Lou kmball expects
10 cave Friday for Camp Yonahlo-
see, Blowing Rock. where She VIII
spend two months.
Henderson daily dispatch., 1941-06-26
Attend Convention.

Mrs. j. W. Jenkins, Mrs. f. I.
hlonjIcy and Mrs. -. p. McDuitc,
attended the American Legion AuNl
nary convention IN Durham Tue
day.
Henderson daily dispatch., 1941-06-26
Go to virginia (amu.

Misses Mary HarrIe"n No,to VT.
kns, and "cmpc Bradley planned to
leave today for Mlliboro Springs.
va, to enter Camp Mont Sncnau-
dOdh.
Henderson daily dispatch., 1941-06-26
Returns to Delhi.

Mrs. L. NJ, AVcrritt has returned
10 Delhi, Ont, Canada. after vi,i,
ms f.er m<hcr, Mr.. j. l.. DAVIS.