THE SI7XDAY OREGOXIAX, POKTLAM), 3IAT 1, 1910.
A
W6
T
RE51DENT
Men
RUN
o
flE
Side Lights on Several
Unprominent Folk Who
Live Close to Taft
and Direct His Move
ments or Serve Him
HOW President Taft can dispatch tbe
lmmenifl amount of executive- busi
ness which cornea before hint dally,
uand At the same Unie meet the many
eocia.I obligations -which devolve upon
him, frequently necessitating km trips
from Washington, Is a matter of constant
wonderment to the people of the country.
The- fact Is, neither President Taft nor
ny other President couid travel the. pace
of the. Chief Executive without the. as
jtlsbanco of a first-class body of office
it: en and personal attendants, whose duty
St Is to relieve the President of as much
work as possible, and contribute to his
tjoorrfori in other ways.
The- daily routine of tti President is
practically nrda'ned for hirn by his sub
ordinates. Ho frequently comes to the
executive offices in the morning without
he lightest idea of what is going to
Itappin to him. although every minute of
.he day has been provided for by Secre
itajry Fred W. Carpenter and his assist
ants. The calendar is. simply laid on hie
desk, and he is expected to follow It.
Head Doorkeeper Thomas E. Stone at
tempts to see. that he does follow it. and
'about all the President has to do is to
arry out the programme which, when
ever possible, is made out so as- to con
serve his time and give him a chance for
."recreation when it is completed. Of
course, tl-e President maks many ap
ipointments on his own account, a record
oX which is kept by his subordinates, and
made to fit in with each day's pro
Iftimire. . It la rare than the men who run the
President eitr set into print. They are
irnocleot. unassuming men. who rould tell
much inside history If It was not their
"business, to treat nearly everything that
comes before them as confidential.
Indispensable Archibald Butt.
If there 1s nr onp individual in the
i White House entourage besides, Secretary
ICarpenter whose services are Indispen
sable, to President Taft. Captain Archi
bald Clavermg DeGraf fenreid Butt is the
nan. He Is the social aide, the walking
encyclopedia, the jack-of-ali-trades. the
absolute necessity of the President.
Whether in Washington or elsewhere, as
wag safely remarked by a wit near the
lose of President Taft'e, long tour of the
country last Summer, the President near
ly always "has the. time of Archie Butt a
"life."
'Somewhere, somehow, the Impression
i has grot abroad that .lust because Archie
. "Kutt. Captain, I". S. A., wears reglmen
' tals most, of the time and travels in
.presidential company, there 1s some
thing: wrong with him. A little origi
nal research Into Captain Butt's per
sonality, habits of life, and accomplish
ments will soon convince the investl-
rtor that the said Captain Butt Is a
'.good deal above the ordinary in manly
attainments. He is a natural born exe
cutive, full of energy, and a man no
enemy would want to meet, specially
In the dark. His unfailing (rood na
ture and his democracy are among1 his
i:hief assets. Wherever he has gone,
ire has made good. He put the mili
tary" club at Manila on its feet when
everybody else had given up In despair.
.nd as military attache to the legation
n.t Mexico, he made such an Impression
upon President Diaz that when the lat
ter met President Taft st El Paso last
fall, ho Insisted that Butt should be
r resent at the private Interview, 1
hough Ins own aide was left to cool
Vita heels outstde.
Incidentally. Butt would be" something
nf a politician if the President would
only quit giving him away. On a recent
trip. Butt saw a man coming toward the
President whom he recognized as a
prominent citizen of the territory of
N"ew Mexico.
"He;re comes a man yo-u met down In
wJIcito. Mr. President. His name Is
Rrown. and he is an influential citiaen
vlown there." said Butt soto voce.
"Why, hello. Mr. Brown. 1 am glad
to ee you. Butt tells me T met you
down 1n New Mexico, but blamed if I
remember ou. or where it was I met
you," said the President, illustrating that
fr.mknoss. and at the same time that
Jack of political sagacity, with which
tie Is generally credited.
Butt has nover expressed Ms opinion of
that Incident even to his most intimate
friends, but it Is said that he has given
jip all hopes of making a. politician, out of
Mr. Taft.
Not long' ago. Captain Butt followed
1 President Taft into Mawnry. and now
salutes the F.ast with full military dlg
rilty. He can swing a golf club on a
par with the President, and he, knows the
History of every dish, plei-e of furniture
and rag in th White House. When some
dtsreputablo article 1s produced in that
historic mansion. Captain Butt can be
depended upon to save it from the scrap
hea: by giving 1t a pedigree running back
ro Jackson. Jefferson or "Washington. Tf
Ihe White House chef happens to slip
up in preparing some covts: at dinner,
.Butt will make it palatable by informing
everybody that they ere rating it oft a
plate used by Abraham Lincoln or some
other by-gone President. His social du
ties also bring him In close contact with
Mrs. Taft. and he 1s frequently consulted
on White House affairs at which men are
to be present.
Luke Secretaxy Carpenter. Captain Butt
is & bachelor. If he were not, he would
certainly to be in a constant state of per
plexity between love and duty, for he
Ik on tbe job whenever the President is
cut of bed.
Colonel Cosby.
Next to Captain Butt. Colonel Spencer
Cosby. U. P. A.. Is in demand around the
White House for advice on social mat
ters. Cosby is another tie which binds
President Taft to the Philippines. He
was engineer officer of the Bepartmfnt
of Luzon in the Philippines during the
Taft administration as Civil Governor,
and the President took an Immense lik
ing' to him. Cosby, like most of the
White House force, affords a striking
contrast to the President in size. In
dress, he is one of the most dapper indi
viduals around the executive oftice.
Officially. Colonel Cosby is known as
the superintendent of the White House
grounds and buildings. He plans all the
improve m en tr. both interior and exterior,
.md It is needless to say that the AYhite
House tiikes a lot of improving to make
it comfortable for the President and
family. After a Winter's social campaign.
tp the course of which thousands of peo
ple hae passed through its ooovs. it is
squarely up to Coionel Cosby during the
j-ummer months to bring it tip to the
ara'k for the next campaign
Colonel Ccsoy waa ,Vo-l in. hia class at
West Point in l&l'l. He saw actual serv
ice in Porto "Rico .as a Major of engi
neers, on the staff of General Brooke.
When he went to the White House, he
was a bachelor, but has since taken unto
himself a wife. The eight young officers
of the Army and Navy who are assigned
to the White House for special social oc
casions report to Colonel Cosby.
Prei'ldcM's Serious Secretary.
Fred Vtr. Carpenter, private secretary to
the President, has been known to etmlla
feebly t a good joke. When the joke
was excruciatingly funny, his laugh, to
quote one of his best friends, sounded
"like somebody cracking eggs in the next
room." This characterization, however,
hae nothing to do with Mr. Carpenter's
qualifications or ability to bold down his
job. WrKhout him. President Taft might
as well be In the middle of the Atlantic
Ocean in a tub.
The Job of secretary to the President
is one of the most discriminating char
acter. The demands upon the president
by the public far exceed the power of
human endurance to meet, however will
ing the flesh may be. As an illustration
of the value of Carpenter's acuteness
and tart In handling persuasive Con
gressman seeking favors at the White
House, there is , an excellent example of
recent date In which the President got
everlastingly "stung" by overriding his
private secretary.
During the Eager holidays. Washing
ton is annually overrun with excursions
from girls In seminaries, high schools and
various "rah rah" institutions. To this
class of people, the home Congressman 1s
of no use on the face of the earth unless
be can secure introductions for them to
the President.
Consequently, the White House is be
sieged at such times by Congressmen
seeking engagements for their constitu
ents. .
"And how many did you say there were
in the party?" inquires Mr. Carpenter,
after listening to a tearful plea from said
Congressman.
"Only a few." replies the Congressman,
drawing down the corners of his mouth
in an endeavor to be diplomatic if not
truthful.
"I regret exceedingly that the Presi
dent's time will be so occupied on the
day you mention that he will be unable
to receive your party," replies Mr. Car
penter, suavely.
Recently, a bunch of Congressmen who
had been thus tactfully shelved in their
onslaught on the President's secretary,
went in to see the President In a body
and persuaded htm to override Carpen
te. They promised the President that
not more than 800 ot their constituents
would be in line. The President told
Carpenter he would receive them at 10
A. M. the next day.
At that hour, there was a. line In front
of the White House five or six abreast
and reaching from the front door to the
out-side gate, a block away. After the.
President had been handshaking for an
hour, his feet began to hurt. He called
for Carpenter, and inquired:
"How many people did I eay I would
receive?"
"Eight hundred." replied the secretary.
"Well, how many have I shaken hands
with since this thing began?" asked the
President.
"About 1600."
"How many more ar there outside?"
"About aa many as there were when
you began."
"Shut the doors at once." shouted tbe
President. "This is too much of a good
thing for me."
This order Carpenter promptly car
ried out, all the time smiling to himself.
Both he and Assistant Secretary For
ster had told the President the night
before just what he could expect for
violating their orders, and they enjoyed
the joke, even if the President did not.
It transpired that other excursionists
who had heard of the "open door" at
the White House had joined the throng,
as well as a lot of old residenters who
shake hands with the President at
every opportunity and brag about it to
their children and grandchildren.
If every man who writes President
Taft a letter flatters himself that the
President sits down in a quiet nook to
absorb its contents, he is badly left. Out
of three hundred letters which reach
the White House every day on au ave
rage, Secretary Carpenter and his as
sistants weed out all but ten or fifteen.
If they did not do this, the President
would never get a chance to do any
thing else. Under the system evolved In
the White House officers by George B.
Cortelyou when he was a President's
secretary, everybody who has anything
to do with stenography or typewriting
in that institution can read everybody
else's notes In shorthand. Consequently.
Assistnnt. Secretary Misehler answers
all the letters he can and then passes
the job on to Assistant Secretary for-
ster. who is one of tbo best office men
in the employ of the Government, and
who also disposes of a goodly portion
of the presidential mail. Finally, Secre
tary Carpenter takes a look at what is
left, and when the whole is. boiled down.
President Taft gets the remainder,
which, as noted above, rarely ever
amounts to more than ten or fifteen let
ters. Secretary Carpenter Is a university
graduate, unlike all his Immediate pre
decessors, and a lawyer. He learned to
ride horseback In the Philippines, and.
being an unmarried man. gives his un
mortgaged affection to a black horse
which he frequently rides. He main
tains an apartment in Washington, tbe
chief attributes-of which are his Philip
pine mementoes and an excellent
library of classical literature.
Taft's "Blame-It-Oii-Locb" Man.
Assistant Secretary Wendell W.
Mischler is the "blame-it-on-Loeb" man
of the Taft Administration. It will be
recalled that during the Roosevelt ad
ministration, William Loeb, Jr., secre
tary to the President, was the "goat"
whenever anything happened to affect
the personal popularity or political
standing of that President. Not In re
cent years has there been a. President
in the White House who has talked so
often and so much, extemporaneously,
as President Taft. Mischler is the man
who takes down all these speeches. He
is not only held responsible for his own
mistakes, but if he faithfully tran
scribes any mistakes the President may
make, he gets cussed for that also.
Sometimes, the President's friends wish
his stenographer was not quite so ac
curate. Mischler came over -to the White
House from the War Department with
Mr, Taft- He used to think, thai a com
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mon ordinary business suit was all any
body needed to keep from being ar
rested. When he became assistant sec
retary to the President, however, he
suddenly became Imbued with the no
tion that the dignity of the office de
manded adornment of a different fash
Ion. Consequently, one bright morning,
Mr. "Mischler appeared in a frock coat
that reached to his ankles. The coat
itself was not so long, however, for
Mischler Is pretty short of stature. The
President saw him coming and backing
off into the corner, sized him up with
a critical eye.
"Well, what do you think of that for
a secretary?" he said to those about
him.
Mischler got such a Joshing that he
beat a retreat to the tailor and had
a part of liis coat tails amputated.
Kven this did -not satisfy his critics.
Repeated trips to the tailor have since
reduced this garment to proportions
somewhat akin to an ordinary sack
coat, and everybodj' now seems to be
fairly well satisfied with it.
For the first time in the history of
the White House the secretary or as
sistant secretaries to the President are
not delivering Presidential messages to
Congress. The whole White House staff
is a trifle undersized, and for this rea
son Maurice C. Latta. formerly assist
ant secretary to the Roosevent Admin
istration, and executive clerk under this
one. has the job. Latta possesses the
most imposing appearance of the men
close to the President. He is a good
six-footer, loose-jointed, and without
an ounce of fat on him.
Latta used to travel with President
Roosevelt as his official stenographer.
Usually, however, his heft and strength
made it necessary for him to serve
in the ranks of the Secret Service
men, and it Is said that no President
ever had a wider swath cleared for
him la A crowd than the pathways
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Iitta used to c lear for liis . chief.
Around the White House he is known
as "Judge."
William IL. Crook, the other execu
tive clerk and disbursing officer, was
one of the so-called President's "old
guard," which was on duty in the
White House early in the Roosevelt
Administration. Charles Loeffler. who
was doorkeeper in the Roosevelt Ad
ministration is the only other member
of the "old guard" now on the payroll,
but Mr. Crook outranks him In point
of service.
Mr. Crook was detailed from the
Washington police force on January
16, 1SS5, as a bodyguard to President
Lincoln. He. Journeyed with Lincoln in
the Spring of that year to City Point
and Richmond, walking by the side of
the President with his hand on his
pistol. When the party returned to
AVashington, the news of Lee's surren
der was not yet known, and it was
Mr. Lincoln who asked Mr. Crook the
meaning of the bonfires gleaming on
the hills south of Washington. On
the night of Mr. Lincoln's assassina
tion, Mr. Crook wits detailed to remain
at the White House, and he has always
felt that had he been allowed to ac
company the President, John Wilkes
Booth would never have entered the
Presidential box door and have accom
plished his purpose.
Guard President's Health and Life.
As Commander-in-Chief of the Army
and Navy, President Taft gets his med
ical attention free. The present physi
cians at the White House are Lieutenant-Colonel
Guy L. Edie and Captain
Matthew H. re Laney, both of the
Army Medical Corps. Colonel Edie is a
Virginian, and was attending surgeon
at the War Department when Mr. Taft
was Secretary of War. He was among
the first consulted about the proposed
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reduction in the Presidential girth
measurements even before Mr. Taft
had the Presidential bee in his bonnet.
With the aid of an eminent English
physician, who prescribed" a diet for
the President which was conspicuous
by the number of articles of food Mr.
Taft could not eat. Colonel Edie did
succeed in taking some weight off Mr.
Taft a couple of years ago. Recently
the President has gone in for strenuous
physical exercise in the early morning
when he first awakes. It is under
stood, however, that he has thrown up
the diet Idea as a permanent weight
reducer. Colonel Edie and Captain DeLaney
also have charge of the hygiene and
sanitation of the White House, and
one of their really tough jobs haa been
to get enough air into the Presidential
offices on a hot day to satisfy the pres
ent incumbent of that high office.
Of the many men who have served
in this capacity in the White House,
perhaps none has ever been quite so
much appreciated as "Jimmy" Sloan,
who was a guardian of President
Roosevelt and was Inherited -by Pres
ident Taft. One of the few requests
Mr. Roosevelt made of Mr. Taft was
that Sloan should be made United
States Marshal in the eastern district
of Illinois, his home. President Taft
made every effort to carry out this
request, hut Speaker Cannon, who also
lives in the district, objected, and got
the Illinois Senators to oppose the pro
posed nomination.
Sloan is one of the best-athletes the
secret service ever put into the While
House. He is the one man that Pres
ident Roosevelt could not make quit.
On one occasion Mr. Roosevelt took a
well-known minister of the gospel out
walking with him for no other pur
pose than -to wear him out. Altec ha
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had covered nearly 10 miles In his well
known rapid pace, the President broke
into a full-fledged run on the last mile,
and with, teeth tightly clenched tore
down the home stretch without once
looking behind him. Despite his best
efforts, he heard immediately behind
him the sound of pursuing feet. When
he had almost reached the door of the
White House, he heard a voice behind
him say:
"Mr. President, I wonder what has
become of that minister?"
President Roosevelt turned around in
astonishment and gaspeS out:
farn you, sioati; I have neen trying
all the time to kill off that minister,
and all this time you have been killing
me."
The President and Sloan retraced
their steps, and .found the minister in
some brambles near the starting point.
his clotiies badly torn and himself
thoroughly exhausted.
President's Doorkeepers.
Thomas E. Stone, chief doorkeeper to
the President, has one of the largest
acquaintances among public men in
Washington. He served as chief usher
at the White House proper during the
Roosevelt administration, and one of
the hardest jobs he ever had to per
When Stone would tell the President
that it was bedtime, he knew the oper
ation would nave to be repeated sev-
the President became an accomplished
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fact, notwithstanding the fact that Mr.
Roosevelt would always meet his sug
gestion by slamming his book and say
ing. -By George. I'll do it."
From the first floor the President
would go to his den on the second,
and if ftone or Mrs. Roosevelt did not
collar him, the chances were nine out
ot ten that he would go to reading
again.
President Taft's "mother" during the
Presidential campaign was "Billy" Pan
nell, who was his doorkeeper when Mr.
Taft was Secretary of War, is now
doorkeeper to Secretary Carpenter, and
hence still helps to run Mr. Taft. Pan
nell Is a colored man of more than or
dinary mental attainments. He can ab
sorb with alacrity what goes on about
him with special reference to the Presi
dent. During the campaign Pannell
travelled everywhere with Mr. Taft.
and was always at his side to hold his
hat, put on his shirt, comb bi hair, or
do anything else that was necessary
for the comfort of the candidate.
Personal Valet of tlie President.
Monico Lopez Lara, a native Filipino,
Is the personal valet of the President.
He is the one man in the White House
force about whose choice the President
had nothing to say. Lara never gave
him a chance to say anything. When
Mr. Taft was civil governor of the
Philippine Islands. Lara was one. of
those Filipinos who attached himself to
the "big father" and refused to shake
himself loose. He never was known to
be on time but once In his life, and
that was when Mr. Taft sailed away
from Manila to beepme Secretary of
War. Lara was not only at the boat,
but on the boat, and refused to quit.
He insisted on going along, and good
natured Mr. Taft could not reBlst his
display -of affection.
In the execution of home duties, Lara
Is more prompt than in performing his
services to the Chief Executive. After
his arrived in the United States, he
picked up English rapidly, formed the
acquaintance of an Irish girl and finally
married her. It. is said that several times
President Taft has threatened to go
homo with Lara in order to see him on
time for once.
White House Housekeeper.
Included among the names of the men
who are busy day in and day out trying
to make life as easy as possible for the
President, should be that of a woman,
Mrs. James Jafrey. whose official title
is that of White House housekeeper.
Not until the Taft Administration cams
into being did Congress grant an appro
priation for a housekeeper at the Execu
tive mansion. Mrs. Taft is an excep
tional housekeeper on her own account,
and takes a great interest in the conduct
of the Executive mansion from the kitch
en to the living rooms. She wanted a
housekeeper, however, who could attend
to the routine of household affairs, and
chose for that position Mrs. James Jaf
rey. an elderly woman of broad exper
ience, who came to her on the recommen
dation of New Tork friends. Under the
Roosevelt Administration the servants of
the White House were under the control
of a steward, who was required to give
bond for the valuable articles of plate
and other ware. Mrs. Jafrey has full
charge of the White House under the
Taft Administration, the office of steward
ward having been abolished.
(Copyright. 1910. by E. J. Edwards.)
V : " I::! I ' I
twiiiiiiiaiiitii'tti1W"iniiniWmT-,'-"m-iiWr-,i'J-"-;: tm im-
The Magazine Poet's Terse.
.1. J. O'Connell. In Judse.
They're modeat as a. violet.
And never give a hint
Of anything: off-color, yet
They don't look well in print.