THE NAVY DEPARTMENT

The offices of the Navy Department are situated in the same building as those of the War Department. The Secretary of the Navy occupies some of these handsome rooms. On their walls are the pictures of eighteen Secretaries, more than half the number of those who have occupied the high place being yet unrepresented. Secretary Long urged that the pictures of those yet waiting should be secured and given a place among these worthies. Down to Lincoln's day the following persons occupied the place of Secretary of the Navy:

During Washington's administration the Secretaries of the Navy were also Secretaries of War. Three men occupied the double position: Gen. Henry Knox, of Massachusetts; Timothy Pickering, of Massachusetts; and James McHenry, of Maryland. In John Adams's administration the Navy was made a separate department. The Secretaries of the Navy since 1798 have been as follows: Benjamin Stoddert, of Maryland; Robert Smith, of Maryland; Jacob Crowninshield, of Massachusetts; Paul Hamilton, of South Carolina; William Jones, of Pennsylvania; Benjamin W. Crowninshield, of Massachusetts; Smith Thompson, of New York; Samuel L. Southard, of New Jersey; John Branch, of North Carolina; Levi Woodbury, of New Hampshire; Mahlon Dickerson, of New Jersey; James K. Paulding, of New York; George E. Badger, of North Carolina; Abel P. Upshur, of Virginia; David Henshaw, of Massachusetts; Thomas W. Gilmer, of Virginia; John Y. Mason, of Virginia; George Bancroft, of Massachusetts; William B. Preston, of Virginia; William A. Graham, of North Carolina; John P. Kennedy, of Maryland; James C. Dobbin, of North Carolina; Isaac Toucey, of Connecticut; Gideon Welles, of Connecticut. Since then have come John Faxon, Adolph E. Bane, Geo. M. Robeson, Watson Goff, Jr.; N. H. Hunt, Wm. E. Chandler, Wm. C. Whitney, Benj. F. Tracy, H. A. Hobart, John D. Long, M. H. Moody, Paul Morton, Chas. J. Bonaparte, S. H. Newberry and George von L. Meyer. Mr. Long resigned in 1902, and was succeeded by Mr. Moody, who later was transferred to the Supreme Court. Of Mr. Meyer the Directory says:

George von Lengerke Meyer, of Hamilton, Mass., Secretary of the Navy, is trustee Provident Institution for Savings, Boston; director Old Colony Trust Company, Boston, Amoskeag Manufacturing Company, Manchester, N. H., and United Electric Securities Company, Boston; was a member of the city government of Boston, 1890-1892; member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives, 1892-1896; Speaker of the Massachusetts House of Representatives, 1894-1896; Republican national committeeman, 1898 to 1905; confirmed as ambassador to Italy December 14, 1900; transferred as ambassador to Russia March 8, 1905; recalled in February, 1907, to enter the Cabinet as Postmaster-General, and took oath of office March 4, 1907, holding that post until March 6, 1909, when he took oath of office as Secretary of the Navy.

Now that the United States has become a world power, the navy is the right arm of the government in taking needed supplies to our distant colonies, and in protecting with devoted care the property of America the world over.

The last annual report of the Secretary of the Navy showed that the United States has 252 regular naval vessels, 55 of special classes, besides as many more of inferior classes called standard vessels, such as steam-cutters, launches, cutters, etc. The Secretary's report shows that $84,181,863.89 was appropriated for naval expenses, of which about seventeen millions yet remain unused. A large part of this has gone for new vessels. No part of the government is increasing so rapidly as the naval service. When all men are enlisted for which legal provision has been made, the naval and marine force will reach 34,810 men, or nearly 8,000 more than were in the army prior to the war with Spain. By the Congressional acts of 1864, 1868, and 1876 the navy was fixed not to exceed 7,000 men; the act of March 3, 1901, fixes the number at 25,000, but the necessities of the country have increased it beyond this.

The average citizen knows far less about the navy than about the army. Yet in time of war the army would be of little use without an efficient navy. In the Civil War no great progress was made in conquering the South till the blockade shut in the Southern States, preventing the export of cotton and the bringing in of the necessities of life.

In the late war with Spain, brilliant as was the service of the army, yet our navy carried away the greater laurels.

The North Atlantic Squadron during the last fiscal year has been engaged in severe training in marksmanship and evolutions, gaining facility in landing large guns, etc. The vessels of this squadron have extended their operations from Maine to Central America, particularly among the West Indies. The South Atlantic Squadron has assisted in commercial interests along the coast of South America. The European Squadron is now mostly in the Mediterranean Sea. The Pacific Squadron is scattered over such a great length of coast from Alaska to South America that the ships can not drill as a squadron, but are obliged to maneuver singly. The apprentice and training squadrons have been along the coast of Europe, but are now in the West Indies. These are afloat continually, except when stopped for repairs or supplies.

Possibly no condition in the war with Spain annoyed us so much as the use of powder which emitted smoke and thus showed just where our men were located, while they dealt with an unseen foe. The navy has taken up this matter, and is experimenting on the use and making of smokeless powder. We shall not be caught napping again. The navy is also practising wireless telegraphy; and while it can not be said to have adopted any of the half dozen systems now before the public, yet so far it has secured the best results from the Marconi system. This is used by Great Britain and Italy. Germany uses the Slaby system, France and Russia the Ducretet system. The Secretary of the Navy insists that none is a perfect success, as the difficulty of interference has not yet been entirely overcome. Wireless telegraphy has carried messages between British war-ships 160 miles apart. In 1908 and 1909 the fleet went around the world.

We have eight navy-yards, the principal one being at Brooklyn. The barracks for the marines in Washington are situated on Eighth Street, a short distance from the navy-yard; they cost $350,000. The navy-yard at Washington does not build large ships, but produces chains, anchors, ordnances, such as rifles, breech-loading guns, etc., together with a long list of materials used in the navy.

Admiral Dewey is not only the pride of the navy but of the nation. He receives $13,500 per year. Rear-Admirals are paid $8,000.

Extensive and important improvements are to be made at the Annapolis Naval Academy. The country expects great proficiency in its army and navy, so no pains, no expense should be spared in the preparation of men of whom so much is required. A number of years ago Commodore Perry, speaking to the students of Antioch College (Ohio), told the following anecdote:

"Some twenty-five years ago I was carelessly walking on the levee of a city of the Adriatic. A short distance from the shore lay a man-of-war at anchor. I called an oarsman to me, and had him take me out to the vessel.

"I saw no one on board, but by a rope hanging over the side I went on deck, hand over hand. I paid the oarsman, and told him to return for me in an hour.

"I wandered over the beautiful ship, admiring its guns, its keeping, its admirable appointments, and its excellent management, shown by its condition. At the end of my hour I began to look for my oarsman. Just then I discovered a door on my right. I opened it, and in that room sat thirty-two boys. I had been there an hour and had not heard stir enough to show that so much as a bird was alive on that boat.

"The youngest cadet came to the door and welcomed me with his cordial military salute. 'Boy, where is your teacher?' 'Gone ashore, sir.' 'Do you keep absolute order while he is gone?' 'Certainly, sir.'

"Then passing to the front, I said to one of the older boys: 'Young man, why do you act so differently from other boys? Are you afraid of being punished?'

"The cadet rose to his feet. 'Sir,' said he, 'you see before you thirty-two cadets. We all expect to govern others in our future work. The first element of a good governor is self-government; sir, we are practising that.'"

The Commodore added: "That was twenty-five years ago. In the providence of God none of these young men have been called to eternity. I will now read you their names." And the audience recognized in each man a name famous in the navies of Great Britain, Germany, France, or America.

Now those lads had not merely kept silent. The mastery of self made them victorious over temper, bad habits, and all depraved tastes. They were men in soul as well as in body. Truly, "He that ruleth his spirit is greater than he that taketh a city."

XXVII
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

In February, 1903, President Roosevelt nominated to the head of the new Department of Commerce and Labor his secretary, George B. Cortelyou, and to be Commissioner of Corporations in that department James R. Garfield, who is a son of President Garfield, and a member of the Civil Service Commission. Of these appointments the New York Times expressed the general opinion of the press of the country:

The former appointment is significant chiefly because the new Secretary is intimately known to the President, and his policy in the department will probably represent the President's views very closely. It cannot in any special sense be regarded as a political appointment. The selection of Mr. Garfield is also conspicuously on the merits of the appointee, who is not an active politician, is an able lawyer, has been prominent and useful in the promotion of municipal reform and of the merit system in Ohio and as a Civil Service Commissioner. He has plenty of energy, a cool head, experience in public affairs, and may be expected to do all that can be done with the powers of his new office, the value of which must depend much on the character of the Commissioner and the support and direction of the Secretary and of the President.

After that Mr. Cortelyou made an efficient officer in this Department, then was transferred to the Treasury, which he ably conducted during the panic of 1907. At the end of the Roosevelt Administration he was called to the presidency of the Consolidated Gas Company in New York City.

Mr. Garfield was soon called to deal with the great corporations, and confronted the greatest problem of the times. He came to his responsible place a comparatively unknown man. His name carried something of the halo which surrounds the name of his distinguished father, and for that reason he started with the best wishes of his countrymen.

Mr. Taft placed at the head of the Department of Commerce and Labor Mr. Nagel, of St. Louis, whose history the Congressional Directory sums up as follows:

Charles Nagel, of St. Louis, Mo., Secretary of Commerce and Labor (the Arlington), was born August 9, 1849, in Colorado County, Tex. He left his home in 1863 as a result of the civil war, accompanying his father to old Mexico, and from there, by way of New York, to St. Louis. He graduated from the St. Louis High School in 1868; from the St. Louis Law School in 1872; attended the University of Berlin 1872-73; admitted to the bar 1873. In 1876 he married Fannie Brandeis, of Louisville, who died in 1889, one daughter surviving her. In 1895 he married Anne Shepley, and they have four children. He was a member of the Missouri Legislature from 1881 to 1883; president of the St. Louis City Council from 1893 to 1897; member of the St. Louis Law School faculty since 1886; Board of Trustees of Washington University; Board of Directors of St. Louis Museum of Fine Arts. Made national committeeman from Missouri in 1908. Has taken an active part in politics for the last twenty years by participating in conventions and speaking during campaigns, and has from time to time delivered addresses before bar associations and similar organizations upon various topics of public interest.

FISH COMMISSION BUILDING

The new department has a wide scope, and under efficient administration may exert a good deal of influence. It takes over practically the scientific and statistical work of the government, especially the Coast Survey, the Bureaus of Statistics from the Treasury and State Departments, and the Fish Commission, besides the Labor Bureau, the Immigration Bureau, and the enforcement of the Chinese Exclusion Act, and it has a new Bureau of Manufactures, with considerable duties. But undoubtedly the most important work it can perform is in the Bureau of Corporations. It will do a great work, if it only secures publicity of accounts. The powers of this bureau extend to "diligent investigation into the organization, conduct, and management of any corporation, joint stock company, or corporate combination engaged in commerce among the several States and with foreign nations, excepting common carriers." For this work the Commissioner is to have the "right to subpœna and compel the attendance and testimony of witnesses and the production of documentary evidence and to administer oaths." One of the objects of this power is to enable the Commissioner to "gather such information and data as will enable the President of the United States to make recommendations to Congress for the regulation of" interstate and foreign commerce.

The Survey, Quarantine, Immigration, and Life-Saving bureaus are next in importance. Along the coast new harbors and coast lines are constantly being surveyed. When the quarantine officer boards your ship at the entrance of New York harbor, and scares you thoroughly lest he keep you in quarantine for the sake of some poor Italian baby in the steerage, he represents the Secretary of Commerce guarding a great nation from disease. When the immigrant lands he is interviewed by an agent of this department and his money changed into United States currency. Some of these agents recognize in the poor, frightened, lonely, and travel-stained foreigner a human being who needs a friendly word and helping hand, but others would scare even an American woman, who knows her own value, out of her wits; what, then, must be the effect of such men on the feelings of these strangers? Nearly a half million of foreigners a year enter our ports, and I have seen many of them treated like cattle.

The Life-Saving Bureau has charge of the continuous line of life-saving stations which guard our coasts. No braver men have ever lived than the devoted servants of the government who patrol our shores. There are 269 life-saving stations on the coasts of the Atlantic, the Pacific, and the Great Lakes, and one at the Ohio Falls, at Louisville, Ky. The men of these stations were present last year at 693 disasters and saved 3,377 lives. Our government pensions soldiers and sailors who are hired to destroy lives; surely greater pensions should be awarded these heroes of the main for saving life.

XXVIII
THE EXECUTIVE MANSION

The President's house is generally known as the White House. It is situated on Pennsylvania Avenue, one mile west of the Capitol building. It contains two lofty stories above ground and a basement.

MRS. WILLIAM H. TAFT
(Copyright, 1908, by Harris & Ewing,
Washington. D. C.)

It was modeled after the palace of the Duke of Leicester by the architect, James Hobon. The foundation was laid October 13, 1792, and the building was first occupied by President John Adams in the summer of 1800. It was partially burned by the British in 1814. The front is ornamented by Ionic columns and a projecting screen with three columns. The space between these two sets of columns constitutes a carriage-way, admitting to the main entrance.

The White House proper contains but thirty-one rooms. The building was refitted and the wings for approach and for the private offices of the President were built during the administration of President Roosevelt. Whether seen through the tracery of leafless trees or through the verdure of summer, the White House always looks cool, restful, and beautiful. The situation is not regarded as very healthful, but everything that modern science can do is now being employed to improve its sanitary condition.

All official duties will in time be attended to in the offices which are situated just west of the White House, so that the latter will be used only as the private residence of the President's family.

Longfellow says:

All houses wherein men have lived and died

Are haunted houses.

How true this must be of the home of our Presidents! George Washington watched its building, and with his stately wife walked through it when it was finished, and was satisfied. They were about ready to leave the scene of action, but they did much to prepare the stage for the procession of Presidents which has followed.

For the last fifty years much complaint has been made that the house has not been large enough and that it was lacking in modern conveniences, but in spite of these objections no trouble has yet been experienced in finding men who were quite willing and even anxious to occupy it.

The walls are covered with portraits of the Presidents and their wives. All these portraits are interesting.

Mrs. John Adams bewailed the unfinished condition of the house, and used the now famous East Room for drying the family linen.

Of all the noble matrons who have graced the White House, Abigail Adams was the wisest and greatest. Her letters make her the Madam de Sévigné of our land. Her letter (written February, 1797) to her husband, who had just succeeded Washington, sounds like the voice of an oracle. We quote a portion: "You have this day to declare yourself head of a nation. 'And now, O Lord, my God, thou hast made Thy servant ruler over the people; give unto him an understanding heart, that he may know how to go out and come in before this great people; that he may discern between good and bad. For who is able to judge this Thy so great a people?' were the words of a royal sovereign, and not less applicable to him who is invested with the Chief Magistracy of a nation, tho he wear not a crown nor the robes of royalty. My thoughts and my meditations are with you, tho personally absent, and my petitions to heaven are that 'the things which make for peace may not be hidden from your eyes.' My feelings are not those of pride or ostentation upon this occasion. They are solemnized by a sense of the obligations, the important trusts, and numerous duties connected with it. That you may be enabled to discharge them with honor to yourself, with justice and impartiality to your country, and with satisfaction to this great people, shall be the daily prayer of yours—"

The first New-year's reception at the White House was held by President Adams in 1801. Mrs. Adams kept up the stately, ceremonious customs established by President and Mrs. Washington. It was her son, John Quincy Adams, as Monroe's Secretary of State, who was afterward to write out a definite code for almost every public ceremony. This code is largely in force at the present time.

Martha Washington comes into history simply as the wife of a great man, but Abigail Adams was inherently a superior woman. Of all the women who occupied the White House she, only, gave the country a son who became a great man, and occupied the highest position in the gift of his country.

After John Adams came Thomas Jefferson, who had imbibed ultra-democratic ideas in the French Revolution. The ceremonies which prevailed in the Washington and Adams period were temporarily laid aside by this plain Virginia gentleman. He received the formal dames of the land in his riding-suit, covered with dust, riding-whip in hand, and with clanking spurs on his heels. His lovely daughter, Martha Jefferson Randolph, did her best to give the great house the air of a pleasant home. She succeeded well, and Jefferson's accomplished daughter smoothed many of the asperities existing among public men who had lived through the Revolution and suffered from the jealousies, misunderstandings, and injustices of the times.

Mrs. Dolly Madison was probably the greatest social genius that has ever occupied the White House. The papers of that day declare "Mrs. Madison is the most popular person in the United States."

Washington social life yet abounds in pleasing legends of her graceful, courteous kindness, not only to the gentlemen and ladies of the legations, but to the ignorant and socially unskilled who were among her worshipers. James Fenimore Cooper, in a private letter, gives a picture of the White House in the days of James Monroe:

"The evening at the White House, or drawing-room, as it is sometimes pleasantly called, is, in fact, a collection of all classes of people who choose to go to the trouble and expense of appearing in dresses suited to an evening party. I am not sure that even dress is very much regarded, for I certainly saw a good many there in boots.... Squeezing through a crowd, we achieved a passage to a part of the room where Mrs. Monroe was standing, surrounded by a bevy of female friends. After making our bow here, we sought the President. The latter had posted himself at the top of the room, where he remained most of the evening shaking hands with all who approached. Near him stood the Secretaries and a great number of the most distinguished men of the nation. Beside these, one meets here a great variety of people in other conditions of life. I have known a cartman to leave his cart in the street and go into the reception-room to shake hands with the President. He offended the good taste of all present, because it was not thought decent that a laborer should come in a dirty dress on such an occasion; but while he made a mistake in this particular, he proved how well he understood the difference between government and society."

The Monroes came to the White House after it had been restored after the burning in 1814. It was barely furnished at that time, and contained but few conveniences for entertaining. Mrs. Monroe brought furniture directly from Paris, which she used for the East Room. This has been frequently upholstered, and constitutes part of the handsome furniture at the present time.

John Quincy Adams, the fifth President of the United States, was one of the greatest men this country has yet produced. Repellant manners injured his usefulness and obscured the luster of his great name. It is said he could grant a request and thereby lose a friend, while Clay could say "No" so kindly as to win a friend.

The life of Louisa Catherine Adams, wife of John Quincy Adams, is one of surprising interest. She was the daughter of Joshua Johnson, of Maryland, was educated and married in London, accompanied her husband to the many different courts to which he was minister, and brought to the White House a larger social experience than any of her predecessors.

She reestablished the stately ceremonials of the Washington period, which greatly resembled the customs of the English Court. Among the great men who frequented her levees were Webster, Clay, Calhoun, and Andrew Jackson (the latter always in buff pants and vest with blue broadcloth coat and gilt buttons).

Then came strenuous Andrew Jackson as President, with only the memory of his beloved Rachel, who had passed away before he became Chief Magistrate. She had been buried in the beautiful dress prepared for her husband's inauguration. A private letter yet extant gives this picture of the days when Emily Donelson (wife of the President's nephew) was the chief lady of the land:

"The large parlor was scantily furnished; there was light from the chandelier, and a blazing fire in the grate; four or five ladies sewing around it; Mrs. Donelson, Mrs. Andrew Jackson, Jr., Mrs. Edward Livingston, and others. Five or six children were playing about, regardless of documents or work-baskets. At the farther end of the room sat the President in an arm-chair, wearing a loose coat, and smoking a long reed pipe, with bowl of red clay—combining the dignity of the patriarch, monarch, and Indian chief. Just behind him was Edward Livingstone, the Secretary of State, reading a despatch from the French Minister for Foreign Affairs. The ladies glance admiringly now and then at the President, who listens, waving his pipe toward the children when they become too boisterous."

Jefferson, Jackson, Van Buren, Tyler, and Arthur were widowers when they entered the White House.

Van Buren was the Talleyrand of American politics. Secretary of State under Jackson, he had won the heart of his chief, whose influence secured him the Presidency. His son's wife, Angelica Singleton Van Buren, gracefully conducted the ceremonies of the White House during the Van Buren administration.

General William Henry Harrison became President in 1841. His wife never came to Washington. He died one month after his inauguration. It was declared that he was worried to death by the fierce office-seekers of the time. His was the first funeral from the White House.

John Tyler, who succeeded Harrison, was a polished, cultured gentleman from Virginia. His was the literary period, when Washington Irving, Edward Everett, and John Howard Payne received foreign appointments.

His first wife, Letitia Christian Tyler, made her first public appearance at the White House at the marriage of her daughter. She died in 1842. Eight months before Tyler's term expired he was married to Miss Julia Gardner, of New York. The festivities of the time began with her wedding reception, and lasted till the end of that administration.

James K. Polk, of Tennessee, became President in 1845. He was rather small physically, and so spare or thin that the tailor had to make his clothing too large to help out his appearance.

Mrs. Polk much resembled in manners Martha Washington. She dressed well and gave frequent levees, as receptions were then called. She received her guests sitting, with the President standing by her chair. A gentleman once said to her, "Madam, there is a wo pronounced against you in the Scriptures: 'Wo unto you when all men shall speak well of you.'"

In 1849 Gen. Zachariah Taylor was inaugurated as the twelfth President of the United States. He lived sixteen months and five days after he became President. His wife, Margaret Taylor, was an invalid, but his daughter, "Miss Betty" as she was familiarly called, made the White House attractive.

Millard Fillmore, of New York, elected Vice-President, became President July 10, 1852. He was an eminent lawyer from Buffalo. His manners were marked with great simplicity and affability. Mrs. Abigail Fillmore was one of the few literary women who have presided in the White House. She drew to her side the literary men and women of the nation, and her receptions resembled the French salons in their literary tone.

Franklin Pierce, of New Hampshire, became President in 1853. He was a shy, modest man, who could not cope with the strong men of the South, who were even then preparing for secession. He was six feet high. His coal-black hair and eyes gave him a most striking appearance. His wife, Mrs. Jane Appleton Pierce, was not a strong woman physically, but managed to discharge the duties of the White House with great dignity.

James Buchanan, of Pennsylvania, became the fifteenth President of the United States in 1857. The throes of the Civil War began in his administration. He was a politician, not a statesman, and tried to suit both sides, but ended by suiting neither. But the duties of the White House were never more elegantly administered than while Miss Harriet Lane, the niece of President Buchanan, presided. There are white-haired diplomats living to-day who compare everything now done in the White House with Miss Lane's graceful administration. She had been much with her uncle when he was minister at foreign courts, and they both had many friends among the scholarly men of the legations, so that the White House became the rendezvous of that class more than at any other period. She received the Prince of Wales and his suite most gracefully, omitting nothing which would add to the dignity of the occasion.

Jefferson Davis said: "The White House under the administration of Buchanan approached more nearer to my idea of a Republican Court than the President's house had ever done since the days of Washington."

Abraham Lincoln, "the noblest Roman of them all," became President March 8, 1861. He is the greatest American that has yet lived. Washington was the result of English influences, but Lincoln is the highest representative of republican influences that has yet governed this nation. A giant in stature, being six feet and four inches in height, his grand physique was but a type of the great heart and strong intellect of a great man. He was called to preside over this nation at the most critical time in its history.

Mrs. Mary Todd Lincoln found it difficult to keep up the ceremonious customs of the White House with a husband who followed no conventionalities, but believed the Executive Mansion should be opened at all times to every citizen. Mrs. Lincoln devoted much time to the soldiers in the hospitals, and the White House conservatory was kept stripped of flowers for the benefit of the wounded and sick.

Andrew Johnson, of Tennessee, came to the Presidency on the death of Mr. Lincoln in 1865. He was not wise in his judgments, and had he been more amenable to men of experience in governmental affairs his life in Washington would have been much easier. Time is revealing more and more that his troubles were in a great degree the result of the jealousies and disappointments of politicians. The sufferings of the people of the White House during the days of President Johnson's trials can never be estimated.

Martha Patterson, widow of Senator Patterson, of Tennessee, and daughter of the President, administered the social duties of the Executive Mansion during Johnson's administration, Mrs. Johnson being an invalid. Mrs. Patterson said: "We are plain people from the mountains of Tennessee, called here for a short time by a national calamity. I trust too much will not be expected of us." But sad as her heart must have been in those days, she filled the duties of her high place to the satisfaction of even the exacting great dames of the period. Andrew Johnson's lovely family are yet fondly remembered and deeply loved by many who enjoyed the friendship of "the plain people from Tennessee."

General U. S. Grant, of Illinois, became President in 1869, and his administration was one long carnival of social duties and enjoyments.

Mrs. Julia Dent Grant and her accomplished daughter, Nellie, led the society of the Capitol through eight brilliant years. The White House was entirely refurnished, and the festivities were on a scale of magnificence never equaled there before or since.

In 1877 Rutherford B. Hayes, of Ohio, became President. He came in at a difficult and dangerous time, but his administration brought peace and tranquility to the nation.

Mrs. Lucy Webb Hayes was noted for her plain dressing and strict temperance principles, which she enforced even in the White House, much to the disgust of the legations and to the delight of the Christian people of the country.

Copyright, 1909, by Harris & Ewing, Washington
THE PRESIDENT AND HIS CABINET
From left to right around the table—President Taft, Franklin MacVeagh, George W. Wickersham, George Von L. Meyer,
James Wilson, Charles Nagel, Richard A. Ballinger, Frank H. Hitchcock, Jacob M. Dickinson, Philander C. Knox.

Photo by Clinedinst
ENTRANCE TO THE WHITE HOUSE

Photo by Clinedinst
NEW WING OF THE WHITE HOUSE

Photo by Clinedinst
SOUTH FRONT OF THE WHITE HOUSE

Photo by Clinedinst
NORTH FRONT OF THE WHITE HOUSE

Photo by Clinedinst
MOUNT VERNON—FROM SOUTH LAWN

Photo by Clinedinst
TOMB OF WASHINGTON—MOUNT VERNON

Photo by Clinedinst
HOME OF GENERAL LEE

Photo by Clinedinst
MONUMENT TO THE UNKNOWN DEAD, ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY

Photo by Clinedinst
THE WASHINGTON MONUMENT

James A. Garfield, of Ohio, became President in 1881. His life in the White House from March to September, 1881, scarcely gave time to show what the social life in Washington would have been had he lived to complete his term. His assassination cast a gloom over the social life for a full year after Chester A. Arthur became the Executive. He served to the end of the term, in 1885. President Arthur being a widower, the hostess of the White House during his term was his accomplished sister, Mrs. Mary Arthur McElroy.

Grover Cleveland, of New York, became President in 1885. The Republican party had been in power for twenty-five years, and when Mr. Cleveland was elected the change of officers was as great as in the days of Andrew Jackson. Cleveland was a man of the highest integrity and the most unfaltering courage, so that the change proved beneficial to the entire land.

Miss Rose Elizabeth Cleveland, sister of the President, presided at the White House until his marriage, June 2, 1886, to Miss Frances Folsom, who became, next to Dolly Madison, the most popular woman who ever entertained in the historic old house.

In March, 1889, Benjamin Harrison became Chief Magistrate. The first Mrs. Harrison was a woman experienced in Washington society, and was much loved by a very large circle.

In 1893 Grover Cleveland again became President, and in 1897 William McKinley, probably the best-loved man by the people of any President since the days of Mr. Lincoln.

Mrs. McKinley, altho an invalid, with the assistance of her nieces, kept up the reputation and social festivities of the White House.

Theodore Roosevelt became President September, 1901, and closed a brilliant and successful administration March 4, 1909. His administration will be remembered in history as a strenuous fight against wrong-doing in high places. He will be honored for having secured to the United States proper recognition in world politics and for having promoted peace and good will among nations.

William Howard Taft, of Ohio, was inaugurated President March 4, 1909. No man has ever been called to this high office with a broader training. He is a graduate of Yale, has received the degree of LL.D. from five universities, is a distinguished lawyer, has been a wise judge, and a successful governor of the Philippine Islands at the difficult period of transition. As a traveler he has looked into the faces and is personally known to all the great rulers of the world. He has visited Cuba and the Panama Zone (the spheres of probable disturbance), and has therefore had the training which should fit him to deal wisely with both the domestic and the foreign problems likely to arise.

Mr. Taft was married in 1886 to Miss Helen Herron, of Cincinnati. They have two sons and one daughter. Mrs. Taft has had a large social experience, and is considered one of the most cultured women ever called to direct the affairs of the White House.

XXIX
INTERESTS IN WASHINGTON WHICH CAN NOT
HERE BE FULLY DESCRIBED

In the third story of the Congressional Library strangers can find two papier-maché models which are of great interest. One represents the City of Washington in 1902, the other represents the Washington of the future.

Congress has called the great engineers of the War Department and four of the leading artists of the United States as a committee on civic improvement for the capital city. The artists are: Mr. Daniel H. Burnham, of Chicago; Mr. John C. Olmstead, the noted landscape artist; Mr. Charles F. McKim, and Mr. Augustus St. Gaudens.

By the plans the public buildings of the future will be arranged around Capitol Square (which has now two sides occupied by private residences), and will then extend on both sides the mall, or flat, low-lying district 1,600 feet in width, extending from the Capitol building to the Potomac, a distance of one and a half miles, and inclosing the Washington monument. The buildings are all to be of white marble, harmonious in design, and with a standard sky-line. The latter feature is not pleasing in effect in the model. The Pennsylvania Railroad and the B. & O. Railroad have already given up their small stations, and now with all other roads passing through Washington run into a handsome new Union Station.

At the front of Capitol Hill will be Union Square, where the statues of war heroes will be grouped. The streets from that point to the Washington monument will have four rows of trees on each side. A great theater, gymnasium, lakes, fountains, and baths will remind one of ancient Rome. A magnificent memorial to Abraham Lincoln will be placed south of the Washington monument. Obelisks and arches which have been used as memorials from the earliest ages will form part of the ornamentation. People smile over this wonderful design, but if from now on all public work is done under this intelligent supervision even one hundred years may make the dream of these artists a glorious reality. Not a lamp-post will go up in this new day, not a business sign will be displayed without the approval of this art commission.

Designs for private houses as well as business houses must be made to harmonize with the landscape and other buildings which already exist. "May we all be here to see."

Among the buildings and objects of interest which can not here be fully described, nor their histories elaborated, is the Ben Butler building on Capitol Square, where President Arthur made his home while the White House was being repaired.

There is also the old Capitol or Capitol Square (now numbered 21, 23, 25), which was used by Congress after the British had destroyed the Capitol in 1814. These buildings were used as a military prison during the Civil War, and here Wirtz, of Andersonville prison memory, was executed. In one of them died John C. Calhoun.

CHARLOTTE CORDAY
(One of the paintings in the Corcoran Art Gallery)

The Washington monument, nearly six hundred feet high, is said to be the highest monument in the world. It was erected in memory of George Washington. This grand structure is of pure white marble. From the top there is a magnificent view of the surrounding country. The monument, however, has suffered from the disintegrating effects of the weather, and from the ruthless hands of the relic-hunters. The majestic appearance of the monument grows upon the beholder, and its pearly whiteness reminds him of the character of Washington, which grows fairer in the mellowing light of history.

Arlington Cemetery should be visited by the pilgrim to Washington. There sleep many of the sacred dead of the nation, and there is the home of Robert E. Lee, where he was called to decide between his country as a whole or his native state.

Around Lafayette Square, which faces the White House, history, poetry, romance, and chivalry have twined an immortal wreath. Every monument commemorates a hero. Here, too, is the old private residence of Dolly Madison, the old home of the British Embassy, where Owen Meredith wrote "Lucile"; also the Webster home, where once lived the French Embassy; and St. John's Episcopal Church, where many Presidents have worshiped. Here Webster, Sumner, and Slidell lived at different periods. The old Decatur house stands on this square. The Admiral had a window cut through, so that he could signal the President in the White House. They missed the telephone. On this square lived Diaz, of Mexico; here Don Cameron and Blaine each lived in the same house, afterward occupied by Senator Hanna. On the north side is the handsome residence where lived Secretary of State John Hay.

Georgetown, named after George III. of England, is much older than Washington City. The stories of its former grandeur and its distinctively Southern tone make it a quaint object of interest. Its most interesting literary shrine is the home of Mrs. E. D. E. N. Southworth, the novelist, who wrote one novel for each year of her long life.

The Corcoran Art Gallery, on Seventeenth Street, extending from New York Avenue to E Street, just southwest of the White House, has many objects of interest both in painting and sculpture.

No traveler should fail to visit Mount Vernon, the home of George and Martha Washington. The house was built in 1783 by Lawrence, half-brother of General Washington. The rooms seem small and cramped, according to our modern ideas, but they were the stage upon which lived and loved two names of sacred memory. The buildings are in the custody of the ladies of the Mount Vernon Association, and the care of each room is in charge of some one State.

The United States Naval Observatory, north of Georgetown, will interest lovers of astronomy, while every square, circle, and triangle of Washington City has some reminder of those whose heroic deeds, spiritual devotion, or literary and scientific achievement have beautified, ennobled, and glorified the world, and made it more beautiful because of their lives.

Continental Hall, the home of the Daughters of the American Revolution, situated on Seventeenth Street, south of the Corcoran Art Gallery, ranks with the most beautiful of the white marble buildings. It was begun in 1903, and will be finished in 1909, at a cost of $500,000.

The National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution was organized October 12, 1890, in Washington, and holds a charter from Congress. It reports annually to the Smithsonian Institute, and its reports are printed by Congress. It is the only society of women in the world organized for strictly patriotic purposes.

Mrs. Benjamin Harrison, wife of the President of the United States; Mrs. Adlai E. Stevenson, wife of the Vice-President of the United States and President of the Senate; Mrs. Daniel Manning, wife of former Secretary of the Treasury of the United States; Mrs. Charles W. Fairbanks, wife of the Vice-President of the United States; Mrs. Donald MacLean and Mrs. Scott, of Illinois, have been the presidents-general since its organization.

The chief work of the society is to mark historic spots in all parts of the country, to perpetuate the memories of the heroic dead, and to make patriotism a passion instead of a sentiment. Another object is to make good citizens of all boys and girls of the land. It does much good in bringing together people from different sections, thereby curing provincialism, and bringing about friendly relations between different parts of this great country.