VOL. VI.
McCRORY, ARKANSAS, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 20, 1900.
NO. 5.
The coining of Christmas is never
forgotten at the White House, ^thile
every president's family has cele
brated the festival according to their
own wishes, and without attempting
to follow precedent, none have ever
permitted the occasion to pass unno
ticed.
President Jackson, whose wife was
dead and who had no family, and
whose friends were his political asso
ciates, made of Christmas a gala day
tor the few servants of the White
House, numbered among whom were
two or three personal attendants from
his Tennessee plantation.
But few presidents have had young
children to make Merry Christmas in
the White House. During the civil
war Tad Lincoln was the White House
baby, and around him centered the
interest at Christmas time. The fol
lowing true story is told of Tad al
that time:
"Father,” said little Tad, “there is
something I'd like for Christmas, 11
you'll give it to me.”
As the son asked the question his
father looked at the boy over the rims
of his spectacles in a grave way he
had, and replied:
"What is that, my son?”
"I want a theater,” said Tad.
"Is that all?” responded Mr. Lin
coin, laying down the papers (s
lengthy report from one of the gen
erals in the field) which he had beer
perusing. “Well, my boy, I don'
know that I have anv objection
There are plenty of them, I suppose
In the toy shops.”
"0, but I don’t want a toy theater,’
protested the youngster; “I want i
real one.” t
The president ga^.ed at him In somi
surprise. “Is Onpver’s theater foi
sale?” he asked./ “Or Ford’s, per
haps?” i
"Of course not J father. At any rate
(
of chairs and sofas wove easily ob
tainable. For quite awhile plays were
given twice a week, the patrons of the
extemporized playhouse being mostly
boys and girls of Ihe official Washing
ton circle. Frequently, however,
grown people were present at the
performances, and now and then Mr.
Lincoln and his wife. The actors
were furnished to a large extent by a
Pennsylvania regiment of "Bucktails,”
then stationed at the capital.
Christmas With the Grants.
In the way of Christmas parties at
the White House, none In all the his
tory of that interesting mansion has
been so remarkable as one that was
given during the Grant regime, which
many of the residents of Washington
to-day still vividly recall. A gigantic
fir tree, reaching nearly to the ceiling,
was set up in the East room, beauti
fully decorated, and on the tables be
neath it were laid numerous gifts,
most of them costly, which were dis
tributed among the guests. The whole
of the diplomatic corps was invited
and refreshments, including cham
pagne and terrapin, were provided.
No children were born to Mr. Cleve
land during his first term, but at the
date of his return to the White House
his daughter Ruth (since dead) was
two years old. Esther, the second
child, came into the world not long
afterward. Every Christmas Mrs.
Cleveland had a fine tree set up in the
play room, trimming it with her own
hands, and superintending the adjust
ment on its branches of hundreds of
tiny incandescent lights of different
colors, which took the place of can
dles. Invitations were issued In the
names of Ruth and Baby Esther to
i the little people of the cabinet circle,
■ who came on the afternoon of Christ
mas day to take part in the merry
making and to share the gifts inci
dentally distributed.
I
The Roosevelt’* Christmas Morning.
I don’t suppose so. But there isn’t
any reason why we shouldn’t have a
theater in the White House, if you
are willing.”
Mr. Lincoln was not at first disposed
to take the suggestion favorably, but
Tad, who was his favorite child, and
at that time 11 years of age, was per
sistent, and at length the indulgent
parent yielded. This was just before
the Christmas of 1863—too late to
have the theater ready for the holi
days, many preparations being re
quired; but It is a matter of history,
though known to few, that not long
after the following New Year’s day
the boy's ambition was realized, a
room on the second floor of the execu
tive mansion being set aside for the
purpose, and a stage erected, with gas
tootlights and some simple scenery.
It so chanced that Mr. Grover, the
manager of Grover’s theater, which
Btood on the site of the present New
National theater in Washington, only
a couple of blocks from the White
3 louse, was a great friend of Tad.
Mr. Lincoln often went there, some
times accompanied by Mr. Seward, hla
secretary of state, and it was a com
mon thing for the advertisements of
the playhouse to announce that a cer
tain performance would be given "at
the request of the president.”
Grover helped Tad to “rig up" the
theater at the White House, a sort
pf fence being constructed to shut off
the space to be occupied by the audi
ence, for whose accommodation plenty
Mrs. McKinley used always to make
many Christmas presents with her
own hands, devoting much of her time
to ihe production of crochetted and
knitted things, embroidered pieces,
baby sacks and socks, and knitted
purses of silk and steel beads. She
was an invalid, and in this way leisure
was employed which otherwise might
have been wearisome. As a result, on
the morning of the 25th of December
each member of the clerical force of
the White House received from her a
muffler and a pair of warm gloves.
Though she had no children, she was
fond of young peopple, and at Christ
mastide she always had three or four
young nieces or cousins staying with
her as guests.
The custom of giving turkeys to
each married man of the official stafT
was inaugurated by President McKin
ley, and the custom has been followed
by Mr. Roosevelt. This year close to
100 fine, fat birds will be required to
go around. Each one will bear a card
on which will be Inscribed the words:
“A Merry Christmas from the Presi
dent.”
For several years the White House
did not know the ring of children’s
voices, but President Roosevelt
brought an interesting family of little
folks to the mansion, and for the past
five years Christmas at the White
House has been a Christmas for the
children, and It is celebrated in very
much the same way a3 is in vogue in
other well-to-do American home*.
Although, as a rule, the Roosevelts
do not have a Christmas tree, they
inherit from their Dutch ancestors a
veneration for the spirit and senti
ment of Christmas, and the day is
given up by them entirely to festivi
ties.
The four younger children hang up
their stockings as a matter of course.
On the morning of Christmas day,
after breakfast, Mr. Roosevelt lead*
UI
Mrs. McKinley Knitting Stockings.
the way to the library, which he calls
the “study,” where the gifts are laid
out on the tables. He and Mrs. Roose
velt distribute them, and after the
distribution a general romp usually
follows.
Of course, while the Roosevelt chil
dren are the recipients of more cost
ly gifts, and in greater number, than
are received by the average American
family of children, still there is no
extraordinary display of lavishness
and expensiveness in their gifts. The
president does not go to the extreme
in the buying and giving of Christmas
presents that one would perhaps
imagine.
In the afternoon of Christmas day,
after the children have had their gifts
and their romp, they go to two or
three parties. One of these is at the
house of Senator Henry Cabot Lodge,
of Massachusetts, the president’s life
long chum, while another is at the
residence of Mr. Roosevelt's elder sls
ster, Mrs. Cowles. Here, of course,
jollity and much good fun character
izes the parties, and every child pres
ent invariably enjoys the afternoon
immensely.
Gifts from the American People.
Of course, every Christmas thou
sands of gifts from total strangers
reach the White House, and no doubt
such will be the case this year. Al
though these presents are not want
ed, and the people would do much bet
ter not to send them, still it is a way
many of the American people have
of showing their affection for the na
tion's chief executive.
Whenever these presents are of con
siderable value (as is sometimes the
case), they are returned to the doi»
ors; otherwise they are accepted po
litely with a note of acknowledgment
from the president’s secretary. Not
one in a hundred of them is seen by
the president, and in former admin
istrations they were commonly con
signed to the attic, where at the time
of the recent reconstruction of the
mansion an immense quantity of old
junk thus accumulated was found.
Cigars Mr. Roosevelt does not
smoke, and liquors are as a rule re
jected. Articles of domestic useful
ness are handed over to the steward.
Whether such presents are accepted
or refused, they cause embarrassment,
and the tenant of the White House
would be sincerely gratified if appre
ciative citizens chose some less sub
stantial method of remembering him
at Christmas time.
Christmas is now, and has been as
a rule, a distinctly family affair in
which public or official life has no
part. It is on New Year's day that
the president keeps open house for all.
As in most Instances the countries
of the new world have adopted their
Christmas customs from the mother
country from which their first emi
grants settled, Spanish traditions pre
vail extensively in Latln-America. At
the legations of Chili and Argentina
the German tree, with its Kris Krin
gle accompaniments, will be charm
ingly combined with the religious oh*
servance of the season as brought
from southern Europe by the Span
iards, who originally settled those
countries.
PRESIDENT TELLS
OF CONDITIONS
IN PORTO RICO
Special Message the Re
sult of Chief Execu
tive^ Recent Visit.
MUCH GOOD WORK DONE
Progress Made Under American Ad
ministration Is Pointed to with
Pride—Last Year the Most Pros
perous the Island Has Ever Known
—Congress Urged to Confer Full
American Citizenship Upon the
Porto Ricans—-Vould Have All In
sular Governments Placed in One
Bureau.
Washington.—President Roosevelt’s
message, describing conditions in Por
to Rico, and making recommendations
for legislation he believes necessary,
was read to the congress. It is as fol
lows:
To the Senate and House of Represen
tatives:
On November 21 I visited the Island
of Porto Rico, landing at Ponce, cross
ing by the old Spanish road by Cayey
to San Juan, and returning next morn
ing over the new American road from
Arecibo to Ponce; the scenery was
wonderfully beautiful, especially
among the mountains of the interior,
which constitute a veritable tropic
Switzerland. I could not embark at
San Juan because the harbor has not
been dredged out and can not receive
an American battleship. I do not
think this fact creditable to us as a
nation, and I earnestly hope that im
mediate provision will be made for
dredging San Juan harbor.
I doubt whether our people as a
whole realize the beauty and fertility
of Porto Rico, and the progress that
has been made under its admirable
government. We have just cause for
pride in the character of our represen
tatives who have administered the
tropic islands which came under our
flag as a result of the war with Spain;
and of no one of them is this more
true than of Porto Rico. It would be
impossible to wish a more faithful, a
more efficient and a more disinter
ested public service than that now be
ing rendered in the island of Porto
Rico by those in control of the insular
government.
I stopped at a dozen towns all told,
and one of the notable features in
every town was the gathering of the
school children. The work that has
been done in Porto Rico for education
has been noteworthy. The main em
phasis, as is eminently wise and prop
er, has been put upon primary educa
tion; but in addition to this there is a
normal school, and agricultural school,
three industrial and three high
schools. Every effort is being made to
secure not only the benefits of ele
mentary education to all the Porto
Ricans of the next generation, but
also as far as means will permit to
train them so that the industrial, agri
cultural and commercial opportunities
of the island can be utilized to the
best possible advantage. It was evi
dent at a glance that the teachers,
both Americans and native Porto
Ricans, were devoted to their work,
took the greatest pride in it, and were
endeavoring to train their pupils, not
only in mind, but in what counts for
far more than mind in citizenship, that
is, in character.
I was very much struck by the ex
cellent character both of the insular
police and of the Porto Rican regi
ment. They are both of them bodies
that reflect credit upon the American
administration of the island. The in
sular police are under the local Porto
Rican government. The Porto Rican
regiment of troops must be appro
priated for by the congress. I earn
estly hope that this body will be kept
permanent. There should certainly be
troops in the island, and it is wise
that these troops should be themselves
native Porto Ricans. It would be
from every standpoint a mistake not
to perpetuate this regiment.
In traversing the island even the
most cursory survey leaves the be
holder struck with the evident rapid
growth in the culture both of the su
gar cane and tobacco. The fruit in
dustry is also growing. Last year was
the most prosperous year that the
island has ever kno vn before or sines
the American occupation. The total
of exports and imports of the island
was $45,000,000, as against $1S,000,000
In 1901. This is the largest in the
Island's history. Prior to the Ameri
can occupation the greatest trade for
any one year was that of 1896, when It
reached nearly $23,000,000. Last year,
therefore, there was double the trade
that there was in the most prosper
ous year under the Spanish regime.
There were 210,273 tons of sugar ex
ported last year, of the value of $14,
186,319; $3,555,163 of tobacco, and
28,290,322 pounds of coffee of the value
of $3,181,102. Unfortunately, what
used to be Porto Rico’s prime crop—
coffee—has not shared this prosper
ity. It has never recovered from the
disaster of the hurricane, and, more
over, the benefit of throwing open
our market to it has not compensated
for the loss inflicted by the closing of
the markets to it abroad. I call your
attention to the accompanying memo
rial on this supject of the board of
trade of San Juan, and I earnestly
hope that some measure will be taken
for the benefit of the excellent and
high grade Porto Rican coffee.
There is a matter to which I wish
to call your especial attention, and
that is the desirability of conferring
full American citizenship upon the
people of Porto Rico. I most earnest
ly hope that this will be done. I can
not see how any harm can possibly re
sult from it, and it seems to me a mat
ter of right and justice to the people
of Porto Rico. They are loyal, they
are glad to be under our flag, they are
making rapid progress along the path
of orderly liberty. Surely we should
show our appreciation of them, our
pride in what they have done, and
our pleasure in extending recognition
for what has thus been done, by grant
ing them full American citizenship.
Under the wise administration of the
present governor and council, marked
progress has been made in the difficult
matter of granting to the people of the
island the largest measure of self-gov
ernment that can with safety be given
at the present time. It would have
been a very serious mistake to have
gone any faster than we have already
gone in this direction. The Porto
Ricans have complete and absolute
autonomy in all their municipal gov
ernments, the only power over them
possessed by the insular government
being that of removing corrupt or in
competent municipal officials. This
power has never been exercised save
on the clearest proof of corruption or
of incompetence—such as to jeopar
dize the interests of the people of the
island; and under such circumstances
it has been fearlessly used to the im
mense benefit of the people. It is not
a power with which it would be safe,
for the sake of the island itself, to dis
pense at present, me lower nouse is
absolutely elective, while the upper
house is appointive. This scheme is
working well; no injustice of any kind
results from it, and great benefit to
the island, and it should certainly not
be changed at this time. The machin
ery of the elections is administered en
tirely by the Porto Rican people them
selves. the governor and council keep
ing only such supervision as is neces
sary in order to insure an orderly elec
tion. Any protest as to electoral frauds
is settled in the courts. Here again it
would not be safe to make any change
in the present system. The elections
this year were absolutely orderly, un
accompanied by any disturbance; and
no protest has been made against the
management of the elections, although
three contests are threatened where
the majorities were very small and
error was claimed; the contests, of
course, to be settled in the courts. In
short, the governor and council are co
operating with all of the most enlight
ened and most patriotic of the people
of Porto Rico in educating the citizens
of the island in the principles of order
ly liberty. They are providing a gov
ernment based upon each citizen's self
respect, and the mutual respect of all
citizens; that is, based upon a rigid
observance of the principles of justice
and honesty. It has not been easy to
instill into the minds of people unac
customed to the exercise of freedom
the two basic principles of our Ameri
can system; the principle that the ma
jority must rule, and the principle that
the minority has rights which must
not be disregarded or trampled upon.
Yet real progress has been made in
having these principles accepted as
elementary, as the foundations of suc
cessful self-government.
I transmit herewith the report of the
governor of Porto Rico, sent to the
president through the secretary of
state.
All the insular governments should
be placed in one bureau, either in the
department of war or the department
of state. It is a mistake not so to ar
range our handling of these islands at
Washington as to be able to take ad
vantage of the experience gained in
one, when dealing with the problems
that from time to time arise in an
other.
In conclusion let me express my ad
miration for the work done by the con
gress when it enacted the law under
which the island is now being admin
istered. After seeing the island per
sonally, and after five years’ experi
ence In connection with its adminis
tration, it is but fair to those who de
vised this law to say that it would be
well-nigh impossible to have devised
any other wh-!ch in the actual working
would have accomplished better re
sults. THEODORE ROOSEVELT.
The White House, Dec. 11, 1906.
NEWS OF
ARKANSAS
Governor-elect Little Resigns Seat in
Congress.
Governor-elect Little lias resigned
his seat in Congress, the resignation
to take effect January 18, two days be
fore he will be inducted into office as
governor of Arkansas. Before leaving
for Washington he stated that in order
to push several measures in which he
was very much interested, he would
retain his seat in Congress as long
as possible. No special election will
be held to fill the office made vacant
by the resignation of Mr. Little, and
the seat will remain vacant until
March 4, when Representative-elect
Ben Cravens of Fort Smith w'ill be
come the representative of the Fourth
Congressional District.
14-Year-Old Girl Manages Business.
Vivian Morris, the 14-year-old daugh
ter of A. W. Morris, principal owner
of the Ozark White Lime Company’s
plant at Gravette, one of the largest
of the kind in northwest Arkansas,
has been managing the business dur
ing the illness of her father. The
plucky little girl made out the payroll,
secured the money from the bank,
and distributed among the employes of
the plant $990. She has had absolute
charge of the office of the company
and within the past few days has bill
ed out thirty carloads of lime.
Harry F. Olcott of Pine Bluff Indicted.
Harry F. Olcott, a promient young
business man of Pine Bluff, has been
indicted by the Grand Jury on charges
preferred by Mrs. J. T. O'Neal, who
was found bound and gaged upon the
front porch of a neighbor's house re
cently. She claims that Olcott, ac
companied by a woman, entered her
home and after binding and gagging
her, took her to the sidewalk where a
buggy wras waiting. She was then
dropped upon the walk and the man
ran away while the woman entered the
buggy and drove away.
The Order of the Cotton Belt Has Been
Rescinded.
The order which was recently is
sued by the Cotton Belt officials, in
structing agents not to receive cotton
for shipment to Pine Bluff until furth
er instructed, as a result of the al
leged congested conditions in that
city, has been rescinded by an order
from headquarters. This action was
taken after an assurance by the local
cotton men that all the cotton which
this road would bring into Pine Bluff,
would be properly cared for.
Ask for Law Enforcement,
A mass meeting of the citizens of
Newark was held recently, at which
strong resolutions were adopted con
demning the officers of the town for
failing to enforce the law against per
sons selling liquor illegally. It was
declared that the law is being violated
in an open manner and censure was
especially directed at the mayor and
marshal.
Thi.tks He Has Mica Mine.
B. W. Eddy, a real estate man of
Hot Springs, is of the opinion that he
has discovered a valuable mine of mi
ca on his lands in the West Grand
Avenue addition. In excavating there
the vein was cut into and the surface
indications are pronounced very prom
ising. Mr. Eddy is sinking a shaft on
the vein to test its quality and quanti
ty.
Killed at His Own Door.
James A. Clay, a carpenter, living
at Strong, was shot and killed near
his front door by some unknown par
ties. He had just been acquitted by
the Grand Jury on a charge of volun
tary manslaughter, he having been
bound over to that body for killing
Jesse Garner at Strong while acting
as deputy constable.
Badly Burned While Attempting to
Save Horse.
Mrs. Robert Austin of Pine Bluff was
badly burned recently while attempt
ing to save a valuable horse. The
barn in which the animal was confined,
was burning and Mrs. Austin made an
unsuccessful attempt to get the horse
out. In making the effort she was se
riously burned.
Samuel Churchill Sued for $10,000.
A $10,000 personal damage suit has
been filed against Samuel Churchill
of Little Rock by G. W. Reid of Ten
nessee, who claims that the defendant
used false and defamatory words con
cerning him. saying that he was a
liar and thief, and that he had obtained
money under false and fraudulent
pretenses.
Railroad Man Killed.
Frank Baker, a section hand on the
White River branch of the Iron Moun
tain road, fell from a handcar near
Penter’s Bluff recently, and sustain
ed injuries from the effects of which -
he died. Deceased formerly lived. In
Kansas City.
/