Show GOSSIP FROM THE MIL 1 greatest criticism of a president Is heard in washington city full of grumblers Grumbl ers washington the good old say ing that a prophet is not without honor save la his own country might be paraphrased into a president Is not unpopular save in washington it is the fate 0 every ch et executive to be crit and to become in the cap tal city in re eat years has escaped this fate even the sainted mckenley had his critics here at the seat of the government and his popularity was much greater bayong the confines of the strict of columbia than within them dent roosevelt Is imply on the same plane with his predecessors and there are few places in the country where less enthusiasm Is shown over him than right here among the people who sea him and know of him every day it Is perfectly natural that the greatest criticism of a president should be in washington As chief executive he has to act for the whole people and nowhere Is he so representative of be whole government as o 0 the capital city a city where some 25 of the people are on the government pay rolls and whose ruling passion is to grum lie about their jobs and look upon their superiors as creatures who are trying to get the best of them then when congress is in session there is always the minority party that Is picking at the president and trying to discover causes for complaint then there is a large contingent of bis own party who believe they have been ill treated because he will not boost every piece of legislation they want or distribute patronage upon their demands PRESIDENT S SECRETARY HA HARD ROAD TO fc one of the most trying positions in the government Is that alt secretary to the president if the chief executive happens to incur the criticism of underlings or of congressmen his sec detary has to bear the brunt ot this unpopularity he Is the buffer between the president and the outside world it requires infinite tact for a man in this position to deal with the hundreds of visitors that desire to see the president every day and sift the worthy from the unworthy th good from the bad protect the president from nuisances and bores and at the same time keep the people good natured it is simply impossible to some friction but the loyal secretary to the dent must encounter the heaviest ot burdens and carry them with a smile early in his sen ice in the position of secre I 1 tary tu the president mr william loeb who fills eliat place was made the target tor all sorts of complaints and many a night after his day s duties were ended he won dered it life was really worth living he was new to the city and not so familiar with national characters AS some of his predecessors had been and he had a hard road to travel it can be said however that but few men placed in that trying position have developed so rapidly and proven so efel dent compared with several lamentable failures of presidents secretaries in the last few years the of mr loeb will stand out as a pro bounced success keep AWAY DANGEROUS AND undesirable pew people know the responsibilities of ft secretary of the president the public has na idea of the diplomacy that he has to practice to lep dangerous and undesirable people away the chief executive in this feature of hia the secretary Is assisted by the uniformed police and the plain clothes secret service men alu are to be found in the ante chamber at the white house offices it is very rare that any scenes are enacted but once in awhile people denied admission to the president are inclined to make a fuss where one of these cases Is noted in the public press there are 50 that never get publicity not long ago a united states senator who has been disposed in times past to crit the manner in which strangers are scrutinized at the white house sen a woman there with a lettell of introduction to the lent she was ad bitted into mr loeb s office to whom she talked in the wildest sort of macnei and displayed a lot of papers containing crazy propositions and wild schemes which she said she was commanded of god to lay before the president II 11 required all bis nerve and diplomacy to get the woman out of the office and out of the building and he then notified the united states senator that the woman was insane I 1 dian didn t know the woman said the senator but she belongs to one 0 he best families in my state and so I 1 gave her a letter of introduction the president 4 it A SCHEME TO IMPROVE THE HUMAN RACE the agricultural department has done a good deal in the way of improving the breeds of horses and cattle destroying the mosquitoes making two blades of grass to grow where one grew before and achieving success along lines that are calculated to benefit the whole country but now there is a proposition on toot that throws all the governmental experiments of the past in the shade prof willis M hayes as distant secretary of the department has a scheme to improve the human race by the careful selee tion of parents of future americans the success that has attended the breeding of animals has called attention to principles that prof hayes thinks can be usefully applied of course in a law ful way in the development of man just what plan prof hayes will evolve he does not explain but it society can be brought to a standard where fathers perfect physically morally and mentally and mothers perfect in the same degree can be guar the highest human development can be reached his scheme involves the mating of none but the best types of men and women there is a good deal of sport made of this proposition of mr hayes and a good deal ot curiosity felt as to what scheme he will propose in a pamphlet which he will soon prepare on the subject SECRETARY TAFT S SYLPH LIKE FORM secretary of war taft Is a happy man after five months of dieting and strict physical exercise he has reduced his weight 70 pounds and to day only weighs he started in on a course of training shortly before new year s with the fixed determination to acquire a sylph 11 e form that would not be over pounds through all the season of feasting in washing ton when his social duties compelled him to attend a big course dinnean nearly every night he heroically abstained from rich foods and ata nothing but crackers and lean meat he now indulges in a good square meal once in awhile but keeps in mind the consequences of food that Is full of starch and other fattening materials mr taft took a special course of dieting exercising and massaging under the direction ot an expert who had been le commended to him by senator spooner mr spooner Is not a heavy man but he has kept himself in the finest physical condition all his life by persistent training and last tall put himself under the care of an expert who would allow no departure from his strict discipline mr spooner s muscles are like steel and he recommended his trainer to mr taft the latter obeyed implicitly every order both as to dieting and exercise |