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Show jTAFT ASASHOPPER Makes His Purchases Like an Ordinary Citizen. JPKEEPERS WELCOME HIM BovM-8helves of Present President and His Predecessor Contrasted Another An-other Sorrow for Mrs. John A. Logan In Death of Her Grandson. By GEORGE CLINTON. Washington. President Taft occasionally oc-casionally goes dowutown afoot to do bis odds and ends of shopping, tie has made several trips to the business center recently, mingling with the street and the shopping crowds and doing do-ing things generally like the ordinary Amerlcaa citizen. When the president presi-dent goes Into a store, of course, he Instantly Is recognized and there la Tldenre of anxiety on the part of each clerk that at his counter the president ball do his shopping. Mr. Taft makes liberal purchases and at Lis patronage carries with It something In the nature of an advertisement adver-tisement storekeepers hall his coming with a good deal of satisfaction. Uusl-nets Uusl-nets comes pretty near to a standstill In the smaller shops when Mr. Taft appears, ap-pears, and this Is not the fault of Inattentive In-attentive clerks who, after the first minute of the "presence," turn back again to their ordinary customers wbo prefer to turn from the counters to watch the president while he buys things. It must be rather a trying position po-sition In a way, but doubtless by this time the president la used to It It la his custom to make liberal purchases and this custom waj carried out to the full during the days Just before Christmas, Christ-mas, and even now Mr. Taft Is making up for certain forpetfulneRses before Christmas by laying In a greater store of presents to send to friends. Books of Two Presidents. Theodore Roosevelt used to go shopping shop-ping In the same way that William H. Taft does. The former president bought all kinds of things, but bis favorite fa-vorite shopping place was a certain book store where be would go and spend an hour or two every little w hile looking over the new books and old books, giving perhaps a greater part of bis time to'anclent volumes, many of thera second hand. In the hope of finding something of Interest not only because of 1U text, but because of lu rarity. President Taffs Wblte House office library consists almost entirely of law books. There were not more than two or three law books in the office of former for-mer President Roosevelt, for be was no lawyer and was willing to admit It. In the Wblte Hons proper today In the study of Mr. Taft there are books of all kind's, poetry. Action, history, essays anil miscellaneous works. On the same shelves when Mr. Roosevelt Roose-velt was president was a great collection col-lection of nature books. He bad works on birds, mammals, mollusks and In fact on every form which living nature assumes, Including vegetable life. It must not be supposed from this that Mr. Roosevelt did not have poetry, fiction, history, essays and miscellaneous mis-cellaneous works, for it Is generally admitted that he was the greatest reader wbo ever served as president of the United States and be bad and baa a remarkable faculty of remembering remem-bering everything that he reads. Mrs. Logan's Afflictions. Tbe body of Captain Logan Tucker Mrs. John A. Logan's grandson, whe died In New York the other day, bai been burled In the tomb of bis grandfa ther. General Logan, In the Soldiers Home cemetery. Mrs. John A. Logan wbo was in a good many respects th strong right arm of tlie general durlni bis lifetime, still lives In Washington She writes for tbe press and the mag ailnss occasionally and despite bet years Is still an eiceedlngly aet1v woman. She has bad more sorrowi In recent years than ordinarily fall t tbe lot of womankind. Her only sot was killed In battle In tbe Philippines Mrs. Logan accompanied the body t this country. Now ber grandson, sls an army offlcr. Is dead. Mrs. Logai la deeply Interested In everything con nected with tbe srmed services of thi country. Her balr Is pure white, bu she keeps tb appearance of youth. Plans of National Press Club. One of the thriving Wsshlngtoi Institutions Is the National Pres club In which vlrtuslly ail the coi respondents and local newspspe men have membership, with a grea non-resident list on which the namei appear of hundreds of the well knowt newspaper men of tbe United States Tbe club has bad a great holiday tlm of It In a properly quiet way. Hospital tty has marked tbe season as I should. During the. neit few months then will be many entertainments at tb press club and they promise to be o a character which will excite countrj wide Interest. Last yer clul there was a debate as to tbe compari tlve merits of whiskers and bald beadi ! as aids to tataamansUlp. Column! were printed about this affair, with Joseph Jo-seph O. Cannon, former speaker of the house of representatives, leading one side of the debate on behalf of whiskers whis-kers and Representative Nicholas Lougworth of CluclunsU, leading tbs other side on behalf of bald heads. Something of similar nature, and yet entirely different, will be one of tbe fualureu of tbe program for the time between now and early summer, when ail Washington activities lag except those of congress, which at times must work under the broiling sun that threatens occasionally to set the as-phalt as-phalt pavements ablaze The National Nation-al Press club ctertalns nearly every distinguished visitor from abroad who cornea to the capital. Some day Its visitors' book will be of Immense value for the autographs which It contains. con-tains. McLesn Baby's Christmas. A good many years ago Thomas F. Walsh, an Irishman, poor In purse, but rich In energy, went to Colorado. There be worked as a laborer and miner. Finally when he bad a knowledge knowl-edge of prospecting, Mr. Walsh used his senses and bis strength to do things for himself. He succeeded so well that be acquired many millions, and then In after life he came with his wife and two children to live In the Capital City. About a year ago Thomas F. Walsh died. Trouble bad come to htm In his latter years. His only son was killed In an automobile accident and his daughter was badly Injured, but she happily recovered and later married mar-ried Edward lleale McLean, son of John Jt. McLean of Cincinnati and Washington. Mrs. Thomas F. Walsh Is still living, and as she shared many of the early privations, of her husband, she must have been struck by the contrast con-trast between the scene In ber Washington Wash-ington borne a day or two ago and tbe scenes In the early Colorado days. Vincent Walsh McLean, the three year-old grandson of Mrs. Walsh, was celebrating tbe coming of Christmas. The child Is heir to an enormous amount of money. Invited to help blm enjoy bis Christmas were some 85 or 40 children between the ages of 18 months and 6 yeara. They were all the children of either wealth of of high official degree. Descendants of Gen. Ulysses 8. Grant were present and of Ellhu Root and of other men who are or have been presidents, army commanders, senators or foreign ambassadors. am-bassadors. It Is probable that not In the history of social life In tbe capital have there been gathered together so many little ones who have clutched fast silver spoons ever since they were born. Sampson's 8on In Army. Harold Hurling Sampson, son of the late Admiral Sampson, who was In command of the fleet In front of Santiago San-tiago during the Spanish war, has been appointed a second lieutenant In the United States army by President Taft. Young Sampson wanted to followJMs father In a' sea career, and he was appointed to the United States Naval Academy. He was compelled to leave after having served as a cadet only two years. So It Is that from the navy to tbe army has been transferred a name Intimately connected for years with the sailor life. Vandalism In Wsshlngton. As a result of the work of the vandal who mutilated the picture, "Perry at Lake Erie," which bangs In tbe senate wing of the capl-to), capl-to), the police watchfulness supposedly suppos-edly baa been redoubled. If they should treble tbe police force In the , District, however, the chances ara that a malicious person could cut any picture or damage any statue that be chose, unimpeded; but, of course, be would have some difficulty in ee-, ee-, caplng after the act The capital city has been remarkab-' remarkab-' ly Immune from acts of vandalism of this kind In the past. Relic hunters I occasionally have chipped pieces of , statuary and have tried to break bits off bronze raised work doors, but tbe damage in the main has been slight President Receives 8ocks. , Among President Taft'a holiday , presents was a pair of band made knit , socks sent to blm from War Branch. , Ky.. by Miss Elizabeth Rrock, wbo sent with the gift a letter in wblcb , she said that she hoped tbe president , would wear tbe socks on cold, damp i days Presidents of the United States get , many presents, most of which are re-I re-I turned to the donors If It can be done gracefully. Gifts of great value always al-ways are returned unles Ihey are sent a for some specific occsslon like a wed , ding anniversary or a birthday, and are made for personal snd not at all f for official reasons Small gifts. t where the Inspiration Is simply from t the heart, are accepted almost Invsr- . 'b' i t Up to ter wedding dsy a girl be . Ueves that If a husband has bsd hab t Its It Is because his wife never feed htm angel food or meets birr st tbe door with a kiss. f The men whose wife seems to think be Is merely a piece of furniture to b be sat upon Is entl'led to a lot more v sympathy than be gets |