Washington Waking [excerpt]

     Returning congressmen who have not been in the city since the death of President McKinley will find a great change at the White House. The old building that has stood there for years is still there, the grounds are the same and the flowers are just as beautiful as ever, but there is a new atmosphere about the place. Instead of greeting the mild-mannered McKinley, they will find an enthusiastic, impetuous, unterrified, and unconquerable President, who rushes through his business with the same rapidity that a buzz-saw cuts through a cigar-box. If their wishes cannot be granted, and the appointments they seek cannot be made, they will be told so in the space of two minutes, and they may rest assured that further visits to the White House on the same mission would be useless. President Roosevelt has revolutionized things at the White House. He has no fear in turning down a senator, and has done so often since he has been at the head of the government. He is quick, impulsive, and likely to cause a sensation at any time. In announcing that hereafter political influence would have no weight in army appointments, he has incurred the displeasure of many senators and representatives, who have heretofore obtained army appointments almost solely on the ground of politics. The best way in the world to displease Roosevelt is to let him know that he is being subjected to great political pressure, and that there is some scheme on foot to make him do a certain thing. He immediately becomes stubborn, and is likely to act to the contrary. He may be led gently, but he refuses to be pushed. He defies the oldest senators, and speaks his mind to them so freely that oftentimes they are startled. He dislikes to be seen continually about the same matter, and those who speak quickly and to the point stand the best chance of success. He does not like to be told a thing the second time, and he who repeats a tale is not likely to obtain any results. It is generally conceded that he has already forfeited all chances of a nomination for President by the Republicans, who will watch with a great deal of anxiety his future actions, which Roosevelt, himself, does not divine.