Democratic Sentinel, Volume 16, Number 13, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 15 April 1892 — WHO WILL BE CHOSEN? [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

WHO WILL BE CHOSEN?

WOMEN WHO MAY RULE AT THE WHITE HOUSE. Wives ot Dl»tlnguUhe<l Men Who Are ■ Named as Presidential Possibilities— 1 Senator Hill’s Bachelor State—Some Interesting Facts About Well-Known Women. » . Mistress of the Manse.

WASHINGTON corre s pon? deuce: Who is \ to succeed Mrs'.:Harrls o n as the first lady of the land? Which will it be—- • VgA Mrs. Harrison herself, or will it be rs - Stanford, or Mrs. Cullom, or Mrs. Rusk, or Mrs. E 1 - Wjßßgikius, or Mrs. Algor, Mrs. Robert T. Lincoln, or Mrs. JnSC!"*JwJ oh n Sherman, or McKinley, or rlni be Mrs. CleveU • or Mrs. Gor»i” man,or Mrs. Palmer,

Or Mrs; Whitney, or Mrs. Carlisle, or Miss Boles,An case our national polities thke a somert'aldt, as some think they will. If not ftny of these women, will it be the wlffe'df the da'k horse’, or will that sable-hued animal have a wife, or, not having a wife, will he want to wed? Anybody with a correct Solution to this puzzle will supply a great public demand by Stating it. The only prominent bachelor in the field is United States Senator David B. Hill. Just because he is in that lamentable condition his case can be disposed of first. If Mr. Hill comes to the White House we ate going through the same delightful experience that preceded Mr. Cleveland’s wedding day. It will riot make the slightest difference whether or not Mr. Hill exhibits the faintest desire for feminine company, he will be the daily object of suspicion, and of course, he will do just as the other gentleman from New York did, and in due“season take to himself a wife. That point settled, will the objectof his affections be young orold? Well, he need not leave Washington to make an excellent choice tuid one that would do his own taste and She good repute of the nation infinite credit. If it is to be President Hill what a quantity of feminine emotions will be squandered in the direction of the Executive Mansion. So far, however, if Senator Hill has any weakness or any sentimental regard for the society of womankind he has kept it Igcked up in his innermost soul since he came-here to live. Now for the ladies named and a good many others who may feel that they might have been mentioned with equal propriety. For verily and indeed the writer of this may see in the light of subsequent events cause to gnash her teeth and muss her front hair with ednsuming rage that she did not have sense enough to do so. Some of these ladles are as actively in the race as their husbands, and a few make no secret of their ambitions and hopes in that direction, for, think they, nobody is r.s well posted as their wives on the qualifications the se gentlemen possess for the best gifts the people can shower upon its idol. The most of these ladies, however, keep securely looked up In their own minds ahy rosy visions in which they may indulge on the quiet, and no amount of adroit questioning could tempt them to make the slightest comment on the political situation so far as their own aspirations are concerned. In a city and at a time like this, when the political stockpbt has been put on for a long .boll, it requires a pretty wellguarded tongue to keep from airing one’s knowledge of turns and moves •that look so innocent on the face. For the social world the politics of a president does not spoil the flavor of his dinner parties, and, sad enough as it may sound to the serious observer of current events, the dinners and dances of an administration are as likely to live as long in history as its foreign treaties. Mrs. Harrison and Mrs. Cleveland are the only ones able to view the situation

from the mount of expe ri e nee. Mrs. Harrison has known also the hard work while the struggle is pending, as well. as . the delight of the victory. Her career as mistress of the White House will 'make a bright page in its history. She brought

to Its duties all the influences of a thoroughly good heart, a well-stored mind, a graceful dignity and a willingness to serve-others before she consulted her own convenience. She has kept all her old friends, no matter what were the variations of the political thermometer, and she has made hundreds of new ones. Two ladies were sitting opposite her one day lately at a luncheon. One more serious niinded than usual said: “Do you know what I read in that face? A wonderfully clear conception of what is right and a strong, earnestdeterminationtodd it.” Her friend replied: “Do you know what I see? It is a simple thing, but it is very rare. Mrs. Harrison may have more bonnets than when she came to the White House, but they are the same size.” No President’s wife has shown a deeper interest in our local institutions nor a greater willingness to see and be seen at any and all times by the people of this city. Should Mrs. Cleveland return to the White House she will probably look at

things in a much different light from what she did when she came there to be married In June, 1888, or when she left there in March, 1889, to return to private life. There certainly .-never was a' queen who created any more popular enthusiasm at every public appearance and of

whose movements the most trifling details were read with more avidity. Just in the height of national interest in himself Mr. Cleveland took to himself a wife. All the world loves a lover and his bride, and if the eagle eyes of the feminine journalistic fraternity of this city let any little picturesque details of their daily life pass by without a pleasantly worded paragraph It was only because they forgot it. Sometimes the gallant sex took a hand in writing up the Cleveland home life. The history of that period establishes the fact that these domestic eketches were notas acceptable reading for Mr. and Mrs. Cleveland as the uniformly kind and well put things which day after day were evolved from the pens with a woman’s hand manipulating them and fairly throbbing at the same time with nervous anxiety to get the results into print. Mrs. Cleveland many times expressed her appreciation of these -attentions, and has often referred to it since, showing con clusively that ladies and gentlemen temporarily residing, in the W hite House are pretty ; steady readers of all newspaper matter I in which their names appear. Mrs. Stan ic’d is one of the busiest women ‘.i America. She has her homes,

her charltieii, her every-day interest in all the work of the university erected in memory of her son, and still finds time to entertain elegantly in her home here and to pay hundreds of visits every season. At home in California she has all the same duties to perform, with the additional obligations that come of closer ties. Mrs. Stanford’s mail is as large and oftentimes larger than that of a public official. Her well-known charities are, of course, one reason to make the burden of her correspondence so heavy. The wildest flights of fancy seem to* fall one in trying to imag ne what White House life would be if Mrs. Whitney was first lady of the land. She made a niche for herself in the social history of the Cleveland administration, and it is extremely doubtful if she will ever have to be pushed to the wall for anybody else. She entertained like a princess, and Washington never be’ore or since Saw her equal. If it is going to be President and Mrs. Gorman cne of the moat interesting family groups in America will have the bright, fierce light that b?ats about a throne let in on them. Mrs. Gorman has many fine traits o( character, but she has that rare fa ulty of making her home so attractive that nothing short of stern duty will get her husbani| after his day’s work to leav ■ his own fireside or would’ permit his children to let him go even if ho was so minded. Fa* her, mother and children are ehums. They have loads of friends who would like to see them go from it to the White House. The wife of the Senator from Illinois, Mrs. Palmer, is a d< 1 ghtfully cheery

MHS. PALMSR.

little lady, who has made many friends during her brief ri sidencq hero. She Is ill years the junior of her husband. She was a widow before she married Senator Palmer. She lias six grown-up anti mnrriid stepehildn n and the grand-

children in the family arc very numerous. Mrs. Palmer has found much io entertain her hi re the past winter and has mingled considerably m so dal life. Mrs. McKinley is not generally in Washington b-'inusi her delicate health rarely allowed her to take part ifi any social uffa rs. Mrs. Otfllom is one of the most agreeable hostesses in the Senatorial circle, and has a wide circle of admirers tn this city and many, n ore of them homo in Illinois who would like to get notes fr >m her dated from the Executive Mansion, although Mr. Cullom has announced that he has no ambition in that direction. Mrs. Cullom keeps pace with her husband in her knowledge of public measures and the ups and downs of polities. She is an accomplished-woman in many respects, but n n< ne, perhaps, are her characteristics better .displayed than'ln her housekeeping. If the pres dential aspirations of the Governor of lowa are r adzed then the

future mistressof the White House will be Miss Boies, his daughter. She is 26 ye.:rs old and u good specimen of a progressive Western woman. She is good-look-ing also and need not have been Miss Poles so

long if she wore not so minded. She has a great deal of tact, considerable knowledge of political affairs, no fads or crazes, but plenty of general, all-around culture. She is devoted to church work; believes in temperance ami prohibition for those who want it. Her Christian name is Jessica. Mrs. Elkins would make a queenly first lady of the land. She is probably the youngest of any in the list, and has just the perfect health, happy dlspi Bition and social tastes that would fit her for this high honor. Nature has been kind to her in many ways. She is endowed with goiid looks, good temper and a good heart. There are shoals of people right around here who would like to see Mrs. Carlisle mistress of the White House, and who also believe that If she settled her mind tight down to securing the Presidency for her husbahd that victory would ba theirs. The way they argue is that she never has failed in any contest in which she was interested heart B-nd soul. She has always accompanied her husband on his i olitleal campaigns, and if there were any changes in the current she was just as quick to see them as he was. There never was a woman more devoted to her husband’s constituents and as ready to lay aside all her pleasures to entertain them during their •visits to the capital.

If it’s going to be President Busk everybody else as well as the farmers can congratulate themselves In the personnel of his family group. Mrs. and Miss Rusk would be charming hostesses in the White House. The Rusk house is a

pleasant place to visit aud each member of the family contributes alike to make it so. Mrs. Rusk 1b a thorough housekeeper. Her fasten are quiet and domestic, but she IB a pleasant woman to meet in society, and certainly none of the Cabinet ladies have acquitted themselves better of their social obligations than she has. Miss Rusk inherits all the charm of her parent’s entire naturalness, and- has impressed herself upon every one. as one of the few girls that no amount of flattery could spoil. In every way she is her mother’s right hand. Mrs. Sherman Is known the length and breadth of the land, and in this city her many years in official life ba? made the home of Senator and Mrs. Sherman like that of a permanent resident. No one better understands the demands of society and few are better able to acquit themselves of alKts manifold obligations. Therefore many know her intimately, and think It the happiest privilege of their lives to be able to say so. Few women are better acquainted with national events than she is, and fewer still whose ripened judgment, would carry the same weight on almost any topic of general interest. In manner she is kind-hearted but quiet, and perhaps a little reserved, though always a fluent talker and a charming companion with those she knows well.

MRS. HARRISON.

MRS. CLEVELAND.

MISS RUSK.

MISS BCIES.