RECOLLECTIONS OF FULL YEARS
meals in the small family dining room adjoining the State Dining Room, and even gave small and successful dinner parties while the State Dining Room was in the hands of the carpenters and decorators.
Referring to the serving of refreshments reminds me of an incident which gave us some uneasiness shortly after Mr. Taft's election. It was during that phase of his career which all Presidents pass through, when his most casual remark was likely to be construed into an "utterance," and his most ordinary act was likely to become a widely heralded "example." It was while he was still being held up as a model of all the excellencies—framed in a question mark: "What will he do?" In other words it was before his Inauguration.
He was at a dinner at Hot Springs, Virginia. As the wine was being served one of the diners turned down his glass with the remark that he had not taken a drink for eighteen years. Mr. Taft, in the most usual and commonplace manner, followed suit, saying that he had been a total abstainer for nearly two years and expected to continue so. The incident was made the basis of a sensational newspaper story which created the impression that he had acted with great dramatic effect and that his remark amounted to a declaration of principle which he would turn into a Presidential policy.
Immediately he was overwhelmed with memorials, with resolutions of commendation framed by some of the most worthy and admirable Christian and temperance organisations in the country. It was taken for granted that he would banish alcohol in every form from the White House. In simple honesty he had to tell all the reverend gentlemen that he had made no pronouncement with regard to limiting White House hospitality, that he had no desire to interfere with any normal man's personal habits and that as President he had no intention of trying to do so.
379
