on to know. "It showed him that his friends were
in every walk of life, from the highest to the lowest. Had he met death,
as did the Secret Service officer detailed to guard over him, the shock
to the people, coming so soon after the assassination of President
McKinley, would have been tremendous."

The President had already been persuaded to consent to a short trip to
the South, from September 5 to 10, and then a trip to the West, lasting
until September 19, or longer. The trips came to an end on September 23,
in Indiana, because of the abscess on the lower limb already mentioned,
yet on November 19 he was given a grand reception by the people of
Memphis, Tennessee, who flocked around him and were glad to see him as
well as ever.

"We are so glad you escaped from that trolley accident!" was heard a
hundred times.

"We can't afford to lose you, Mr. President," said others. "Really good
men are too scarce." And then a cheer would go up for "The hero of San
Juan Hill!"

His speeches on these trips were largely about the trusts and monopolies
that are trying to control various industries of our country. It is an
intricate subject, yet it can be said that Mr. Roosevelt understands it
as well as any one, and is laboring hard to do what is right and best,
both for the consumer and the capitalist.

Congress had, some time before, voted a large sum for the extension and
improvement of the White House, and while Mr. Roosevelt and his family
were at Oyster Bay these improvements were begun. They continued during
the fall, and the President made his temporary home at a private
residence in the capital city. Here it was he was treated for his
wounded limb, and here he ended the coal strike, as already chronicled.

CHAPTER XXVIII

NEW OFFICES AT THE WHITE HOUSE--SENDS A WIRELESS MESSAGE TO KING EDWARD
OF ENGLAND--END OF THE TROUBLE IN VENEZUELA--THE CANADIAN BOUNDARY
DISPUTE--BEGINNING OF A TRIP TO THE WEST--IN YELLOWSTONE PARK

The end of the year found President Roosevelt in the best of health,
despite the accident some weeks previous. The improvements at the White
House were now complete, and the family of the Chief Magistrate took
possession. A separate set of offices for the President and his Cabinet
had been built at the western end of the executive mansion, and the
rooms formerly used for this purpose were turned into living apartments.
The changes made have been approved by many who have seen them, and they