The President’s Dust Storm: Roosevelt’s Outburst at Whitman College
On a sweltering Monday in May 1903, Teddy Roosevelt nearly derailed his own parade in Walla Walla, demanding the military stop marching through clouds of dust that coated him and his party.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
President Roosevelt's strenuous nature asserted itself Monday afternoon at Whitman grounds after the speaking when he vigorously protested against being kept waiting in the clouds of dust while the ninth cavalry and 30th battery filed by to lead the procession down town to Fort Walla Walla.
According to the plans of the committee, the procession, after the speaking was to be reformed in exactly the same position as it marched from the depot and in order to do this the president's carriage was kept in waiting at the corner of College street and Boyer avenue several minutes. The troops marching past raised clouds of dust which settled over the president's party in exasperating persistence to the evident annoyance of the president.
Finally he protested: "Can't this be cut out, chief," he said, raising in his carriage and addressing Chief Kauffman. "It is wholly unnecessary. Cut it out and let the carriage proceed."
"I am going according to program. That is all I have to do with it," the chief replied.
"Well, I will cut it out," the president replied and ordering his secret service man to stop the 30th battery filing past, the president's driver whipped up his horses and the carriage tore rapidly down Boyer avenue in a cloud of dust.
Smarting at the action, Chief Kauffman withdrew the six policemen who formed a bodyguard for the president.
This incident captures the raw, unpolished reality of early 20th-century political tours, where infrastructure (or lack thereof) directly impacted presidential comfort. It mirrors modern concerns about civic preparedness and the physical experience of public figures in developing urban environments, reminding us that even the most powerful leaders were subject to the grit and chaos of local logistics.
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