The Triumphant Life of Theodore Roosevelt edited by J. Martin Miller

DAILY LIFE AT THE WHITE HOUSE 83
Loeb came to Washington as his private secretary. /\ftcr the
death of President McKinley, Hon. George B. Cortelyou, who
was President IMcKinley's private secretary, continued for a
time as private secretary to President Roosevelt. Upon the
appointment of Mr. Cortelyou as Secretary of the Department
of Commerce and Labor, in which office he began to serve in
the early spring of 1903, Mr. Loeb was advanced to the first
secretaryship. Mr. Loeb had been assistant secretary to
President Roosevelt under Mr. Cortelyou. When Mr. Cortel-
you was advanced to the new cabinet position named above,
Mr. Loeb naturally became his successor as the secretary to
the President. Benjamin F. Barnes, who had been one of the
assistant secretaries, then became assistant secretary to the
President under Mr. Loeb.
GENERALLY ACCOMPANIED BY SECRETARY LOEB
Wherever the President goes, as a rule, his secretary, Mr.
Loeb, accompanies him. When the President moves to
Oyster Bay for his summer vacation, Mr. Loeb and Mr.
Barnes, as well as a number of the White House force of
clerks, accompany him. At Oyster Bay village they have an
office where the secretaries and clerks make their headquarters
for conducting the President's official business. Sagamore
Hill, the President's summer home, is about a two-mile drive
from the village. A telephone connects the office and the
residence. Large numbers of visitors go to Oyster Bay during
the vacation to see the President. Some of the visitors have
arranged by appointment, before starting for Oyster Bay, to
see the President. Those who have appointments, as well as
cabinet officers, drive from the railway station to the office,
when their names are telephoned to the residence. The
President's secretary knows whether the individual seeking to