President Roosevelt was a genuine admirer of Andrew Jackson. In his book about the War of 1812 he said that “Jackson is certainly by all odds the most prominent figure that appears during this war;” and later in the same book he says that Andrew Jackson “with his cool head and clear eyes, his stout heart and strong hand, stands out in history as the ablest general the United States produced from the outbreak of the Revolution down to the beginning of the great Rebellion.” In an informal address delivered on the occasion of his visit to the Hermitage, President Roosevelt complimented the ladies’ organization on what it had done to preserve it “as a place of national pilgrimage for all citizens who wish to learn, to study, who wish to quicken their patriotism in the present by visiting the abode, the living place of one of the great patriots of the nation’s past.” With his customary impulsiveness he then and there declared that he would see to it that the national government made a contribution to the expense of maintaining what he described as “the home of one of the three or four greatest public men that any nation has developed in the same length of time.” In his very next message to Congress President Roosevelt said: “I solemnly recommend to the Congress to provide funds for keeping up the Hermitage, the home of Andrew Jackson, these funds to be used through the existing Hermitage Association for the preservation of the historic building which should be ever dear to America.” Honorable John Wesley Gaines, then a member of the board of trustees of the Hermitage was the representative in Washington of that Congressional district of Tennessee affectionately known as “the Hermitage District;” and he promptly introduced a bill following the recommendation of the President, which bill soon passed, granting $5,000 to the association. This money was utilized in making some highly desirable improvements about the place, foremost of which was the enlargement of the caretaker’s cottage so as to render unnecessary his occupation of any part of the house. The Hermitage then, for the first time, was open in its entirety to visitors. The chief source of revenue of the association is the admission fee charged at the door of the house; and as thousands of visitors pass through the broad front door every month, the income from this source is not inconsiderable. At first a fee of ten cents was charged, the amount being made small since there was really but little to see except the bare house and it in a sadly run-down condition. This fee, however, was increased to 25 cents in 1899, after some of the original furniture had been installed, and at this figure it has remained.