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SEVENTY-THIRD YEAR
SALEM, OREGON, THURSDAY MORNING, AUGUST 2, 1923
PRICE FIVE CENTS
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Brain Ailment Gimes Upon Nation Chief
I ao He Lies in Sick Bed, and Appoplexy
Brings End Physician not Expecting
Death-Official
Unable to Be
Famiiy : ScatteredL and
Calld---Chief,s Career
Began as Prmter.
PRESIDENTIAL HEADQUARTERS, Pdace Hotel, San Francitc6, Aug. 2.
(By the Associated Press)- President Harding died instantly and without warn.'
in? tonight at 7:30 o'clock. I i ! r - t
; yDiath cans to the chief executive while he aas conversing with members of
his fnmly end according to "en official statement issued by. physicians, was appar
erJy dze to some brain development, bro cght about by apoplexy.
The end came so suddenly that the members of the official party could hot be
cdltd. It came after a day which had be en described by Brigadier General Saw
ytr, the president's personal physician, as the most satisfactory jhere had been
sic his illness began. The physicians in their formal announcement of the end
tad that ''during the day he had been free from 'discomfort and there was every
testification for. anticipating a prompt recovery." --"'!-, A "' -
tng
J-:': A hurried call for physicians was sent out by Mrs. Harding shortly after 7
o'clock tonight. 'Messengers ran in search ok doctors Work and Boone, two of the
physicians attending President Harding while Brigadier Gene Sawyer, the
pretident'i personal physician was in the sick chcpiber, the only medical officer at
that ume on duty. i . . . - .'
There was an obvious and sudden change in quietness which' had prevailed
ugh the afternoon and earlv evening hours and reaort thai the nresident had
buffered a sinking spell cotdd not be verified, it being impossible in the confusion.
to reach those in position to know what had occurred within the sick room.
The first indication that a change had occurred in the condition of Mr. Hard
came shortly after 7 o'clock when Mrs. Hardin v nersonallv ooened ike 'door
i t - ' - . .. . . . - : -----o r, z. r .
VI n not room and called to those in the corridors to find Dr. Boone and the
others quick." At that time Mrs. Harding was understood to have been reading
to the president, sitting at his bedside with the evening papers and, -messages t pf
sczie friends which had been received during the day. .
PRESIDENTIAL HEADQUARTERS. San Fremritm. Ana. '2 fRv ihp Asn-
chted PressJhIn a second official statement issued at 8:02 p. m., the statement -
uz maC4 that the: death had been cause ed by a stroke of apoplexy.
m ne statement saia : . . -. r .jystps, ' :.r;: - :h..-
Death was apparently due to some brain development probably from apoplexy
i i
! "Dtrritltr th Jnv lim hrA Aon J..... ' JLj L -- '--iT
I ; ' hh,i, wt.vt.ui iiviii umiuhuuukihI itcic wui ever v iiuu
I fon or approatmng recovery. '
official
' PRESIDENTIAL HEADQUARTERS, Palace Hqtel, San
Francisco, Aug. ; 2. (By Associated Press.) The story of
the president's tragic end was tpld officially in this way:
The president died at 7:30 1, m., Mrs. Harding and the
two nurses. Miss Ruth Powderly and Miss SuevDausser, were
in the room at the time. Mrs.1 Harding wras reading to the
president when utterly without warning a- slight shudder
passed through his frame, he collapsed and. all recognized
that the end had come. , V f . ; ; i J.
v A stroke of apoplexy was the cause pf his death.
'"Within a few" moments all of the president's
party had been summoned." I
! 'Secretary Hoover was the first of the four members .of
the president's cabinet Who are in San Francisco, to learn
the sad news. He went into the room at once and in a few
minutes came out,! obviously deeply distressed and in a low
voice said to newspaper men, most of twhm did not know of
the hurried call almost half an hour previously: ,
,y t "Boys, I can't tell you a thin&" -
' With the passing of Mr. Harding, the .office of-president
devolves upon Calvin Coolidge, vice president of the United
States, a man silent in nature, but demonstrated as strong
in emergencies.' He was notified of the death-of Mr. Hard
ing at his home in Plymouth, Vermont. ; i
C " Warren G; Harding brought to the presidency an infinite
patience and kindness in dealing with public Questions and
men who enabled him to handle the problems of government
without the stress and worry which had handicapped many
of his predecessors. i
Whatever else historians may say of him, there probably
will be little dispute that few chief executives came to office
in peace time facing problems more complex in their nature
or greater in number. ..All international affairs were un
balanced as never before,. with .many principal sentiments of
the great war still to be effectuated. ..At some the work of
reconstruction had only just begun, with business depressed,
agriculture postrate and unemployment general.
How Mr. Harding measured up
to the task t before him must be
left to thei historian, . but his.
friends said that coming to the
presidency as he did with an open
mind, a desire for counsel and an
intimate knowledge of the pro
cess of government activities in
his services in senate, he was the
type of man needed for the job
at such a time. Preaching upon
every occasion" the doctrine of
Americanism, he set his face reso
lutely,. : against 'entangling alli
ance." -While 'thus- adhering to
what he was pleased to term the
principles of the founding fath
ers, he nevertheless lent . the
moral . assistance of the govern-
WARREN m HARDING
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ment In the efforts to bind up the
wounds of the. world.
Aided World Sentiment .
That influence, .was once" de
clared by him to be not inconsid
erable and so America, under his
guidance had a part, though sil
ent It was in the-main, in effect
ing the sentiments of the world.
Its , chief contribution was the
Washington arms conference, af
which the principle powers ' , cov
enanted to limit the size of their
navies and thus lift from tax
weary peoples the burden of main
taining the race for naval suprem
acy. , "
Along with the proffer of coun
sel in effecting world settlement
went that American rights be
recognized. In polished phrase,
but with a, directness of expres
sion that was not to be .miscon
strued, the world was "given . to
understand from the veify first of
the Harding administration ' that
the United States, freely respect
ing the rights of the other ' na
tions, asked for herself only that
to which she was entitled in sim
ple justice and that she could ac
cept nothing .less. While in his
dealings with congress,-Mr, Hard-'
Ing preferred the role of coun
sellor rather than dictator, he
speedily removed any doubt that
his gift of patience denoted any
lack of purpose , once he had
charted a course. Thus he told
congress that soldiers' bonus bill
either should carry the means of
financing or be postponed, and
when the legislators put aside his
advice he promptly vetoed the bill
they sent him.
Pounded for Koform '.
His tenacity of purpose was
furtber exemplified in his contin
ual pounding for reform in public
prisons and again in his insist
ence that congress pass the mer
chant marine aid bill.
His greatest single effort in the
field of domestic legislation was
in behalf of this measure. Not
Infrequently Mr. Harding was
caJled upon to play the role of
peacemaker in governmental af
fairs. He intervened in a dispute
between congress and the treasury
as to the form general tax revision
was to take, and the program he
approved was ' carried out in the
main with a reduction of more
than half a billion in the nation's
tax burden. ...v.
Likewise, his counsel settled the
long controversy between .t the
houco and senate. Upon signing
that bill he declared it the great
est, victory Th history.
Mr. Harding came of hardy
pioneer stock. Tie was born at
Blooming Grove, Morrow, county,
Ohio, November 2, I860, the, son
of a country doctor, Uleorge T.
Harding. Like most country boys
he went country school teaching
for a year, but having had a smell
of printers , inpc ; .w-hile sticking
type for his ; college fcaper, the
lure drew brim into the newspaper;
field.
Publishing Ambitions
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His family, meantime, had
.moved to Marion, in an adjoining;
county, where he obtained his
first newspaper job and where hi
life in' this was . centered. Mr
Harding's ambition, . was - to be
come publisher and it was rea
lized at the age of .9, when he
bid in the Marioa Star at a eher
iff's sale. . The paper was pur
chased under a heavy mortgage
and his friends have' often said
. that the struggles and hardships
which were his in making, this
paper a f success had much to do
in fashioning his career and de
veloping a broad patience and tol
erance which were his character
istics. Whatever his other at
tainments, Mr. Harding's greatest
pride was. In bis professional ac
complishments and training as
printer and publisher. Nor did
the Interests and exacting duties
of his high office serve to dull his.
delight in puttering about a com
posing room. On his first trio
back home after his inauguration
he went j to the Star office, pulled
off his coat, rolled up his sleeves,
borrowed a chew of tobacco and
helped "make up" the paper. His
luck charm.. was a printer's rule,
carried always in a vest pocket. . '
5 U's Ardent Partisan ,
. As his ambition had . carried
him into .the ranks of publishers,
so his fancy took him into' the
realm of politics. From the first
he was an ardent partisan and hlf
Insistence upon wearing a "stove"
pipe hat" the badge of support of
James' O. Blaine, brought him a
sharp reprimand from bis chief
who held it to be inconsistent for
a worker on a democratic paper
to display, so prominently the
symbol of his republicanism.
. The future ; president's ability
as a stump speaker won him early
recognition from bis local party
leaders. Marion county then was
in the democratic column and he
undertook to switch it to the re
publican party, bat his first effort
at office on his party ticket re-'
suited in a defeat, though , he
commanded an unexpected vote.
Mrl Harding's first political office
was that of Ohio state senator to
which he was elect ed at the age of
34. He served two . terms and
later was elected lieutenant-governor
of his state. In 1910 he
sought the governorship, but was
defeated. .
Four' years later he was elected
to the United States senate where
be served six years, much of the
time as a member of the foreign
relations 1 committee. From this
place he was elevated to the presl- '
dency, the . first senator to be
elected chief executive.
I 1 Lifelong Baptist
Early In his years of political
service he met William McKInley
to whom his close friendship most
of them likened him and with
whom , he bad In common a pre
dominant passsion for obliteration
of class and sectional lines. A
friendship sprang up between the.
two men. Mr. Harding also was :
close Jn later day to Theodore '
Roosevelt, Senators Foraker and
Penrose and i others high la hit
party, counsels,
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