Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1918-03-02
THE Chief EXECUTIVE HAD THREE QUARTS
How Carefully the Health of Presi-
dent Wilson is Guarded by Admiral
Grayson, his Physician.

dent Wilson is Guarded by Admira
Grayson, his Physician.
The manner in which the health Of
President Wilson is looked after i:
told in an interesting article which
appears in Physical Culture fol
March. 1t is written by Richard NJ
Winans and is given here in part:
Admiral Grayson is the one par
ticular person in the Presidents Of
fetal family who has unconditional
and unmeasured entrec to Mr.. vii,
sons presence. He watches the
physical condition of the President
as a hawk watches over the safety
of its young. 1t never is necessary
tc send for this doctor. He always
is, or monentarily will be somewhere
in the immediate vicinity. Nor is the
President ever interrupted or at all
disturbed by the doctors coming and
going
Even though the President may be
in the throes of creative labor as he
concentrates his mind upon the writ
ing of an important message or be
engaged in the momentous task Of
working out the. solution of an in
ternational problem involving mil
lions of men and billions of dollars,
yet Dr. Grayson may walk in un-
announced and lay professional hand
upon the Presidents pulse, or turn
his head to note the appearance OF
his eyes or to detect 4 possible sus-
picious flush of the face. And if there
are discovered untoward conditions
to warrant it. the Docto; may say,
"Stop! The indicator shows symp-
toms Of trouble brewing, and we are
going to do something about it."
DR.. Grayson may order the Presi-
dent to relax by taking walk in the
White House grounds, or to go for
motor ride to get fresh supply OF
needed outdoor air, or to take can
ter on mis- horse to shake him Gp and
stimulate the activities of the nerve
centers, or to go TO the links for a
game of golf to distract and ease
his mind dor the moment or, ahouil
the weather conditions prohikit oRt-
door activity, 10 take turn at some
indoor exercise to increase and quick
en- the circulation, to take hot bath
and rub to accelerate the processes
Of elimination. o. { the conditions
warrant, he may even go so far as to
order him to go 70 bed, and stay there
until whatever the cause of the dis
turbance may be is under control.
But, whatever the order, the Presi-
dent obeys, at once and without ques-
tion.
Dr.. Grayscn is q radical exponent
of system; system in work, IN play,
in eating, in thinking, reading study,
in sleeping, recreation, exercise
system in the entire scheme Of life.
Therefore, the Presidents life Is COM
pletely and scientifically systematic
cd, and he practices this system with
almost lnachine-like regularity. In
fact the President not infrequently
has been called a machine. But he
is not. He is very human.
Everything that surrounds and con-
Germs the movements of the Presl-
dent is run urJn system which
makes for efficiency. The Admiral
likens his working system to h'g
electric plant, of which he is the
center and of which Secretary Tu-
multv is the Director General, the
connecting line with the outside
world.
Secretary Tumulty thoroughly un-
Gerstands the President, both from
q personal and an administrative
stan3point, and he thus is able to
make all of the various details OF
the system successfully coordinate
There is very close, and intimately
human as we'll as executive co-opera-
tion between the President and Mr..
Tumulty. The President is saved the
burden of worry about routine details,
because they are kept away from
him. 1t is a part of the system to
arrest all such details before they
reach the President, for that inevlta-
bly, would involve that sort Of DIS
traction from concentrated thought
and labor which ultimately would be
injurious tc his health.