The news scimitar. (Memphis, Tenn.) 1907-1926, 1920-02-13
Mystery SHROUDS
DOCTORS REPORT
I ON WILSON HEALTH
While Substance of Statement
Arm and Leg of President
Were Affected Seems Ad-
mitted, No Official News.
BY DAVID LAWRENCE.
Especial Correspondent Of The .NeWs
Sclmltar.D


Sclmitar.)
WASHINGTON, Feb, 13.-Something
Of mystery develops the issuance by
Dr: Hugh H. Young, of Johns Hopkins
university, of a statement describing IN
detail che illness of President Wilson,
and revealing particularly what the
White House has so long declined TO
admit, namely, that the president was
suffering from an impairment OF his lett
leg and arm.
SO far as can be discovered, neither
President Wilson nor DR.. Cary t. Gray
son, U. s. N, his physician, were con-
suited concerning the statement, and
there is good reason to believe that its
publication was displeasing to them.
On the other hand, it is thought in
conceivable that a man OF DR.. Young
position would so far violate professional
ethics and authorize newspaper inter-
view, revealing the nature of the, illness
OF one of his patients without SANCTION.
The plain Inference Is that somebsdy
in the government who has1at that
the White House policy OF concealing
the facts of the presidents illness was
misleading and unfair to the public, told
D5 Young to go ahead.
II is not important to know who the
person was. but it is a confession that
the curiosity of the public to know the
truth about the presidents ailment has
at last touched point where the presl-
dents own household to keep the mat
ter a private affair, are to some extent
being set aside. in the interest of the
public.N
The whole situation develops out of
the conflict between the rights OF the
public and the rights of the president
and his family to keep their privacy
from being invaded. Just where does
the right of the public end and the right
of public official begin?
Many Defenders,
There are those who defend vigor-
ously the White House policy Of silence,
on the ground that while the president
was in the midst of the serious stage
of his Illness, and nobody could tell
Just what developments might bring 1t
would have been politically disastrous to
hand over to Mr., Wilson's political OPP
ponents lever with which to delay
action on the treaty by raising the
question of the presidents incapacity to
discharge his public duties.
Now that the president has passed the
crisis and is on the road to recovery,
it is insisted that no harm can be done
by revealing in retrospect the facts OF
the case,
On the other hand, the distinct loss
TO the White House in the circum-
stances is in the impression that it has
given to so many persons that infor-
NAL utterances on subjects Of interest
TO the public may have to be taken
i, with grain Of salt,
There always arises a moment in ev-
cry administration when the newspaper
II correspondents begin to lose faith in the
sincerity of public men who do not deal
1 frankly. Usually, when an embarrass-
ing question arises, officials have been
known to make clean breast of a case
and point out the reasons why secrecy
is necessary.
This was particularly true during the
war, and there are no cases OF impor-
tance on record wherein confidence was
violated
But, in the matter of Mr.. Wilson's
Illness the correspondence have literal
~ been up a tree Torn between de-
sire not to pry too closely into the pri.
Vate affairs of the president and con
scious. at the same time, that the pub
lie has right to know whether ~
/ chief executive can transact pubit'
business, the newspaper men have con
sistently accepted statements made Il
them from authoritative sources as be
ing frank and complete.
DR. Young's revelations give the i'm
preston that, on more than one, oc
casion, the correspondents were de-
liberately misled, This may not be i'm
portant from the viewpoint of officials
for they frequently imagine the public
much less interested In events than arr
the inquiring correspondents Nor,
than one request for information ha
been lightly dismissed as idle" curl
osity.
Demand Intensified.
In this particular instance, however
the policy of Withholding the trutl
served only to intensity the eagernes
of the public to know the true stat
of Mr.. Wilson's health. Demands TO
information have come from ,neWspa
pers usually very friendly, but thes
Somebody then hit upon the idea o
issuing an inspired statement givinl
details. This appeared nearly a montl
ago in a Baltimore newspaper but tn
name Of the physician was pot given
The story was not given wide circula
ton because of its anonymity.
Iv Then the same newspaper actuated
no doubt by the desire to keep faitl
with its readers, printed second state
ment, this time by the authority OF Dr.
Hugh Young himself.
Just how much the White Hous
played Il part in this effort to set tn
public straight cannot be ascertaine
as yet. Certainly the more direc
method would have been to issue
the United Press or international New
Service, which three services reach a.
the newspapers of the country
But the mystery deepens, when 1t !
found that some Of the things in d.
Young's utterance are described a
"minor inaccuracies" and, while tn
substance of his declaration appears t
be admitted. it is pointed out by other
who are in a position to know that Dl
Young was not called in until the trou
BILE with the prostate gland developed
The inference is that he learne
about the case secondhand from tn
other physicians who treated the presi
dents arm and leg. And still there i
no full and frank statement of tn
presidents condition issued on the au
thority of the White House.
copyright, 1920. by David Lawrence.
DENIES REVOLT RUM0RS.
nIIrNEICA CITY Eoh 10 -Rnnort +hn