The Washington times., 1920-06-13
When She Fell In Love With
Struggling Editor Parental
Opposition Was Strong.
~ MAUD MsDoUGALL.

Killing Harding-the First Lady OF the
Land" Well. we might so q whole
rot farther. and fare worsew
That was the verdict of q woman
who knows her washington-has
known II through several administra-
items. And Mrs Warren Harding.
while she has made no great splash
In official society--has apparently
not cared to-is known, TO those who
know her at all. as one of the worth
while women OF the Senatorial circle.
They are not 'ostentatious folk, the
Hardings. They live rather quietly,
out In q distinctly desirable part OF the
north west-up near the Connecticut
avenue bridge-23i+Wyomins avenue
Coed LookiaG and
Wear. Coed Clothes.
Mrs. Harding 10 distinctly good
looking. She wears good clothes. and
wears them well-but they are not
extreme. She Is not a faddy woman.
She has been known to say that her
husband is her only fad-and hes
the most wonderful man In the
world" As she's lived with him for
,twenty-six years. she certainly ought
to know. Wonderful men are-weli,
laren't they usually wonderful largely
because they have had wonderful
wives.
II ever there was a woman who has
stood behind her man through out his
career, holding up his hands In every
Icrisis. II is she. 1t II rather ro-
mantle story-her meeting and mar
rying, in spite OF her father and In
spite OF her friends, the people In
the Kings set out in Marion. Ohio
perhaps twenty years ago, the strus-
Gling young newspaper man, who
was trying to make 'go" OF a daily
paper In a small towp, for he had
) come there and established the Marion
Daily Star: Needless to say, he was
not at all In the Kings get. For
Amos II: King was q prominent bust.
' ness man and banker leading citi-
| zen of Marion-and Florence was q
belle in Marion's very best circles;
while young Harding was self-nade
| man-and only beginning to be made
, At that!
Fond OF Horses
And Also Of Dogs
1t had been inconsiderate of Flor
ence to be a girl In the frst place
She was the Oldest child, and, OF
course. she should have been son.
In fact, old Amos King, disguised as
he was at her. having made such
mistake. did his best to remedy 1t.
He brought her up as far as he
, could with a boys ideas and a boys
tastes. In fact, they say she had the
mekin's OF a much better boy than
either Of the two brothers who came
along later on. She was ever so much
fonder Of horses and dogs and animals
generally, and much more devoted to
outdoor life than they.
Also she developed a much keener
business sense. While they seem to
have inherited from their French
mother a decided talent for music,
she couldn't play a tune. without put
ting in hours Of hard work practic-
ing IT. And she. growing up, liked
nothing better than to be taken down
TO her fathers office and allowed to
sit quietly listening to his discussion
with his clients. and to watch the
various activities Of the bank, but the
old man sometimes wondered rather
peevishly II the boys would ever learn
that two and two are four.
Was Once Threatened
with TetaI Blindness.
In her early teens she had to leave
school because OF serious trouble with
her eyes, which at one time threat
ened her with blindness. Almost In
evitably -"the office" became her
school-from babyhood she had had
far more liking for business than for
dolls and nursery rhymes-and dad"
became At once her tutor and her pal
Her father used to say joyously
that. she was "a King through and
through"-the Kings being OF good
PRACTICAL Pennsylvania Dutch stock !;
and she rode with him and Travelled
with him. and was increasingly the
conlpan nion that her mother, a chronic
tnvalid, couldn't be. to the masterful,
hard n eaded old man who had in
herited his love for out f-doors and
his need for vigorous opsn-air exer-
disc from his sturdy Pennsylvania
Dutch farmer forbears.
Naturally IL was a good deal OF
shock to Dad" when he found that
his son-daughter had a mind OF her
own. and that there came a time when
that mind would not willingly go
along with his. And that time came
soon after she met Warren Harding
at a dance. Oh. yes. she went to
dances. She was really quite nor
NAL girl.
She liked a good many Of the thingS
that other young people liked. and
she was popular and attractive. what
she had lost through having to quit
school. she had more than made up
by travel. and she was entirely able
to hold her own "in society" even IL
she didn't play the piano. and even
~ she was trihe strong minded. Be.
sides sh. was an heiress-and one
can forgive an heiress for being q bit
100 strong minded
Father Thought Nobody
Good Enough for Her.
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