The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-12-07
PRESIDENT ID SEND HIS MESSAGE TODAY
 IN WRITTEN FORM
Receives the Joint Committee Which Formally Notifies Him
 That Congress Is in Ses-
 sion-Lodge Spokesman
By A.sociatnsi Press

Washington. December 6.-Unless
 President Wilson changes his plans at
 the last moment, he will not address Congress personally tomorrow, but will
 send a message in written form. It
 will be read to House and Senate sit-
 ting in separate session, as was done
 with the presidents message last De-
 cember and as was the custom until
 MT. Wilson began the habit of ad- dressing Congress personally.
 The President did not make known
 his intention to joint committee Of
 the Senate and House which called to-
 day at the White House to formally notify him that Congress was in ses-
 sion, but members of the delegation
 left him with the impression that he would not appear before Congress in
 person. The Presidents statement to the committee was that he would Communicate with" Congress tomor- row.
 MT. Wilson received his congress sional visitors in the blue room. Sem ator Lodge of Massachusetts the re- publican leader in the Senate was the spokesman, and he and the Pres ident met face to face for the first time since the League of Nations cove nant and the peace treaty were de- feated in the Senate under Senator Lodges leadership
 FAILS TO SHAKE HANDS The President did not shake hands with his visitors. They were ushered into the blue room by White House attendants and then MT. Wilson ap- reared from an adjoining room He
 wore a blue sack suit and used cane. On entering the door he smiled, and, pointing to his cane, said
 You see, gentlemen, I cannot yet dispense with my third leg"
 The committee was at the White House only a few minutes and the President remained standing at the door of the room during the interview. Some of the visitors said that in walk 1 ing his left leg evidenced his afflic- | ton, and that he kept his left hand up across his chest
 Besides MT. Lodge. the White House | callers were Senator Underwood of ] Alabama, the democratic Senate leader, and Representative Mondell the re- i publican house leader Chairman Ford i ney of the House ways and means. and l former Speaker Champ Clark. Some l of them said the President still gave visible evidence of his long illness, but ] that. considering the character and l duration of his sickness. he appeared in
 unusually good condition. He was de- scribed as having put on much weight.
 OPINIONS DIFFER
 There was difference of. opinion 1 as to the President's voice. One of l the callers described it as hollow and 1 low" and said that it was with diff I ficulty that he heard what the Pres l ident had to say. while others said 1 that while not as robust as before his l illness. President Wilson's voice was good. and the executive spoke clearly. with only slight difficulty in enun- citation.
 Washington has been alive for the last two weeks with positive" in- formation that the President would personally show himself before Con- gress tomorrow. taking the opportu- | nifty to appear in public for the first 1 time since he returned "a very sick
 man" from his League of Nations speaking trip in September, 1919. | One set of reports had it that the
 President would appear in an invalid's Continued Page TwoD