Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1920-11-10
HARD|NG'S TRAITS
SHOWN BY FISHING
President-EIect Puts Out
Again, Determined to
Land Big Tarpon.
Special Dispatch to The Star.
POINT ISABEL. Tex. n

Special Dispatch to The star.
POINT ISABEL. Tex, November TO-
Fishing, like poker. is a key that
unlocks private cabinets Of person.
atty. A mans liking for the not al
ways gentle art Of angling. his ways
and methods Of pursuing the big and
little Ash Of the sea and his reaction
to bad luck and good reveal phases
Of his character and disposition that
otherwise can be but vaguely compre-
hended. Moreover. fishing brings out
unsuspected resemblances between
mon who were not bracketed in the
public mind. Warren G. Harding is
singular1y like the late Grover Cleve-
land.
It is not important or especially in
teresting that President-eleet Hard
ing has become a devotee of fishing.
which was the chiefest of all delight
full sports to President Cleveland.
It is common to say that Harding
is very much the kind Of person that
William Mckinley was. This, idea
appears to be based upon q trace Of
facial resemblance more than upon
anything else. There are more points
of difference between Harding and
On the other hand, there seem to be
many more resemblances between
Harding and Cleveland than there are
dissimilarities.
Compared to Cleveland.
AS the President-elect plunged into
the exciting sport Of tarpon fishing he
went at the job pretty much as Cleve-
land was wont to do. He displayed
the same quality of patience and per-
and skillful even at a game in which
he was the sheerest neophyte.
When a tremendous fellRw of a tar
pom snagged upon his hook he was
ls,v~ al L.
long but unsuccessful fight to land
the 200-pounder, just as Cleveland
was accustomed to do. Then when his
| tackle broke and the giant sea rum
ner. leaping high in the air, bore
downward through the churnihg wa
of Mexico and Laguna Madre and
disappeared, the Presidential took
evil fortune with the same quiet, al
most complacent resignation that
marked the great Grover when mat
| ters went poorly.
| Grover Cleveland, 1t will be recalled,
liked nothing better than to slip away
from the White HouDe or from his
! home in Princeton to spend few
days IN the 5ovial company Of few
alone-Commodore Benedict, for ex-
ample. Cleveland had a way Of drop
ping the cares Of office when he want
ed to play with his boon companions
usually he went fishing. This inbred
love for close companionship with
small groups of old friends, this
ready shedding Of burdens and this
strong liking for good fellows just
because they are good fellows are
marked characteristics of Harding. An
| other thing, like Cleveland, he has q
| way Of absorbing ideas and sugges-
lions swiftly and thoroughly, while al
the same time deferring decision and
| action until he is positively and abso.
lutely sure Of his ground.
Like Cleveland, he is conservative
without being too much so. Like
Cleveland, he has a touch Of the old
fashioned about him. Like Cleveland
he is a stickler for the Constitution
and for the inherited tradition of the
early republic. Like Cleveland, he
possesses q very high kind of mora
courage and can put his foot down as
heavily and as roughly as Cleveland
ever could. The more one studies
Harding and recalls the salient points
Of the character Of the date Grover
Cleveland the more one Is astonished
at the many points Of agreement.
See Similarity I'm Rule.
It IL safe to say-it IL even a thing
Ito be borne in mind-that in its gen.
eral atmosphere in its tone and color
the administration Of Warren G
Harding will be like the administra.
lions that Cleveland gave the coun.
try, for the types are 50 much alike
1.-The old-fashioned, rather heavy, rather
lslow-footed, deeply sincere, pleasure.
flowing, yet work friendly
style Of heroely patriotic American
citizen.
Speaking Of tarpon, it can be writ.