The Washington herald., 1921-03-05
sy cLrrroRD MEREDITH.

woodrow Wilson come upon tne
ork in his road o destiny yesterday
and for the first time In eight years
rode past the white House gates
The trail he took from the Capitol
hilltop back-tracked down over the
Historic path along which few
moments before he had shared with
his successor the plaudits Of an In
|sugural crowd. but the White HOUSE
|slipped out of the picture as he
|iurned to the right at Jackson Place.
beaded for a little brick home In
|fhe northwest"
Twice before had he ridden down
The polished asphalt Of that long
broad thoroughfare. to- eventually
step out upon the White House porch
as the chief executive OF his nation.
But yesterday, crippled In physiaue.
ais crowning hope defeated. and the
memory of q harsh November poll
Btill scared upon his brain. WOOD
-ow Wilson rolled past the white
House, away from the ring In which
ne had fought the good night
Glerfeas In Defeat.
And his exit from the circle Of
,nicialdom was not unlike the with
irawaf,of a defeated ring-man who
IN his sday has had the cheers OF
.hafnpisn upon his own ear, but who.
metz with the hour of succeedfng
power, must recognize the nnts and
give .fhe world a smile.
In-the ringside crowd which
choked the Avenue Of the Nation.
there were many who disapproved
the policies for which the man they
cheered had been . champion But.
likewise. in the manner Of the ring.
side crowd, they were not forgetfui
OF all the past. and their true ao-
pIause went out for the gsmeness
of a stricken man.
National figures, In their times
playing many difficult parts. tnvart-
ably. make what to untested minds
seem grave mistakes. Yet ip that
eDpwd Of yesterday were safe ana
<<mal men. who weighed In nice
lfegthe motives Of the great, not
moving what they have not tried
~ broken. But Brave.
A few. perhaps, recalled the cry
of heated partisan campaigning -
TO Proud to Fight'-which had
stamped one minor incident Of q
career whose every step was marked
with strife. Those who did were
certain as they looked upon the
Wilson Of the present day that there
was a man with the pride OF q
tighter who does not finch as
strength begins to wane-
Their thoughts were Of his beau
tiful hope Of a world at peace, a
hope. perhaps. too great for achieve
s.ent by the methods he proposed
: But in their sportsmen's hearts they
a. oh a M
pioned by a brave man
Away from the crowd whose
had been his through a double ad-
ninistration. the broken man who
in the brief hour at the Capitol
had lifted the harness from his
shoulders. slipped to the city's out
skirts unheeded by the eyes OF
guards.
His end Of reign was dipped in
bitterness indeed. Back on the
east. was another fan whose doc
trines were Of another fabric. The
crowd was cutting long pauses in
in an inaugural address to APPROVE
the wisdom of inherited policy Of
fairs"
wv S0hAuCECus
The spoken words. though. were
not for Wilson. The former chief.
weary of exertion. had left the Hill
with the remark to Senator Knox
that the Senate had thrown him
down; he would not fall himself.
The seciusion he sought in his
new s street home was not truly
hts until late afternoon. At Z
O'Clock q crowd of 1000 found the
: path to othe man they still loved,
to pay him a farewell tribute.
Democratic adfirers and league
advocates marched to the brick res
idencer from Du Pont circle. each
wearing the white carnation symbol
Wilson had long since chosen as
the league flower. and carrying with
them a basket of flowers as their
token of remembrance.
Both Mr.. and Mrs. Wilson appear
ed at the opened upper windows
and greeted the visitors. The halt
ing hand OF the former President
crept to his head and dropped a
wave. He sought a moments rest
behind the plain curtains, to reap
pear again shortly at another win
dow. His friends in the roadway
below sent up their cheers for The
League" and then suddenly hushed,
expectant, for a few words from the
League's chief advocate.
Declines to Speak. I,
The frozen faces Of the man franz