New-York tribune., 1921-03-05
Wilson Retires.
Health Broken
And Mind Clear
3 Years of Rule Took Him
Through Range of Human
Emotions; Almost Blindlv
ldOlized and Also Hated
Speculation Over Future
unwritten Chapters of His
Life Would Form Volume
of Engrossing Interest

"AohiNIl lON, March (By The
associated Press(. = Woodrow Wilson
leaves the White House to-day to re-
sumo the role OF private citizen and
again take up the practice of lava
profession in which he has not been
active for forty years. With Bainbridge
Colby, the retiring Secretary of State,
the retiring President has formed a
partnership and the new firm will
maintain Offices in New York and
Washington.
Mr.. Wilson's announcement that he
would take up the law again came as
surprise to all Washington, which
had been led to believe that for the
next few months at least he would go
in for life of rest and recreation and
then probab y pursue, in some unan-
nounced way. his work for world peace
j. was thought, too. that the outgoing
President would take up the business
Of literature, whore he left off when
he quit the presidency OF Princeton
University to enter politics and become
Governor of New Jersey.
Frail in health, with his body racked
ny eighteen months OF illness, it mad
been supposed by Mr.. Wilson's closest
friends that he planned nothing else
than rest. But Rear admiral Grayson,
his personal physician, says he is able
TO take up legal work and could even
possibly appear occasionally before the
Supreme Court of the United States, 10
which the retiring President soon vial
make application 70, admission to
practice
Idolized and Hated
The second Democratic President
since Andrew jackson to ill two
terms. Mr.. Wilson's eight years
ins the White House carried him
through the range of human emotions.
lie was almost nlndly idolized and cor
daily hated. Profound peace, the most
terrible Of wars, death of wife and
Helpmate. cOurtship and marriage, and
finally lingering illness, all came in
turn to brighten @ darken MS days.
Eight years Of it whitened his hair
lacked his frame and impaired his
physical vigor, but did not rust his
mind.
characterized by his friends as much
q wounded veteran of the World War
IS if he had been shot in battle, he
goes back to private life to-day re-
garded by his partisans as a living
sacrifice to his ideals
Woodrow Wilson was not we'll man
vixen he took up the Presidency. He
was decidedly a sicl. man. He was
threatened with Bright's disease, which
physicians diagnosed as having been
brought about by a particular treat
he and the first Mrs. Wilson were SUBJ
ject. The wife died soon after, but
his case yielded to care
Some years before that Mr.. Wilson
Mad suffered a thrombosis in one of
his legs 1t was the lodging Of blood
elot in ar artery, but because of it's
location was II serious. It was, how
eyer, complaint of the same nature
which ciused his breakdown in 1919,
when tire clot formed on the right side
Of his brain, impairing the control Of
his lett arm and leg.
Almost Sightless in One Eye
Little known also is the fact that Mr..
Wilson, like Mr.. Roosevelt, was prac-
ticaly sightless n orc of hi eyes
Bursting blood vessels in the rctna
practically made it seless, although
Tie impairment was in part overcome
by the use of eyeglasses. He suffered
also from nervous Indigestion. With a
predisposition to take cold easily added
to this list of troubles. Woodrow Will
son took up the arduou5 duties of the
Presidency with far less physical
equipment than the public generally
gave MIN credit for.
Once in office the round of compleXi-
ties which brought Mr.. Wilson praise
none side and damnation on the other
was not long in starting, and like a
SNOWFALL rolling down hill continued to
take on volume until the day of his de-
parture from the White House.
Once, in the midst of his siege of
prostration which accompanied the
first stages of his present illness, he
debated with himself whether he ought
not to relinquis' his Office and give
way to a successor. Later when mis-
health had improved and the Demo
cratic convention at San Francisco was
balloting night and day to agree on Il
Presidential nominee Mr.. Wilson de-
.bated with himself whether he should
be a candidate for third term. 1t
could not be said that either subject
reached the stage Of being consid-
ered.' But it is known that Mr.. Wilson
gave the subject some thought.
These with many other things form
the highly interesting unwritten chap
.ters of Woodrow Wilson's life. They
would make a volume of far more en-
crossing reading than anything that
ever has been written about him.
Some Inside" Stories
Such volume might include the in
side" story of the break with Colonel
House, his former confidential adviser;
it might tell how Mr.. Wilson, rousins
NJ. Clemenceau. the French Premier
from bed at 2 o'clock one morning
practically charged the French dele
gates with tampering with the record:
of the peace conference proceedings.
Until the beginning oil the Worlc
War Mr.. Wilson held the atten
ton of the country with his swift
strokes at getting legislation from Con
gress- With the coming Of the war hs
devoted the last two years of his frs
term to an attempt to keep the UniteC
States out of the conflict, and as tn,
seemingly inevitable drift toward wa
set IN he gradual y assumed the diplo
matte leadership of the nations arrayet
against Germany and her allies. ant
finally assumed what his partisan.
characterized as the moral Leadership
of the world.
During the diplomatic correspond
aence with Germany he displayed man,
homely human emotions.
On May 7, 1915, when Mr.. Wilson
heard the news of the sinking of the
Lusitania, he was almost at the end Of
his patience. Like man making s
last effort to avoid quarrel with s
wife who has just laid on the la 81
straw, he clapped on his hat and went
out and walked around the block. He
knew how 10 Give vent ~ his erro+;ors