The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1921-03-12


BILE Political NlanOuvering Necessary
to Get Military Appointment.
BY DAVID LAWRENCE.
Especial Despatch to The Reformer.)
Copyright 1921.
WASHINGTON, March 12.-PreSi-
dent Harding has encountered phase
of official life that is perhaps little I'M
derstood by the outside world but which
involves personal cmbarrassments and
murmurs of criticism that make the
problems of Il chief executive worrisome
from the start.
First and foremost Is the peculiar sit
uation surrounding the appointment of
DR. c. f. Sawyer, as brigadicr general
in the army in order that he might
serve as White House physician. Ev-
erybody in Washington has come to
know in recent years how necessary it
is that there be a physician at the White
House, not merely to care for the pres
ident in the event of illness but to see
to it that the chief executive apportions
his time between work and play so he
viii not suffer a physical breakdown.
When President Harding was faced
with the question he wanted of course
clan. DIR. Sawyer Of Marion. but there
was no way of attaching private in
dividual to the White House staff. Adj
miral GraySon was already i'm the United
States navy and it was a simple matter
to have him detailed as a naval aide to
President Wilson. The controversy
over DIR. GraySOn, however. had nothing
10 do with his selection as White House
physician, but Republican senator's said
il was wrong to give him the promotion
To the rank of admiral. Since that time.
however. there has been a change of
feeling and the same Republican sen
atOrS voted to a man TO confirm the
nomination OF DIR. Sawyer to be brig
adler general even though the latter had
previously not been an officer in the
army at all. The Democratic senator's.
If course. feeling that the Grayson pre-
cedent was Justified could offer no obiec-
ton.
But beneath il is the fact that the prcSi-
! dent of the nltcd States must resort
! to the roundabout process of appoint
| ing a man either to high rank in the
army or navy to get the services of the
| physician he desires. AR Harding is
not unmindful of the fact. too, that
/ there are lots Of army officers who
served overseas feeling pretty blue now
adayS because they have just been COM
! PEELED 10 take the stars of the brigadier
generals rank from their shoulders and
| put on the insignia of lower rank. But
| how else was Mr.. Harding To get Or.
| Sawyer ON the White house staff except
to make him Il military or naval aide -?
| The fault really lies in the failure of
congress to provide the White House
with an appropriation for a physician
! to take care not only of the president
| but his household. The Importance to
| the country of the life of its president
! * recognized in the appropriation made
| for secret service guards. The govern
ment, moreover. provides money for scrv-
ants, but there Is no attache more i'm
portant than the man who sees to it
| that the president is kept in good health.
| UnqucStionably there has been a good
deal of constituencies at the White House
about appointing DR. Sawyer to be Il
| brigadicr general. 1t was not exactly
| known whether the senate would con-
| firm. whether there might not be CON
| trovcrsy similar to the GraysOn episode.
! Then it was that somebody suggested
/ the idea of broadening the activities of
| Or Sawyer and a statement was issued
! that he would take charge of a general
| reorganization Of welfare bureaus in the
government including the United States
public health service the children'S bu-
reau and kindred organizations but if
the move was calculated to offset the sen
! atOrial criticism it was unnecessary. On
the other hand. it did stir up contro-
verSy i'm an entirely unloOked-for drcc-
ticn.
! DIR. Sawyer is 2 homcopath while the
ma jority of physicians in the army and
| navy and public health service belong
to the opposite school of medicine known
as 'allopathy." The clash between these