The Washington times., 1922-06-11
GARDEN PARTY FOR WAR VETERANS
OUTSTANDING EVENT OF WEEK; RED
LETTER DAY i'm MANY DRAB LIVES
President and Mrs. Harding Perfect Hosts
to Wounded Veterans at White House
Ssl a for Day
SOMEONE has penned a polsn

H
ant phrase, about the men
who, are paying through years
and years and heils and hells''
the price OF the war; and the
words kept running through my
head 40 i watched the line file
by the President and Mrs. Hard
Ing at their garden party on
"wednesday for tho wounded vet
Grams. Such q pitifui line. men
with an arm gone. or a leg. or
both; men with their limbs encased
in strange instruraents Of torture:
! blind men on the arms Of their
buddies. and men who showed
no wounds on their bodies. but
bore the scars OF battle on their
faces.
But they seemed % bright and
CHEEKY. almost to man. and 90
bent on having q good time that
there was nothing to do but
swallow In ones throat and do
ones BIT toward their enter
tainment. Moreover. Il was en-
couraeing 10 look back to the
garden party given last year for
the wounded veterans and realize
how many more there had been
on that occasion. why. that time
/, It seemed hours from the moment
the President and Mrs. Harding
greeted their first guests until
they shook hands With the last
arrival. whereas on wednesday
the formal reception was over in
less than an hour and the Presi-
dent and Mrs. Harding were free
. to minsie with their guests in
friendly fashion. taking with
them IN little groups and APP
perentiy enjoying their frank and
frequently funny comments.
Patients from pretty much the
same institutions were included At
both parties--waitsr Reed, the
Naval Hospital. 81. Elizabeth's.
the Evergreen Institute for the
Blind and several others-so pre-
sumably the boys are getting well
and going homs to take up their
lives again. -,
- a-
TgfIs time the pathetic "chair
cases." each with Q Rad Cross
nurse or . gray lady" In at
tendance. were drawn mp under
the trees: and before beginning to
shake hands IN the regular way.
the President and Mrs. Hard =
made their way around this semi
circle, with an apt and CHEEKY
word for each man, quite a. they
are accustomed to srsstins\ the
Epests assembled for an official
dinner.
Their comrades kept crowding
IN. impatient to grasp the Presi-
dents hand. but Mrs. Harding
iaughingiy waved them away with
wait. wait, you boys win have
70 come to us:' and In q few
moments they had their station
on their little prayer rug as
Washington has dubbed the little
gray rug on which they stand.
Another moment and they had
gathered General Pershins into
line.
Don't the HArdings always do
the, right thing! Those men could
not have stood down a long lire
but many a.facs was even further
fllumined at the chance to shake
hands with Pershingl Hughes or
Cooiidss. Weeks or Denby--these
would have meant nothing TO them.
Young Roosevelt might. Tor he was
over there. he too was wounded,
and will bear the marks OF the
fight to. his death. even as they
will. But Pershinsi with no irrev-
erence meant, their god OF battles!
II was good that he should be there
to greet them. One sometimes n srs
General Psrshing's popularity l.e-
littied here IN Washington. People
laugh toierantiy NJ him a. social
lion--the ladies' pet, hero Of . hun
dred teas. and all that sort Of