The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1922-02-28
ON SECOND THOUGHT
BY JAY E. HOUSE
tFrom Philadelphia Public Ledger.l
a Letter to the President

A Letter to the President
Friend Warren:
I expect you seen in the paper the
other day where 1 said so far as 1
with you when 1 come to Washington
in April. Well, don't you pay any at
tention to my kidding" Warren.
Like 1 wrote to a fellow out in your
State not long ago, the fellow who gets
i ''kidded" in my column is in the most
distinguished company lin the world,
and they are lot of them who could
not get into distinguished company in
no other way, and 1 said to him if
Warren Harding and Lady Aston and
John Wanamaker does not care about
beng "kidded" in my column why
should he kick. So I am not counting
on playing golf with you when I come
down in April, altho 1 will not have
anything to do while am there. 1 am
just going to loaf around like L did
when L come down to see you in
augurated. Awhile before you was
inaugurated I says TO the Chief one
day, Il believe I would like to go down
and see Mr.. Harding inaugurated, and
anyway 1 have been working pretty
hard for two weeks and L need a little
rest" And the Chief said, THAT will
be fine; go ahead" which is about all
he ever does say unless it is. You
have done your travelling" Well. two
or three days before I was to start to
Washington the Chief said, You had
better use the wi~e out of Washington
on account the last time you was away
the mails was so irregular that you
had four or five columns ahead and
did not work for nearly week after
you come back" And 1 said to him,
What would 1 want of the wires out
of Washington? And he says, why,
for your column, of course" and then
he says the Sunday editor wants to
to see the Sunday editor and he says,
Il got a dandy layout for your story"
and 1 says, "Of what story do you re-
fer?' and he says, why your Sunday
story about the inauguration" And
SO, that is the way 1 loafed when I
and L do not suppose I will have a
whole lot more TO do when 1 come
down in April
But I'd just as lief put off the golf
until June or even later. altho ] will
be setting right there. in the lobby
of the hotel all the while, which is as
| far as [ ever get. and they probably
would page me if a call come for me.
! It's a funny thing. Warren, but 1 never
do get out of the lobby of the hotel
1 start places, but l do not ever get
, there. l have not got the zest. for
sightseeing 1 used to have. 1 remem-
Der the first time I was in New Y DIRK
I seen the Bronx Zoo and the Aqua
rum the first day ] was there and 1
have not never saw them since. But
what 1 started to tell you was the rea-
! son L would just as soon not play golf
with you when I come down in April.
To tell you the truth. if my game is as
bad as it was late last fall, would
not want that you should see it I
nt hal
see it, You know how I was going
last summer on account of me chang
ing from my driver to my brassey and
along the first part of September 1
drove the green on No at Aroni-
mink, which is PCS yards, two days in
succession, and never hope to do bet
/ ter than that, and then I started west
! laughing my head off on account of
what I was going to do with the old
! foursome. We'll, [ was delayed a lit
| tie along the way on account of stop
| ping off at Marion and q little acct
dent at Tuscola and having the car in
the shop at Decatur and cracking a
radiator at Camp Point, but I finally
got to the old home town and we or
ganized the old foursome and started
out Well, Warren, you should of
seen me. could not drive over rs
yards to save my life, and Carol Mer-
riam kept watching me and he caught
| it, too, and couldn't drive rs yards
either and we was playing together.
But il ] was off with my wood, 1 GER
tainly was there with the iron, and
/ was going so good with my mashie
/ that could Of eaten soup with it, and
L took twelve puts on the first ten
holes. L had them birds pretty near
crazy and they changed the handicap
on me three times the first round. But
if June will suit you just as Wen, may
be we'd better put off this date we
have to play golf in April. Of course,
IF you insist 1 cannot do anything
about it. When the president invites
fellow to play golf he has to play
and that's all they are to it.
But what I wanted to write YOU
| about, Warren, vast this bonus and my
notion is that IF a fellow makes a mis-
take when he is running for office the
| best way to do is just admit it. So if
! YOU made a mistake about the bonus
Id say SO. They could not say no worse
about you than they have already said
about me. Some of the boys have
sure tore me limb from limb, saying
/ was yellow and couldn't Adelaide
spare me and his age didn't keep
Senator Newberry out of the war. But
! all 1 done when 1 read their letters
was laugh, because I tell you. Warren,
/ no amateur can get under my hide. 1t
| takes a professional to do that, and
/ not so many professionals can do it.
all his patriotism and ideals on &C
count of the way things had turned
\ out and I say that a fellow who lost
| his patriotism and ideals on account
! of the way things have turned out did
not have any patriotism and ideals to
| start with. l remember I went down
! to the train once with Judge Stillman
Lee to see some of the boys go thru
to Camp Mills and some of the women
was worrying because they was three
| boys in every section of the Pullman,
and Judge Lee laughed and said he
was mighty glad to see the boys have
Pullmans to ride in, but he was in the
war four years and two months and
! the best thing he ever had was a cat
tie car. Judge Lee is over eighty now.
/ but I never heard him talking about
| losing his patriotism or his ideals on
account everything was not done just
| as he wanted it.