Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1922-01-17
Woodrow Wilson
AS | KNOW HIM
BY JOSEPH P. TUMULTY.

mysterious stranger came to the
White House offices and, without
identifying himself, Informed me
that he was the individual, who, on
the night of the election, had kept
me in touch with Republican head
quarters, and then astounded me
by telling me that in some n1ys-
terious way, which he did not dis
close, he had. succeeded in breaking
in on the Republican national COM
mittee wire and had listened in on
every conversation that had passed
between Wilcox, Hughes, George
Perkins, Harvey and Theodore
Roosevelt himself during the night
Of the election and the day follow
ing.
Mr.. Wilson arose the morning
after the election confident that he
had been defeated. He went about
his tasks in the usual way. The
first news that he received that there
had been a turn in the tide came
from his daughter Margaret, who
knocked on the door of the bath
room while the president was shaw
ing and told him of the extra" Of
the New York Times saying that
the election was in doubt, with in.
dication of a Wilson victory. The
president thought that his daughter
was playing a practical joke on him
and told her to)"tell that to the
marines" and went on about his
shaving.
Thought He Was Free Man
When the president and I discuss
ed the visit of his daughter Mar
garet to notify him Of his reelection
he informed me that he was just
beginning to enjoy the reaction of
defeat, when he was notified that
the tide had turned in his favor.
This will seem unusual, but those
of us who were close to the man
and who understood the trials and
tribulations of the presidency knew
that he was, in fact, for the first
time in four years enjoying the free
dom of private life.
Mr.. Wilson's imperturbability on
election nights was like that of
sturdy Grover Cleveland, though
temperamentally the men were un-
like. Mr.. Cleveland used to tell his
friends how in 1884 he had gone to
bed early not knowing who was
elected, and how he learned the news
of his election next morning from
his valet, after having first made
inquiries about the state of the
weather. In 1892 Mr.. Cleveland,
his wife, and two friends played a
quiet game of cards while the re-
turns were coming in. In reciting
these "reminiscences, the old warrior
used to say that he never could un-
derstand the excitement of candi-
dates on election nights. "The fight
is all over then" he would say, land
it is merely matter of counting
the ballots" Mr.. Wilson preserved
the same calmness, which appeared
almost like Indifference. In 1872 he
sat in the sitting room of his little
cottage in Cleveland lane, in Prince
ton, Quietly reading from one of his
favorite authors and occasionally
Joining in the conversation of Mrs.
Wilson and few neighbors who had
dropped in. In a rear room there
was a Geographic ticker, an opera
tor and some newspaper boys who at
intervals would take an especially
interesting bulletin in to Mr.. Will
son, who would glance at it casually,
make some brief comment and then
return to his book. One of the
guests of the evening who read IN
a newspaper next day rather melo'
dramatic and entirely imaginative
account of the scene, said: Ihe
only dramatic thing about the eve
ming was that there was nothing ORA
matte"