The Morning Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Okla.) 1919-1927, 1922-04-23
HARDING PATIENT
BUT GROWS VEXED
Point Reached When He
Must be Boss or be
Bossed Himself
HE'S "WRONGED MAN"
Country Dissatisfied Wi t h
Congress; President Still
Has Nations Good Will

President Harding has got into
/ the way lately Of writing letters to
/ the editor. II IL characteristic OF his
simplicity that ho signs them him-
( self instead OF sending them forth
with imperial formality as commu-
nicat.ons from his secretary: and It
ia characteristic that the expostula-
| ton they voice is mildly and per-
suasivclv phrased. although none
/ hut a thln-skinned man. laboring
! under considerable agitation, would
have written them.
I For the most part these letters
! have been evoked by unklndly COM
ment on the rupture between Mr..
! Harding and congress, or on the
| congressional custom--for IL has
1 grown virtually into custom--of
| ignoring the presidents expressed
wishes The fact that they are
! written at all IL symptom. II re-
/ voals n mental temper and spir-
! itual state far from tranquil. and
| therefore quite unusual In the
| friendly chief executive. Mr.. Hard
Ing Is an amiable man, a generous,
graylng. cookbook ing man, fond OF
| folks. and fond OF being fond OF.
! He is some say. an indolent man.
| Certainly he avoids frictlons. he
| shrinks from qunrrels. he detests
/
initiative In defensive and offensive
measures IL significant. 1t is an
/ omen.
For n long time Il has been OBJ
viohs that IL Mr.. Harding didn't boss
congress. congress would boss him.
/ Never has president OF these
| United States- been SO despitefully
used by the legislators of hls own
] party; particularly In the house,
whore TIE republican strength has
more the manner of n mob than a
| majority, The senate has been less
brutal, patty because only one-thrd
OF It's membership In apprehensiye
about the coming elections, and
therefore acutely susceptible of out
side influence. Then. too, the sem
nto ~ the presidents home course,
where he knows every bunker and
every hazard. He can talk TO al
most any senator. can Mr.. Harding,
M freely and ms intimately as he can
talk with u brother Elk or Indian
or Moose or horseshoe thrower.
But the house has mobbed him.
has tarred and feathered his cam
paign promises. has burned his
legislative program at the stake.
And at last there are signs and por-
tents that the rough treatment IL
beginning TO tell on his nerves.
Slow to anger. Mr.. Harding may
well prove formidable when aroused.
There are NOT II few In Washington
who believe that he is tramplng
out the vintage whore the grapes of
wrath are stored; and that his re-
cent exceptional eplstolnry activity
Is but curtain raiser TO big act
In which he'll take the house by the
| horns. Extra added attraction.
Warren Gamaliel Harding starred
as Ursus. the giant bull thrower---
that sort Of thing you know.
White House and Capitol Eye TO Eye
Or course, there are those who
say nothing 80 dramatic will come
to pass, that there isn't much more
! spunk at one end Of the avenue than,
AZ the other, and that neither the
white House nor the capitol has
got the nerve to call NJ stiff bluff.
Besides, what cards does the presi-
dent hold, other than the veto? Not
n great deal OF patronage is left In
his hand. Ho can, to be sure, with
| draw the light OF his countenance
from representatives who need
presidential backing in their races
next November; and he can, as u
last resort, go to the country" for
his backing. But he cannot sue
cessfuly use the party plea. That
! would fall on deaf ears. Represen-
tauVeS In congress OF the great COM
mon people are not thinking about
party, They are thinking about
tnat traction OF the great common
| people Within their own districts.
iney are thinking about their own
SKINS lf they refused to demand
M Harding's reasons for the
bureau OF engraving dismissals, it
WAS not his cuticle they were pro-
tectlng, but their own.
RVS state OF semi-panlc about the
coming elections, which are certain
to witness pairing down OF the re-
! puhLcan host, leaves the president,
| worst or all, without a leader in the
house, for Representative Mondpl
wants TO go to the senate. and an
! hnnouncem cnt TO the same pffert
! IL expected daily from Representa-
| tive Fcss, who might take the place
! OF the nominal leader As for Rep
feSen ntive Madden, his state OF
| nina was revealed clearly enough
| When, I'm the debate about reducing
| the strength OF the army below a
/ figure ~. by the president as tho
/ sate minimum, ne met the argument
/ thAt TINS was an invasion Of MIR.
HaidIngs powers as commandments
chief by Observing that congre -
| could, II II so wished. specify that
inc country must be defended by
none but red-hcaded men. Congress
| 'i'H 'lAtl nave lOllOnS OF their all-
! thorlty exaggerated almost to the
| point Of paranoia: but not an OF
| them, as the debate showed. were
/ 80 low In their minds about the
| power OF the Commander-in-ch
The house mob, therefore is prac-
! ucally leadorless, ard IL IL ruled,
even TO greater extent than the
senate, by organized minorities. 4
| good example of what | mean ham
! pcned the other day, Cin a case
| which attracted no special attention
because the amount Of money in
vowed was not large, when an
alliance was formed, for the mo-
meht, between the delegations i'm
me house from New York and from
| me Mississippi valley 1t is a good
example OF how obscure blocs can
combine to dominate legislation,
ana Of how the presidents wishes
are oNcrrdden.
The pending army bill carried, in
It's orig nal form, an appropriation
work on rivers ana harbors during
the fiscal year beginning next July
/. This was the sum fixed by the
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