Perth Amboy evening news., 1923-11-15
THE HARDING MEMORIAL
Ry Frederic j.. HaSkin

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is said to be assured by the progress
that has been made in the movement
hat is to reach it's climax in the OBJ
servance throughout the country of
Harding Memorial Week, December
0 to 16.
First, a splendid mausoleum will
be erected at Marion wherein to
place his remains, and a fund will
be created to provide a sufficient in
come for It's proper maintenance in
perpetuity. Second, the Harding
home in Marion will be acquired and
such other property as is deemed
necessary for conversion into a
shrine wherein all personal effects,
books, speeches, and mementos of
the late President may be preserved.
+ . = =
But it Is the third feature of the
proposed memorial that is most in
tcresting and that undoubtedly would
be most appreciated by Warren G..
Harding himself. A Warren Gamaliel
Harding Chair of Diplomacy and
Functions of Government will be es-
tablished and endowed in connection
with n of the leading universities
OF the United States, probably
George Washington University of
LnLS ClLys OCIOldISIllpS Will OC VI dI~
ed and opportunities for specialized
study of governmental affairs will be
afforded young men and young
women who elect to devote their
lives and their talents to the public
service.
This is something that was close
to the heart of President Harding.
His own experience had convinced
him that those who undertake to
administer public affairs, national,
state, or local, should be qualified by
special training, and he was especial
ly impressed with the nations need
of skilled diplomatists. He express
ed frequently the belief that the in
terests of the whole people would be
best conserved IL practically every
branch of the public service could be
placed upon a basis such that young
men and women could make a ca
reer or life work of it and be assured
of the opportunity to enter 1t and of
advancement in it primarily through
their demonstrated illness for it.
In fact. he is said to have para
phrased or amended a well-known
saying by remarking that politics
produces poor public servants more
often than it makes strange bedfel-
lows"
The carrying out OF this feature of
the memorial and the exact manner
il which it is TO be accomplished will
be determined by the trustees of the
Harding Memorial Association, all of
whom were closely associated with
the late President and are thorough
ly familiar with his ideas. President
Calvin Coolidge heads the board,
which includes all the members of
the Harding cablnet-now the Cool
idge cabinet, and Senator Joseph S.
Frelinghuysen, Gen. Charles e. Saw
yer, d. r. Crissinger, Gen. Charles
G. Dawes, Edward b. Mclean, John
Barton Payne, Fred. w. Upham,
John Hays Hammond, George p.
Christian, Jr., Hoke D%onithan, and
James +. Prendergast.
The trustees will, of course, be
governed in a large degree by the
amount of funds hat will be availa-
BILE after the other objects of the
memorial shall have been carried
out. No decision has been made to
establish the chair in connection
with George Washington University,
but that choice is indicated by rea-
son of the fact that the national
capital is the place where students
in such courses could pursue their
studies most advantageously. In a
word, Washington is the laboratory
wherein experimental work and ac-
tual demonstration of the practical
application of the theories of gov
eminent and diplomacy are constant
ly carried on.
1t is also stated that final decision
has not been reached as to the goal
that will be set for the amount of
money to be raised by the ~associa-
ton. Originally 1t was estimated
that $4,000, 900 would suffice for the
purposes contemplated, but If it is
found that a larger sun can be used
adVantageously, and raised without
the movements taking on the unde-
sirable aspects of a drive, that
limit may not be fixed.
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Warren G. Harding was a stickler
for the adoption of business methods
and efficiency in governmental af-
fairs, and it is significant that the
Harding Memorial Association is one
of the most ~businesslike o~rganiza-
tons of its kind that the country has
ever known. Every step from the
incorporation of the association I'M
der the laws of the state of Ohio to
the arrangements for the big Memo
rial Week has been taken with
clockwork precision.
President Coolidge is the honorary
president of the association, and as
such he addressed a telegram to the
governor of every state requesting
him to act as state chairman, to is
sue a proclamation designating De-
cember 8 to 16 as Harding Memorial
Week, and to appoint county chair
men who in turn were to select city
or community chairmen. Secretary
of State Charles e. Hughes supple
mented this by addressing a commu-
nication to all the ministers of the
United States, asking their active CO.
operation, while Secretary of Com
merce Herbert Hoover directed a
similar appeal to all the chambers
of commerce and like organizations
in the country.
Thus a nationwide organization
of the most effective personnel, built
from the top down, sprang into ex-
istence almost over night and has
been functioning as II it had been in
existence for years. The result of
the meetings that will be held during
the Memorial Week will be the final
measure of the organizations eff
cheney, but leaders In the movement
express confidence that that will be
a revelation.
Every person who contributes to
the Harding fund, no matter how
large or how small the contribution,