Evening star., 1923-07-09
President Adn,ires Clererness.
Euen on Part of BlulcO Man

President Harding has confessed to
a characteristic often ascribed to
Americans by foreigners-a fondness
| for being buncoed when 1t is done
| painlessly.
The confession was made in a
letter written to Col. George b. Chris
| tian, father of the secretary to the
President, and has a background ex-
! tending into the days when Warren
G. Harding was editing the Marion
Star. 1t was then that a stranger
dropped into Marion one day. called
on Editor Harding, and introducing
himself as a member of the Virginia
branch of the Harding family. men,
toned that his cash in hand had un-
expectedly run low and that a. small
loan would be useful. The President
then as now was proud of the name
of Harding" and he extended the
loan
Got Second Loan.
A few days later Mr.. Harding met
Judge Scofield. a leading, citizen Of
Marion and a close friend. and told
When 1R % he had hnished Judge scoheid
announced that he had been visited
on the same day by the same gentle
man, who described himself as dis
tant cousin named "Scofield," and a
member of the scofeld family of vir-
ginia- The judge like the editor ex-
tended financialfaid.
Mr.. Harding and Judge Scofield had
many a hearty laugh over the Incl
dent, and they laughed even more
heartily on learning several weeks
later that Myron T. Herrick, then a
Cleveland business man, but since
Governor of Ohio and ambassador to
France, also had helped out in the
| hour of need "a cousin by the name
of Herrick from Virginia who needed
carfare home" But gradually Mr..
Harding ceased to think of ii, until
, the other day he received letter
, from Col. Christian, recalling the visit
of the virginia cousin" and saying
: that he himself had been recently VIC
| timized in a similar way.
Talked OF War Days.
/ "I am in receipt of your letter"
| President Harding wrote in reply. "in
! which you tell me of the call upon
| you by the breezy and companionable
chap who. after the fashion of the
gentleman who was named Harding
one day, Scofeld another day and
Herrick another day, took you in for
a small loan which would accommo-
date him on his virtuous way. I can
only sympathize with you. You re-
member the chap who represented
l
Virginia. and I recall that presented
him to you and that he took you in as
! well as me, and that you and he
fought over some OF the battleflelds
| Of the civil war without your detect
ing any fraud in him, but you did
escape being touched as I was for a
small draft upon my cash account.
| Somehow, I have always enjoyed
being bunkoed by that fellow. He
was so clever about It that he
| skinned me without wounding me.
One encounters so many confidence
| men in the activities of our present
day life that 1t is a pleasure TO meet
up with an artist who can skin you
| without your having felt 1t. The
| thing that gets on my nerves most
Is the cruder and bolder confidence
| man who tries to put something over
on me, and I know that he Is trying
1t, and yet he thinks me susceptible
enough to be wholly innocent of his
plans.
Pairleas BunkO Work.
"In other words, when you are
| taken in it is a Joy to be taken in
| so beautifully that you havn't the
! slightest knowledge of 1t until you