Milford chronicle., 1923-08-10
HARDING A FARM BOY
WHO ROSE BY WORK
Became A Newspaper Publisher, A
Party Leader And Held Many
Ohio Offices.
PRESIDENT BY SUDDEN TURN
His Wife Feared 1t Ment His Death.
Urgent For Arms Limit And
World Court.

The following story of the life of
Warren Gamaliel Harding, deceased
President, was published by the New
York Times in its issue of Friday, Au-
gust 3rd. The Times is one of the
leading Democratic newspapers in
New York City. The story as printed
in the Times says:
Nominated for the Presidency as
compromise candidate and elected by
a tremendous majority because of a
reaction against the policies of his
predecessor, Warren Gamaliel Hard
ing, twenty-ninth President of the
United States owed his political eleva-
tion largely to his engaging personal
traits, his ability to work in harmony
with the leaders of his party and the
fact that he typified in himself the aV-
erage prosperous American citizen.
Although he had been prominent in
Ohio politics for a generation, Mr..
Harding did not really become a ma
tional figure until 1920, the year of his
nomination at Chicago. He had been
mentioned as a possible compromise
candidate in 1916. Mr.. Harding, then
United States Senator, was the Tenn
porary Chairman of the 1916 conven-
tion, also held at Chicago, and his
keynote speech" on that occasion was
expected by many to put him in po-
sition where the nomination might go
to him, if deadlock should arise. The |
nomination went to Charles 3. !
Hughes, whom he later picked for |
Secretary of State, and who was de-
feated at the polls by Woodrow Will
son.
Mr.. Harding's opportunity was to
come four years later, when General
Leonard Wood and Frank o. LOWden,
then Governor of Illinois, were the
early leading candidates. When de-
velopments in a Senatorial commit
tees investigation of alleged imprOp-
er use of campaign funds made the
party leaders deem Governor Low
den's nomination inadvisable, most of
the latter's strength was transferred
to Mr. Harding. His friends in the Sen
ate, who had opposed the League OF
Nations proposed by President Wilson,
became active and Mr.. Harding's NOM
ination by the convention followed.
Wife Had PremOnitiOn of His Death
Mrs Harding had premonition that /
the arduous duties of the Presidency
might lead to her husbands death. On
June 10, 1920, two days before his T
while she was waiting
of the results of the bal a
loting at Chicago, she said: il
81 am content to bask in my hus-
bands limelight, but cannot see why
any one should want to be President :
in the next four years. 1 can see but =
One word written over the head of my
husband if he is elected, and that word
IS Tragedy
"As a matter of fact, 1 would rather
have him Senator than President. Be
ng Senator and being a Senator's H
wife is really a wonderful life. Of fl
course now that he is in the race and H
wants to win 1 must want him to, but 81
lown in my heart am sorry" al
Began as Farm Boy r. r
Mr.. Harding was born on a farm in n
borrow County, Ohio, near the village VI
f Blooming Grove, on November 2, n,
S65. 1t was his grandfather's farm, ne
7here his father then lived. He was nc
be Oldest of eight children. His ia bC
her, DR.. George T. Harding, village no
hysician, came of Scotch ancestors pS
tho settled in Connecticut and then ~
loved to the Wyoming Valley, Pa, no
efore going to Ohio His mother. -
hoebe Dockerson, came of Dutch ~,
lmily, the Van Kinks. 81,
DR.. Harding at the time lived in oIi
vo-room house, which he had built So, So,
ith his own hands in pioneer days. ~,
e had little means, and to supple T.,
ent his income as a physician farm da
on a small scale. tal
Warren Harding was distinctly a on aT-
rm boy He helped in the clearings ~, -,
I'd cultivation of the land, and learn A., 81,
to fell trees, chop wood, split rails III,
Id plant and hoe corn. In the Win "AI
r he had chores to do before and af- ro,
+ school. He grew up strong of Co. e..
dy and sunny of disposition. ~ ~
At the age of IA he entered Ohio li5G I;
,ntral College, a school of the acad- ~ ~
ny grade lat Iberia, Ohio. At inter t,'. pS.
Is he stopped school to earn money 'I+ rr''
continue, and all his vacations were W ~
voted to earning money. He cut +-el ~.
IN, painted barn, drove team for r. IT.
contractor grading the roadbed of 10 10
e Toledo & Ohio Central Railway e. va
d taught district school. One Sum- i''i
II he raised eighteen bushels of
leat on half an acre of ground which "
father gave him. sy,