Evening star., 1923-07-31
BY EnEDER1c WILLIAM VILE

Physical exhz. ust:or- culrrlinat-
ing result of nearly two and half
years Of grinding work and worry, is
the basic cause, though not the i'm
mediate source. of President Hard
ing's Illness. He is suffering, funda-
mentally. from a breakdown rather
than malady. His friends in Wash
inston, who are most familiar with.
the Presidents general condition.
therefore are hopeful that when the
broncho pneumonia and ptomaine
symptoms are aIleviated. complete
cessa ton from activities Will do the
rest Mr.. Harding. contrary to some
popular belief. is game fighter. He
fights hardest when his back is really
to the wall. That Is what DIR. Saw
yer's bulletin means when ii sets
forth that the President is "tempera-
mentally well adapted to make
strong fight" The doctors stress that
facto in Mr. Hardings favor rather
than his present physical powers OF
resistance He was run down" be-
fore he embarked upon his lo'coV-
mile expedition to Alaska and return.
1t is evident that the unsparlns eNer-
tions to which the President has SUD
jected himself since he left Nashine
ten on June 20 have aggravated
rather than built up his overworked
and overwrought physical capacities.
Has Aged Visibly.
Mr.. Harding has never concealed
from those to whom he imparts ms
confidences-to his cabinet. to his po-
litical comrades and to washington
ewspapermen-that the first hair or
- il, hA
proved irksome and burdensome De
yond all of his ina ginings he mas
''aged'' visibly since March 4. lSZl;
Then his hair was lioerally stIeakeu
with black 1t is almost entirely
white now He has taken on girth
and weight. owing 10 his inability 10
indulge in his old time allowance OF
exercise Recently, before he went
west, puffs could be noticed under ms
eyes His midwinter attack OF grippe
sappcd the Presidents vitality more
than the country ever knew. MRS.
Harding's long illness, with ITS ever
uncertain outcome, affected her nus,
band to a degree that was not realized
outside of the Immediate White House
circle. There have been other DIS,
tressing events, of a semi persona
nature. that disturbed Mr.. Rardings
physicaI and spiritual equilibrium. He
has been upset by the breakdown OF
his closest friend and political asso-
ciate, Attorney General Daugherty.
among other things. Few appreciate
the closeness of the Damon ana
Pythias ties that unite the IresiueHI
and Mr.. Daugherty.
Probably nothing has contributed
more signally to the undermining or
President Harding's well-being than
the trials ne has had to race IN a
nureIy political sense. Being the
strongest devotee of party organiza-
ton. perhaps. who ever occupied the
white House he has been deeply ag-
rrieved by what he considered dis
loyalty within regular republican
ranks His inability to lead the party
solidly in support of major admins
tration measures. like the ship sub
sidy. wounded Mr. Harding's sense of
party pride He feels strongly with
regard to the "sniping" attacks IN
cessantly indulged in by G. Q. p. lead
ers. upon whose loyalty he thought ne
had a solid claim. He has viewed
with genuine alarm what he consid-
cred TO be the gradual breakup of
the party system in favor of the bloc
system, with so-called republicans,
elected as such. running wild" in
total disregard of administration
policy and programs. The backfire
TO which Mr. Harding has been sub
jected concerning his world court
policy is a case in point. The Presi-
dent from the inception of that prof.
ect has adhered to 1t as sound, legiti-
rooted deep in the party's past. II
has been difficult for him to keep his
natience in the face of attacks in
nuendoes and threats that have
reached him from republican quarters
on the world court proposition.
Has Worked Like Trojan.
Apart from these political vicissl-
tudes, Mr.. Harding has worked like a
Trojan to master the purely routine
duties of the presidency under mod
ern conditions. The job: is, imm ensely
more arduous than 1t used to be. Ru-
dolph Forster, executive clerk at the
white House since McKinley's time.
is authority for the statement that
the responsibilities and actual labor
shouldered by the President of the
United States in 1922 are at least Ave
times more burdensome than they
were in 1897, and about three times
as arduous as any Theodore Roose-
welt ever knew.
Mr.. Harding came to the presidency
a confessedly "indolent" man. He
liked his leisure. He was never what
is called a hard-working senator. 1t
was not easy for him to adjust him.
self to the new regimen. He did SO,
to the surprise of himself and his
friends. though he has never con-
never an easy one to do so. Re-
ports current throughout the country
that Warren G. Harding has squan-
dered his time "goling" and "cruis-
ing in the Mayfower" never had a
scintilla of foundation. The perma-
nent staff at the White House, which
is familiar with the habits Of three
or four of Mr.. Harding's predecessors,
calls him the hardest worker of the
lot.
There are several persons in Wash
ington who saw Mr. Harding in
action in the west. and who are as.
tonished that he has evidently sue
cumbed to cumulative fatigue. Mrs.
Arthur Capper, who crossed Kansas
with the presidential party in June,
told this writer today that Mr.. Hard
ing bore not the slightest trace OF i'm
pending breakdown. "Senaor Capper
and myself" she said, remarked how
splendid both the President and Mrs
Harding looked. They said they felt
'fine,' and that seemed to be so, es-
pecially with Mr.. Harding. He looked
forward to the long trip with the
light of a schoolboy r
am sure he felt himself nt for any
demands it might make upon him
physically"
Wanted to Make Trip.
-, a. j.