The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1923-08-07
MANIFOLD
VIRTUES
SEEN
Hard Lauds Dead Executive As
One of Most Dignified and
Finest Presidents.
BY WILLIAM HARD.

washington today takes Dack
TO her arms for a few majestic
hours a man who, no matter what
else was in him and no matter
what else was not in him, had
always somehow a spirit and a
bearing as of the majesty of the
Republic itself.
Europeans cleverer than he
came here to Washington in his
time. European statesmen better
mentally equipped than he, bet
ter mentally trained than he,
came here. They came here with
broader experience, from a wider
world. He, from his little country
side scene, which we insist on
calling ordinary, was more dis
tinguished than they.
Harding's Gentility.
Whatever it was in the Roman
republic that gave it the title Of
q republic of kings, whatever it Is
In this republic that teaches it's
truest sons an urbanity without in
debtedness to. cities, a gentility
without Indebtedness to descent. a
majesty of humanity itself-that
thing Harding had.
To see him come to great scenes
Of international intercourse with
which he had never been familiar, TO
see him in those scenes display
NJ r,f .<7,aA
never a touch of arrogance, to see
him as easy in great moments as
he was Presidential at all moments
this was to know that in Harding
there was a personality fitting the
speciousness of his public-power.
A lying tribute would be an insult
to him and an injury. 1t is not TAX
Ing merit from him; it is paying
homage to him to say that his per-
sonalty carried him triumphantly
across many errors of his intelli-
gence.
Personality Saved Him.
With his intelligence he lost him
self in vague denunciations Of the
modes of action adopted by certain
groups in Congress. With his per-
Uonality he saved himself from the
logical consequences of those de-
nunciations. With his heart, with
his ties to people, he perceived that
the laws passed by those groups
were necessary to people. He &C.
cepted them. If he ever did any
ultimate injustice to any groups
In this country, 1t was invariably
because circumstances had prevent
ed him from really knowing them
as people.
He was always willing to accept
a mental inconsistency in order to
arrive at a personal reality.
In the campaign of 1920 he an
nounced to a newspaper correspond
ent a certain drastic principle in
management of labor. The cor
respondent said:
Eyes, but you don't enforce that
principle in the Marion Star"
81 know" said Harding, "but
1t does seem to come out different"
Some of the auditors laughed.
Others said:
"It is a good sign. Perhaps,
when he is President, he will not,
In order to illustrate a principle,
wreck the Republic"
Postponed Principles.
They were right. AS President
which in practice he postponed to
the Republics peace.
He suffered from the attribution
OF his principles, and even of his
political fortunes, to origins in de-
signing groups. On this day he
deserves on that point the full rep
aration of iterated and reiterated
truth.
He was not nominated for the
presidency by any Senatorial
clique. He was not nominated by
any Wall Street cabaI. The great.
est houses on Wall Street were for
other candidates. The Senate was
split and distracted. A few weeks
before the nominating convention
was to come into session, Senator
Harding visited a fellow Senator and
in the gravest gloom told him that
he was far from being able to be
nominated for the Presidency that
At seemed unlikely that he could
be sure even of being returned to
the Senate.
Nominated by Free Will.
He ultimately was nominated by
the free will and open choice of the
convention when other candidates
had been proved unavailable. He
became President with no debts
10 pay 10 any sinister influences
or interests.
He did not derive his shipping
policy from any shipping lobby. No
slightest proof of any such origin
for il has ever been established or
ever even rendered.
He made his own shipping policy.
He turned against the bonus of his
own notion. He invented all his
own successive railroad strike
policies to the infinite rage now OF
railroad executives and now OF
labor leaders.
This writer was unable TO write
one favorable word about any one
of those policies. He is able &c
state with total certainty that every
one of them was devised by the
Judgment of the President without
dictation from any other judgment
President Keep Oaths.
On this day this dead President
and all the other dead Presidents
before him, deserve as their com
mon requiem a commemoration OF
the white truth that the judgments
of American Presidents are dictated
by their oaths of office and not by
wires of wealth or by wires of fear
pulled athwart their oaths of office