San Antonio light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1911-1993, 1924-03-19
Has Left Apartment Only
Few Times Since Taking
UP Residence Three
Months Ago-Answering
Letters, Which Arrive as
Many as 100 a Day, o.
cupies All Her Time.
BY ROBERT t. SMALL.


Copyright by The San Antonio Light.
Washington, ID. C., March 10
Mrs. Florence Killing Harding, widow
of the late President. is living the life
of recluse as official Washington
tumbles and losses ON the turbulent
seas of investigation.
Since she took up her residence in
a downtown hotel some three months
ago. Mrs. Harding has not left her
apartment more than half a dozen
times. On two of these occasions she
motored out to Friendship to spent
an afternoon or evening with the Ned
>McLeans. who had been among the
closest friends of herself and her hus-
band during their White House days
and for long time prior thereto.
Mrs. Harding dresses, of course, in
mourning. Her health, which many
feared would break under the great
strain of eight months ago. appears
to be excellent at this time. DIR.
Sawyer of Marion, who was the White
House physician, lives at the same
hotel with Mrs. Harding. and he and
Mrs. Sawyer are the most constant of
the visitors at the Harding apartment.
Other frequent callers are Mr.. and
Mrs. d. r. Crissinger, old neighbors
of the Marion days. Mr.. Crissinger
is the head of the Federal Reserve
Board.
Gets 100 Letters a Day.
Outside of these lifelong friends,
Mrs. Harding seldom sees anyone, al
though dozens of cards are left at
her door daily. Her contact with the
outside world is maintained almost
wholly through correspondence. 1t is
4 said at the hotel that her mail at
times amounts to seevral hundred let
tiers a day. In order to keep up with
the heavy task of acknowledging as
many of the letters as possible, Mrs.
Harding often works for hours with
two women secretaries who are con-
stantly in her employ.
Mrs. Harding's suite is the most
palatial in the big hotel which was
generally known in Washington as
Administration Headquarters" dur
ing the two years and half Mr..
Harding was in the White House. 1t
stretches across the + street side of
the building and consists OF large
bed room. a living room. drawing
room, private dining room, and two
baths. The furnishings are quite elab-
crate.
Is Good Politician.
The suite was especially planned
and constructed for former Sena-
/ tor T. Coleman Dupont of Delaware,
one of the owners of the hotel. Mr..
Dupont had the place arranged for
himself in the expectation thar ne was
to serve another term in the Senate.
The contrary political winds of 1922.
however. left him stranded on the
shoals of defeat and since then he
has been but seldom in Washing
ton.
Much Of Mrs. Harding's correspond
ence has to do with the Harding Mem
orial Association. which was organized
in Marion and has sprean tnrouen out
the entire nation. Mrs. Harding nat
urally is interested in the consumma-
ton of plans which represent rather
prodigious undertaking.
Seeing so few persons and talking
mostly with old friends. Mrs. Hard
ing seldom enters into any discussion
of the current phases of Washington
life. Yet as the wife of the Presi-
dent she took the keeHest and liveliest
interest in all public affairs. 1t often
was said of her that she was bet