Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-03-01
TAFT'S CONDITION
SLIGHTLY BETTER
Trace of Rally in Critical
case Gives Little 0pti-
miSm, Say Physicians.
BY the Associated Press.

| BY the Associated Press.
| The condition of william Howard Taft
was said by his physicians to have
slightly improved this morning.
The 11:4o am. bulletin read:
THE condition of the former Chief
Justice is slightly improved as evil
denced by moderate rise in his blood
pressure, which has been continuously
| falling for the past three days.
The bulletin was signed by Drs. Fran
els r. Hagner and Thomas A. Clayton.
| DR.. <Hagner said that Mr.. Taft spoke
! today for the first time in three days.
| He said that when DR.. Clayton knocked
| at the door Of his room this morning
| the former President said: Come in. .
| He said Mr.. Taft also recognized and
| spoke few indistinct words to his son,
Robert A. Taft.
The physicians seemed surprised at
the apparently slight rally of their
| patient The doctors have said. how
ever, that any improvement in Mr.
| Taft'S condition could be only Tempo
rary, as they have abandoned hope for
/ his recovery.
While the physicians did not COM
ment on the slight improvement in
| their patient, it is sometimes charac-
teristic in illnesses such as that of Mr.
Taft that there is a slight rally just
before the end.
It was recalled here that in num-
| Der OF cases of protracted illness a turn
| for the better frequently had taken
place shortly before death, sometimes
the change being noted about "a hours
| before the patient passed away.
The former Chief Justice slept I'M
brokenly throughout the night his
nurse said. and awakened apparently
! more calm. He remained, however,
only internationally conscious, as for
several days past, during which there
have been only fieeting moments when
he recognized some familiar face
around him.
The first caller at the big Taft man.
| sion on Wyoming avenue this morning
was Vice President Curtis, long a
friend of the i'll man. Mr. Curtis ex-
pressed his Solicitude Shortly after he
left, Mgr. Pietro Fumasoni- Biondi the
! Apostolic delegate to the United States,
visited at the home.
Officials Express SOIicitude.
The mighty ones of official Washing
ton expressed their solicitude and SYM
pathy In the few ways possible-floWers
sent to the Taft home, cards left at the
door and now and then a brief visit
with Mrs. Taft-and eagerly scrutinized
reports from the sick room.
And the humber folk of the Capital
kept the telephone lines of newspapers
| and press associations busy with re-
quests for information on the former
Chief Justices condition, signalizine
the warm affection of the rank and file
of the people for the friendly, affable
man who once had sat in the White
House.
How much longer he might live was
| question cloaked in uncertainty, DR..
Hagner and DR.. Clayton said the end
might be four or five days away, but
that, on the other hand, a sharp turn
for the worse with death following
closely after might be expected at al
most any time.
Mrs. Taft has been joined by two of
their three children. Mrs. Helen Taft
Manning and Robert A. Taft. The
third, Charles p. Taft, was In Cincin-
natl, ready to start for Washington at
once.
A combination of disorders is re-
sponsible for the former Chief Justices
condition. For many years he has been
victim OF heart complaint, to which
was added some six years ago a ner-
vous trouble and a bladder ailment
! Since his illness forced him to retire
from public life nearly a month ago
arterial troubles have set in.
Mr.. Taft has been confined to his
| home since February 4. when he re-
turned to Washington from Asheville
N. c., after failing to make expected
physical gains by resting in the South
ern city. A short period of improve
ment was followed by failure to gain
| ground, and then the slowly weakened
condition which is bringing about his
death.
All hope for his recovery was aban-
doned two days ago.