Evening Star Newspaper, March 20, 1921, Page 59

FICTION MAGAZINE SECTION he Sunday St Part 4—6 Pages WASHINGTON, yol D. €., SUNDAY MORNING, MARCH ) 1921, 20, FEATURES oy From the Break o’Day to Late 0o'Night With the New President BY RUSSELL YOUNG \ about some of his predecessors in of- RESIDENT HARDING'S daily | fice. routine, although in marked| There was considerable commotion { contrast to that of his prede- among the attaches and clerks of the cessor, especiaily during his| executive office later Wwhen the news Jast four vears in the White House, of the President’s early arrival had i< in many respects similar to the been widely spread. Some of the older days put in by Presidents Taft and ones looked sheepish when they heard | Rtagsevelt. and not widely different the news that the President had been from those of the martsred McKinley. ' on the job an hour or so ahead of them. i Presidents may change and the several of the veterans said such eharacteristics may vary greatly. but | thing as a President going to work their duties and their methods of before 8 o'clock was unheard of. at handling them change but little. Gen. |least in these modern times & “Gramt once satl that were it not for |old Teddy didn't spring anything like life of a|that, and, goodness knows, he sprung happy | many unheard-of things during his e | seven of administration.” was a the patronage feature the President be indeed a nd useful But the patrona feature shows ho signs of being elim- | one comment inated. In fact. becoming a | greater burden with each succeeding \\ITH oniy It is'especially prominent dur-| Tonet i o would one. years * it is an hour or two off for a chat with Mrs. year. ing the carly days of a new adminis- | Harding and relatives and friends tration, and at this time, and MOStiwho were White House guests th Tikely for a long time to come. the day. the President stayed at his des gentleman from Ohio who has just Te- {until it was time to start lighting up. | cently been installed as the adminis- | He worked hard. He s oo trative head of the government will|talked with many people. He had be called upon to give more -than delved into various problems and had three-fourths of his time to office | made several appointments to im- seekers and those urging the appoint- | portant When it was all] ments of friends or constituents. i{through he lcaned back in the big President Hardin vigorous ; mahogany chair. ‘with its famous personality. This is his most striking | Philippine caribou leather upholster- characteri unless it be his ever-jing. which with other furniture in lasting good humor and forbearance.Lis ex e office had been presented | Rut, above all things. he is blessedto President Tafr. drew deeply on his | i cigarette and called out, “Whew! : He got on feet qui slipped | a bundle of papers into his pocket and | with vigor. and he shows it in all of his movements. even though at times slow they may be with his customary long strides e darted from the room for the White the President steps into his He Passing one of the messen- ‘e office in the morning he | ®ers at the doorway. he said: “Well. gives every evidence of @ man re-{it has been a big day, Charley. and freshed and who is physically and |we have done the best'we could'™ mentally fit o take the helm of a| Therc was no trace of weariness or great nation's destiny. Neither his) fatigue. This big. deep-chested expression nor his movements sugkest | Marion newspaper publisher whom even slightly the tremendous burdens | the American people have chosen for and responsibilities that are his. nor | their President is not easily wearled do they indicate that he has giveniand is a complete stranger to fatigue. ¢ any thought to the long. hard day® ;H'» is built on different lines. Mr.| grind ahead of him. It is a grind.| Hardling is one of those hard-working | because ‘the duties of the chief execu- | individuals who must have a certain | tive have increased with years, espe- {amount of fresh air and outdoor | cially so since the war. irecreation. He admits this himself. During one of his famous front- | Regarding this. he said recently that porch campaign speeches. Mr. Hard-:he could do twice as mueh work in ing uttered something to the effect|a day if he could lay off a couple of that among other things necessary to.hours in the afternoon to. enjoy the bring this country back to normal v | air and limber up. He said that out- “the workman must give a full day's | door recreation is as essential to him work for a full day's pay.” “Since|as the food he eats. To those who hanging Fis hat fp in the stately hall- | Kfow him well it has readily been way of the White House, Mr. Harding S¢én that Mr. Harding shows it in pas been working carly and late. His| N8 physical appearance ‘and his | activities indicate strongly that hejteémperament when he ‘is forced to go | meant what he said in that speech and , @ day or so without outdogr exercise. | that he believes that the millions of | S0 much for a general impression of voted Tast |the new TPresident's personality and a! men and women who November believe that he meant what | Eeneral idea of how he first “tackled he said {the job." A more complete resume of The day following his inauguration | :"f':;:‘"-“' life and work naturally is more —his first business day In the White | - c=UR& and gives a far better in- sight into the man himself, the dutles House—found _the President. at his|y ‘i, o1y t5 perform and some idea desk a few minutes after 8. As he|or 0 boiiome he ig faci } seated himself before a great Mass of | 4 ooy 200 jas 'ruesd.:-"‘.l e cabi papers he said he was ready to tackle | noy goo 1 ooy H;rding‘a: thira the job. That first day found him at|puginess day. It was the first time he his desk long after the clock had {phag formally gathered about him the tén struck 6, and those about the execut!Ve I men he hed picked after many weeks offices, many of them veterans of four {of careful consideration to form his offi- or five administrations, said he was ;’eial family and administrative advisers. “going to be a bear for work.” The | PR work seemed to be to his lking. Inf__ o e liked It 30 well that first day | JHE President arose -at It was a warm morning. sunny and sum- he arose earlier on the second one, and it was some minutes before 8 o'clock when he sat at his desk. The office ! merlike. The windows in his bedroom | were open to the fullest extent, and as Janitor was not half through cleanin | s SUCEY Shesel bimenlt after 8 ot the room at the time, and the Presi- l“""" admiringly out upon the beautles | dent seemed to get much pleasure talk- | o the trees and shrubbery in the wide ing to this old attache as he swept|greensward of the grounds to the rear ‘about the room. He wanted to know | of the White House. At twenty minutes he thought of things in general, and eoncluded by making an inquiry or two There were newspapers at his plate and INDIAN VISITORS AT THE WHITE HOUSE. MRS. HARDING, IN REAR, WEARS CALLERS, A ROUND the Clock With e — vy o - — vase in the center of the table, and all the while the windows were open. To President Harding breakfast means more than a mere hurried snack. has many times said it was his his name, his lengsh of service, what | past seven he was eating his breakfast. | and most necessary meal. Although not a southerner, he is especially fond of vellow jonquils and pink roses were Tn a | hot bread, such as rolls, H favorit BEAD BAG PRESENTED B scuits, mut- FRESIDENT HARDING’S SMILE. fins, waffles and pancakes—particularly | filled with senators. reps | waffies. He likes waffles at least two | party leaders. others kn or three mornings a week. The Hard- ' President and those with special ap- e | ing household has long been noted for | pointment. In the long hallway out- €!its waffles, and many of the distin-|side the chairs and benches were filled guished visitors to the Harding home ! with men and women waiting some re- in Marion during the days of the past | campaign will remember for a long | time the waffle breakfast in which they participated. | He usually begins his morning meal | with a seasonable fruit, on this par- { icular morning it being an orange just off the ice. This is followed by a | cereal and then either several strips | of bacon or sausage, two eggs and either | waflles, ot cakes, muffins or biscui | {and cofree. H | At the conciusion of this meal he ! | hurried to an easy chair beside a win- dow in the blue room, where hej scanned the papers quickly, smoking his cigarette as he did so. After a few minutes with Mrs. Harding, talking principally of their respective programs for the day, hej hurried to the executive offices, which are located in a building some two | i hundred feet to the west of the White ! House building and connected with| the Jatter by a latticed walk. It wasj fifteen minutes past eight when he| reached his desk. The next fifteen | minutes he spent alone. reading let- ters ‘and official papers and making notatfons on a small pad, which were | | {o serve him as reminders later in the day. George B. Christian, jr. who be- sides being the President’s secretary is & friend of many vears' standing and. & next-door neighbor in Marion, entered the President's office at this point. Their exchange of greetings was very friendly and most informal and intimate. For the mext fifteen | minutes they discussed the engage- ments for the day and quickly map-| ped out a program. | * * * | DICTATION to one of his stenog-| raphers occupied Mr. Harding for the ‘next half hour, when it was an- nounced that Secretary of State Hughes was outside. The latter was immediately admitted. There were matters of importance to be acted upon immediately concerning Costa Rics and Panama, and also several notes to be communicated that day to otber foreign powers. The head of the State Department then left the White House. Twenty minutes later, Herbert Hoover, the new Secretary of Commerce, was ushered in.. He had departmental matters to be discussed with the chief, but he stayed only a few moments. ¥ | It was now approaching 10 o'clock. *| The secretary’s public office .was well THE PRESIDENT'S FAVORITE WILL BE A PAMI DURING THE / Ld the Occupant of the White House—Breakfast His Favorite Meal, and He Is Especially Fond of Waffles—Early to Work 1in the Executive Offices—The Janitor Who Had a Surprise—Long Line of Callers Await- | ing Their Turn—Luncheon and Then a Round of Golf—Office Work Until 10 at Night; a Chat With Mrs. Harding and House -Guests—How Duties of a President _ Have Multiplied Within Past Few Years. AR FIGURE ON LINKS OF WASHINGTON' CLUBS NEXT FOUR YEARS. 2 % 2 sponse to their requests for an audi- | were standing in | ence. In fact, many the hallway. The main lobby at the | entrance to the exccutive offices also | | was fairly well filled. | | From 10 o'clock until 11: ‘when {all the cabinet m-mbers had arrived. d | those callers with appointments 1lhv ! without Lone after | intervais representatives T semators and ppointments ceived another in quick rotation at) from two to five minutes were tone feach. This was no time for talking | | generali or for chatting; it was | |a e of stating your business brief- | Iy and plainly and moving along. In- | cluded in these rush audiences were | eral delegations, the majority of | which wer g the appointment | ‘nf some particular individua) to of- | LADDIE BOY, PRESIDE! fice. One delegation was from a Ma- THE sonic organization, inviting the Pres- well-to-do average healthy American family. | The President and the first lady of the land occupied a box at a musical and ident to becorpe an honorary member. Another to extend an invitation and anothe one was there to a banquet i to invite him to address a convention. | Although they were greatly in the comedy the second night they were in Iminority. there were several who the Whitc House. and thes have at- | were brought into the presence ofitended the theater once since e {the President who simply wished to!cause of the great necessity for di {pay their respects and wish him well. | version and a mental rest, it is mor f The cabinet meeting was a long:than likely that the Prosident will fand import <ession. The news- attend a theatrical performance once {paper correspondents in Washington {each week. However. Mr. Harding is jwere scheduled to follow it. but ?l'nb( exactly what one term a ight i real devotee of the thea although | was considerably after 1 o'clock when ithe President was to receive them.: he enjoys it for a change and as a This was the first time he had talked | matter of casual entertainment. As ! with newspapermen since the in &Nt be inferred fro has bee {auguration. and much to the pleasure !and interests of the latter. he talked | ifrankly and intimately of what had. | transpired at his session with his ! ! councilors. 1t was almost 2 o'clock | iwhen he started toward the White | House for luncheon | The midday meal By Jean is not an all-im- i_w | portant orie to Mr. Harding and or-! Tranalated From the French by | dinarily and unless there are several | WILLIAM L. McPHERSON. | guests, it is quickly disposed of. On | SN BT COLETTE'S WISH "\\rnlvn about Mr. Harding since his | election | fore in this narrative. he and from what has gone br is typically {# “man's man. an outdoors man and {an amateur sportsman” I, of | course. i his favorite amusement ant idea of exercise, although he is pas | sionately fond of fishing and boatinz and automobiling. He also is fond of tennis and with the' quick ap proach of spring it is likely that his tall figure will be seen in motion on the recently rebuilt tennis court the rear grounds of the White Houss and it may he assumed that beeau of this that he. like President Roose- s tennis cabinet t. will have | | | | matter. what words could she have found with which to express herself? Nothing had happened in her life, There was only this thirst Berthroy | this particular day it consisted of a | see a star shooting through the | POthing. ! consomme. hashed brown potatoes a i kv vou must make a wish, | this reat thirst, which tormented i salad, coffee and a small piece of{ The star will carry it to the | Ner { pastry. i house of the Fates and your wish will| Before the gate which 1éd to the | P Avenue Hermance the gardener's be fulfilled.” i | MHE President did im- The {anything. .Since, she had come worlit she had been overindulged not return | mediately to his offices strain of three days was béginning | the to tell on him and at 3 o'clock, ac- |bY happy parents, who anticipa o ismallest caprices. -ompanied by several intimates. he \ oo 5 °| What could she sk of the star it motored to the Columbia Country "Ohn] e = 5 Y Club and after two hours of golf he” happened to see it rushing acroas the deep biue of the firmament, with was back at his desk. a {a long sparkling train behind it, as if He worked late that afternoon an But. in truth, Colette didn’t wish forl into . |it were on a voyage to the land of the | daughter was talking to @ passerby. They laughed and must have ex- [ changed those commonplace phrases ted her | 1 Which only. the pleasure of the | meeting gives an interest. Colette ! could see the narrow face of the gar- | dener’s daughter and the round face | of the boy opposite her. Both seemed | visible fo Then she ceased to look | and drawn together by the same in- not being satisfied with his accom-| . *°'C : M€ 1 visible force. Then she ceased to look iR cntsciuing 1is dav S rear. | orikas Bes MR bel brmis € Win | ar niee: Cnke Sooked dnwnl:din"!uzd. s i o b eanties cndorameary Hall | oo phioss shades were never drawn. | 4¢ per gwn heart, dnd was affrighted of which he attribited fo -the two| Y43 8 observatory from which she|at the emptiness there—an.emptiness |hours in the open. he returned (o] used to converse with the angels|jike that of a well without a bottom L ®! whenever she was slow in going to his desk after dinmer and with only loj00p For she knew that the most gy one or two assistants near at band Lol "ang radiant of the living | HAT i was rarely’ bewutitul— waded through mail until after 10| G BRC ST Gt A Carofft luminous and pure. Tt was o'clock. On his raturn to the White [ g 1a¢ionship didn't live on earth, but |Mi8hT out of antiquity. like thos House he chatted for three-quarters |15 D o0 o e she would |Which used to rule in the happier of an hour or so with Mrs. Harding | Yet how |€ays of the world. At least, Colette have loved to rejoin them. and o guests o t . jand house guests and then retired, at|.ou1q she reach them! it well on toward Her greatest which time was ; {wish she now realized—her sole wish, midnight. b |even—would be to travel herself up The evening meal is about What|inere among the stars, on that beau- might be expected in the home of the of gold, which seemed to be making |signs to her. She would have liked to soar. and keep on soaring, driven by “swift, strong wings sprouting from her shoulders. | But the long golden streak never |showed itself in.the sky. Then Co- llette grew angry. She accused the Ynurse of deceiving her. She didn't like people to tell her stories the con- clusion of which was delayed. leav- ing her imagination unsatisfied. “I want the star,” she repeated, “I want the star which runs through the Jsks.” ¢ And for the first time an unfulfilled {desire brought tears to her eves. § * ok ok % i | (COLETTE had grown. She was now h fifteen years old. She was a wise | little girl, alrea informed about i realities formerly incrusted with the powder of dreams. She knew if there were shooting stars they were | not charged with carrying to the house of the Fates the wishes, gen- erally frivolous and unreasonable, of jthe people who lived on the earth. | She no longer believed in angels—at least in ‘that physical and positive !sense which, when she was younser, brought her into contact with them. ’ One spring morning she awoke with a feeling of langour. Her win- dow opened on the garden. She went to it and heard the birds singing out- side. She saw the first roses opening on the bushes. A sweet, infinitely subtle odor came up to her. A great thirst, a thirst which she had never known before, possessed her and gave her a desire limpid, inexhaustible spring where she could refresh her soul to its depths. She dressed and went down into the garden. She had a favorite corner there. When ‘she was little she used to hide in it with her dolls and pic- ture books ta escape the prying eyes of the servants. Today she went there withoiit any reason, weighted down by this strange sensation, this sudden inquietude. She would have liked to pluck all the roses and press them against her warm lips. The song of the birds suggested to her a desire for music lisped to her alone, in some mysterious dell. She was fiftecn and it had just come to her that she was herself the springtime of the world. She suffered from not being able to confide in any one. She had no brother or sister or any friend inti- mate emough to talk to about the strangeness of ‘her feelings. * For that 1 OUTDOOR SPORT IS GOLFING. HE {tiful pathway illuminated with points | that | to drink from some | [ thought so. Looking at the stars, she remembered the wish she would have {made years ago, but never had hap- pened to put in words. The sky was inlaid with parcels of gold. There were so many’ that they imounted one above another and | seemed to cover the carth with a =ec- |ond canopy of azure. as brilliantly |studded as the first. Now and then a |light spark, like a flery insect. de- | tached itself and fied into the depths |of the night. Colette, all in a trem- |ble, hadn't time to utter her wish Nevertheless, it was‘on her lips. Bhe |nad no hesitation as to the happiness |she would choose. She knew what |she was going to ask of Fate. She | watched tor the miraculous messen- |ger. She cast anxious looks to the ipart of the heavens where the con- { stellations clustered thicke: Final- {ly. when she was about to give up | hope, she saw the trail of a wander- |ing meteor flashing across the milky She had time to say thrice th> | way. |words which were on her lips: “To |1ove, to love, to love,” { She fell asleep content. The mysie- irious spirits of the Land of Dreams swarmed about her. A blond angel. | with a youthful face, took her by the 'hand to lead her into an enchanted | garden. This garden was vaster, more beau- tiful and more sheltered“than any other she had ever been in. It was an earthly paradise, where unnamed flowers grew and fruits whose savor reached the tongue, even though one didn't pluck them. In the middle was a fountain whence flowed water so | pure that the light passing through it took on the colors of the rainbow. The beautiful youth, who continued to lead Colette by the hand, walked with her through paths bordered with myr- tles. She wore a robe of etamine. {which seemed made of the tissue of flowers. He was clothed in raimen: of gold. It was the first time she had seen him. Nevertheless she rec- ognized him. He came to her from the depths of the ages and he was pensive and free of soul, like Love. He must have been about fifteen also. but_undoubtedly he possessed t cret of eternal felicity. “I am thirsty,” she said. "Oh, how thirsty 1 am?! s She bent down to drink the limpid water which flowed from the foun- tain. She felt the water's freshuess pass into her burning throat. -He looked at her with a smile,,waiting for her to finish. Then he taok her by the shoulders and pressed her gently against his heart. He sai8 .o her: “I am thirsty, t00." And without’ her trying to check him. he drank the water's freshness from her lip: When Colette awakened next m ing she ran to the window. ' It was raining. The roses were dripping wet and the birds were mute. But all the joy of Nature had taken refuge with- in her mnd she was sure now that Jwish weuld be fullilled her