Evening Star Newspaper, February 2, 1924, Page 1

WEATHER. Fair tonight, with lowest tempera- ture about freezing; tomorrow most- 1y cloudy, with moderate temperature. Temperature for twenty-four hours ended at 2 p.m. yesterday; lowest, a.m. today. Closing N. Y. Stocks and Bonds, Page 10 Entered as second-class matter post office \Vlahln[tuz. D. C. No. 29,131. % p.m. today: Highest. Full report on page 42, at 3 7:40 FLATLY REFUSES TO ANSWER QUESTIONS OF SENATE PROBERS Former Secretary of Interior Reads Prepared Statement in Support WASHINGTON, D. REED INTRODUCES NEW TEACHER PAY MEASURE INHOUSE of Stand. SAYS INVESTIGATING COMMITTEE IS ACTING WITHOUT AUTHORITY Declares, in View o His Reply Might f Walsh Resolution, Tend to Incrim- inate Him—Reviews Lease History. Summoned before the Senate committee investigating oil leases, Albert B. Fall, former Secretary of the Interior, refused to answer any questions today, and the committee adjourned until Tuesday, when Mr. Fall will be again brought before it. The former Secretary based tention that the authority given his refusal to speak on the con- the investigating committee by the last Congress had expired, and, that, in the light of congres- sional action directing institution of court action in the oil lease cases, any answer he made would tend to incriminate him. Should Mr. Fall decline to an: said the issue of the authority of swer questions Tuesday senators the committee to compel an an- swer under pain of conterpt proceedings in the courts would be squarely raised. The former Secretary read a care- fully prepared statement in an even and firm voice. He appeared to be suffering from little nervous strain, although he had been confined to his bed under the care of physiclans since he reached Washington from New Orleans more than a week ago. Crowds Block Path. It was with some difficulty that a way was clearcd through the crowd for Mr. Fall to reach the witness chair. His counsel, Levi Cooke, In a preliminary statement told the com- mittee that the former Secretary was present in response to a subpoena is- sued yesterday, but that he still was under the care af physiclans and re- quested the committee to bear that fact in mind, Chairman Lenroot then administer- ed the oath, Mr. Fall standing with right hand upraised. Resuming his seat across the blg mahogany table from the senatorial inquisitors, the former Secretury read his statement, Mr. Fall was called before the | committce to explain loans made to| him by Doheny and Sinclair. Just one question was put. “Do you care to make ahy further statement about the matiers under consideration by - thik. committee?” asked Senator Walsh, democrat, Mo tana, who has had the lead in pres; ing the investigation. Committee Room Cleared. He then read his statement refus- ing to answer_any questions. Clearing the hearing room of the crowd which Jammed every available space, the committee went into ex- ecutive session to determine its course in the light of the attitude of the former cabinet officer and sen- ator. After the committee had gone into ex- ecutive session, Mr. Fall was brought out of the ante-room where he had been awaiting the decision. He was resting heavily upon the arms of two men who virtually carried him down the corridor to the room of Senator El- kins of West Virginia, where a lounge was found for him. He seem- ed dazed and very weak. ‘Will Remove Doubt. Its authority to continue the in- vestigation having been challenged by Mr. Fall the committee decided to ask the Senate on Monday to re- move all doubt by readopting the original resolution authorizsing the inquiry. The committee then ad- Journed until next Tuesday, when it &gain will demand Fall's appearance. Text of Statement. Mr. Fall read this prepared state- ment: “I decline to answer the questions for the following reasons and on the following grounds: “The committes is conducting an in- vestigation under Senate resolution 282, agreed to April 21, 1922, in the 67th Congress and in Senate resolution 292, agreed to May 15, 1922, in the same Congrees and further by virtue of Sen- ate resolution 434, agreed to by the Senate on February 5, 1923, during the same Congress, and I do not consider that, acting under those resolutions or under the last-mentioned resolution, which authorizes the committes to_sit after the expiration of ‘the 67th Con- gress, ‘until the assembling of the 68th Congreas and until otherwise ordered by the Senate’ this committes has any authority to conduct the investigation now attempted to be conducted by he addressing of this question to me.” “I decline to answer on the further ground that on January 7, 1924, Sena- tor Caraway Introduced in the Se ate of the United States, in this Co: gress, Senate joint resolution 64, at- tempting to deal with the leases of the Mammoth Oil Company; that that resolution was referred to this com- mittee, and in due course the Senate discharged this committee as of Janu- ary 24, 1924, and the Senate ther: after, on January 31, 1924, agreed to that resolution and completed its con- sideration thereof, the resolution be- ing so amended as to deal in the Sen- ate, in & plenary way, with the leases upon naval oll reserves which were before this committee under Senate resolution 282 and Senate resolution 294, and that this commiftee has no further authority to deal with Senate | Joint resolution 54, since it has been ; discharged by the Senate 1tself has finally acted upon[the animals in the menagerie and |ors seized bl: the resolution. Reviews Teapot Lease. “T decline to answer on the further: ground that Senate joint resolution! G4 =s passed unanimously by the ites that it appears from e once” taken by this. committee that oertain lease of naval reserve No. 3 in the state of Wyoming, bear- ng date April 7, 1922, made in form {1}' the government of the United States, through myself, Albert B. Fall, Secretary of the Interior, and Edwjn Denby, Secre! of the Navy, 8s lessor, and certain lease of navail yeserve No. 1 in the state of Call- fornia, bearing date December 11.|paint shop and gave the alarm it | fuel for the made in_form by the govern-|was apparent that the building was| A large number of wagon 1922, t of the United Btates through pvsars. b:rt ; Fall, of e K Edwin Deabys Secretary of the Navy, as lessor, ‘were executed under circumstances indicating fraud and corruption.’ that said leases were entered into without authority on the part of the officers purporting to act in the exe- cution of the same for the United States. and In violation of the laws of Congress, and that In the same resolution it is resolved that the President of the United States be authorized and directed immediately to cause sult to be Instituted and prosecuted for the annulment and cancellation of the leases. and to prosecute such other actions and proceedings, civil and criminal, as may be warranted by the facts in re- lation to the making of maid leases, and the President is further author- ized and directed to appoint special counsel to have charge and control of the prosecution of such litigation, and I decline to answer on the ground that my answer may tend to incriminate me. Reapect for Committee. “In declining to answer and in stat- ing these reasons I wish to express full respect for the committe and for the Senate, but to remind the com- miftee that, on October 23 and 24 last, while this committee was sitting in recess of Congréss and dealing with Seqate resolution 282 and Senate reso- lution 294, I appeared before the com- mittee and discussed at length the negotiations of the lease, including the lease of April 25, 1922, signed by Edwin C. Finney, acting secretary of the interior, and Edwin Denby, Sec- retary of the Navy, relating to con- struction of oil tanks at Pearl Har- bor, Hawall, and thereafter was pre- pared to appear again before the com- mittee, but since the Senate of the : United States has passed the Senate resolution 54, that action being con- curred in by the House of Repre- sentatives, and the Congress of the United States has adjudicated that | resolution, its finding that the leases were executed under circumstances indicating fraud and corruption, and Ihas directed the President of the United States to prosecute such pro- ceedings, civil and criminal, as may be warranted by the facts in the making of the sald leases, I decline further to answer any question of this committeo on the ground that it may tend to incriminate me, and on the further ground first above stated.” Covered by Laws. The laws cover cases where wit- nesses refuse to testify before con- gressional committees. Section 102 of the revised statutes provides that “whenever a witness summoned as mentioned in section 102 fails to testify and the facts are reported to either house, the president of the senate or the Speaker of the House, as the case may be, shall certify the fact under seal of the Senate or the House, to the dlstrict attorney for the District of Columbia, whose duty it shall be to bring the matter before the grand jury for their action.” Section 959 provides that “no_ testi- mony given by a witness before either House or before any commit- tee of either house of Congress shall (Continued on Page 2, Column 6.) Circus Animals in Salary Schedule Same as Agreed on by School Board _ and Commissioners. PROVIDES FOR BASIC RATES AND ADVANCES ‘Would Become Effective Next July. Figures Fixed for Each Position. The new teachers' salary bill, re- cently agreed upon after a conference between the board of education and the District Commissioners at the budget bureau, was introduced in the House today by Chairman Reed of the District committee. The bill would be effective July 1 next. At the same time Chairman Reed introduced an amendment to the act regulating the height, area and use of bulldings in the District under the Zoning Commission. Schedule of Salaries. The new schedule of salaries pro- posed in the teachers' pay bill is as follows: Class 1—Teachers in kindergartens and elementary schools, group A, basic salary of $1,400 per year, with an annual increase of $100 for six years, or until a maximum salary of $2,000 per year is reached. Group B—Basic salary, $2,100 a year with annual increase of $100 for two years or until a maximum salary of $2,300 is_reached. Class 2. Teachers in junfor high schools. The teacher in the junior high schools who possesses the eligi- bility requirements of teachers in the elementary schools and who, in ad- dition, has met the higher eligibility requirements established by the board of education for teachers in junior high schools, shall ¥e paid in accordance with the following sched- {ule: Basic of $1,600. Group A—A basic salary of $1,600 with annual increase of $100 for five years or untll 2 maximum of $2,100 lis reachea. Group B. Basic salary $2,200 with |ennual increase of 3100 for three years or until a maximum salary of $2,500 is reached. A teacher in the junlor high school who possesses the eligibility require- ments of teachers in the senior high and normal schools shall be paid in lf:arfllnc. with the following sched- ule: -Group--C.-Basio i.""u“ lncr;fiuo of FokTE, OF BN mfl‘flvr ‘yedr' 15 reac Group D. Hasic salary $2,700, with annual iIncrease of $100 for three years or untll & maximum salary of 133,000 is reached. High and Normal. Class 3. Teachers In senior kigh land normal schools. Group A—A basic salary of $1,800 with annual Increase of $100 for €ight years, or until a maximum sal. ary of $2,600 is reached. | _Group B—A basic salary of $2,700, i with annual Increase of $100 for three !years, or until a maximwm salary of $3,000 is reached. Class 4. School librarians. | Group A—Basic salary, $1,400 per | year, with annual increase of $100 for (8ix years, or until a maximum salary’ of $2.000 is reached. Group Basic_salary, $2,100. with (Continued on Page 4, Column 4.) NEW MANILA MAYOR NOMINATED BY WOOD Two Names Sent to Senate in First Effort to Fill Places Vacated Last July. By the Aseoclated Press. MANILA, February 2.—Gov. Gen. Wood today sent to the insular senate the nomination of Miguel Romualdez, an attorney, to be mayor {of Manila. He also forwarded to the senate the nomination of Felipe Agoncillo, a veteran of the Philippine revolution, to be secretary of the in- terior. ‘The nominations are the first at- tempt of the Governor General to fill positions made vacant when the cabinet members resigned in a body last July. It is th¢ understanding of political leaders that the nomination of Romusaldez will b8 confirmed. Wild Panic Ty $1,800 -with 100" for eight urd. salary of As Adjdcent Buildings Burn Keepers of Ringling Show Successful in Quieting Beasts After Hour of Terror—Damage Estimated at $100,000. By the Assoclated Press. BRIDGEPORT, Conn., February 2.— Fire which destroyed the huge paint and blacksmith shop in the center of the group of bulldings ‘at the win- As the flames shot up, accompanied by dense clouds of smoke, wmchp;enne- trated the animal barns, the roars of the lions, tigers and other caged beasts were mingled with the shouts and cries of the keepers, who attempted to allay ter headquarters of the Ringling |thel Bros. and Barnum & Balley circus Senate and the |today created a wild panic among |beasts were bellowing in terror. kept firemen and the keepers in the animal houses busy for more than an hour before the fire was con- trolled. A large black ox brought here by the circus from Italy, and known as the “sacred ox,” was burned to death in a pen just outside the burned structure. This was the only animal lost. An early estimate fixed the damage at_$100,000, % ‘When a chef preparing breakfast discovered flames shooting from the doomed. Officials of the circus on the scene joined the keepers in animal houses at once. r In the elephant house about fifty fe from burning structure. the ’lr:u.:” Keep- ets and threw them cver he elephants' heads and succeded in preventing them from breaking their “E’.“ 1 f h 1 veral score of horses in tho h barn were liberated by the workr::: |&hnn it was feared dmo b-l:n. in which ey were quartered woul ‘becos prey to the flames. i freed animals rushed madly about the big enclosure, but were finally ?}‘1‘"“" ‘When ll):‘:adnn :ll glontrulled ey were capf ant Tel ed the barns. o * Two alarms brought a large part of the ‘city fire apparatus to mo"«:en-. Falling bricks and debris barely missed & number of firemen. Pitch, turpentine and paint in ltlh’ paint shop made ready e fire. were stored gbout the burned- buil red. The ‘cause of the | were is und ¢ Foenit WITH SUNDAY MORNING EDITION C, /\ BLOW TO PRINGIPAL ASSET OF AADOD Party Leaders Say Heckling Now Certain, Regardless of Injustice. BY N. 0. MESSENGER. But one question was asked In po- litlcal circles today: “What effect will the disclosures in the ofl investi- gation have upon William G. Me- Adoo's candidacy for the democratic presidential nomination?" The bulk of opinion was that of necessity, whether justly or nbt, the revelations yesterday will militate agalnst him. A great many politi- cians _go further than that and hold that he 18 practically already éllmi- Apted ay a didate. Mr. MoAdoo Himsel? in oq l’utement telegraphed from Los Angeles indignantly pro- tests against the dragging of his name Into the case, and his national manager, David Ladd Rockwell, tele- graphed him from Chicago that his “eritics did not have a leg to stand on.” * Preatige Damaged. Nevertheless the opinion runs the other way at the Capitol, and the New York press comment this morn- {ing was almost unanimous In holding that Mr. McAdoo's prestige as a can- didate for the nomination has been fa- tally damaged. The politicians, In ana- Iyzing the situation which has been created by the testimony that Mr. Mc- Adoo has been recelving $50.000 a year from Edward L. Dohery for legal serv- ices, point out that although the services rendered was legitimate, the circum- stances necessarily will put Mr. McAdoo on the defensive from now on, placing him in the position of always having to make explanations. They contend that the democratic party will hardly dare to take on as a candidate for the presidency a man who would constantly be heckled on the stump and have his connection with “big business,” and this particu- lar kind of business, “thrown up to him."” They say that one of the assets claimed for Mr. McAdoo with Tabor and the elements afilllated was that he was the candidate of the poor man. Now he is found to be the corporation lawyer, receiving enormous fees. Issue Loses Value. Another politcal aspect of the situ- ation created by the disclosures is that from now on the oil scandals | will 10e some of their value as a democratic campaign issue. The dem- ocrats had built high hopes upon “making a kllling” with these as a campalgn lssue. But the case has suddenly become bi-partisan. Demo- crats of great politcal and party prominence have found their names “dragged in,” as Mr. McAdoo com- plains. It 1s contended that “the pot can- not call the Kkettle black” with such force as might have been possible heretofore. Political history does not record a similar tnstance in which an apparently perfectly good cam- paign issue was demolished between ind_sun. "% 55 neld by politiclans in both parties that the thing to be done now is to drop partisanship and pro- ceed relentlessly to continue the most searching investigation Into every- thing connected with the oil leases, Jet it hurt whomsoever it may. It s argued that the country is more interested {n finding out the whole truth than in politics. e O BUTLER BROADCASTS PLEA FOR CO-OPERATION Asks Public Aid Police War on Vice and Crime in Phil- adelphia. By the Associated Press. PHILADELPHIA, February ' 2.— Brig. Gen. Smedley D. Butler, director of public safety, in an address broad- cast from a local radio station last night, appealed for public co-opera- tion in his campaign against vice and CFATier the first twelve hours of the fourth forty-eight-nour ‘:rl.v: 1.3;. lice reported arres venty- res of Vm were for violations of the liquor laway o SEEING THE SHADOW. Known by Him, Man Who Asked BY DAVID LAWRENCE. The hour of eurrender—a word which, in his days of power, he never recognized—has come to Woodrow Wilson. And with it there wells up simul- taneously in the hearts of the people everywhere a sadness born of ad- miration for the stoicism of a states- man who fought till the last for the fdeals in which he believed. “I would rather fail”” he used to say, “In ‘a cause that I know some day will triumph than to win in a cause that I know some day will fail.” It was his philosophy of battle. To posterity he looked always for vin- dication. He never understood the word _“compromise.” Even 1in his breakdown, after the famous western tri; hen ll_}senl}z d as if the Ver- coventant of the league of na- tions was bedter in the Senate, he scorned defeat. Senator Hitchcock, democrat. chair- man of the Senate foreign relations committee, who was in charge of the fight for the league of nations treaty, asked for an engagement. “I suppose he is coming to talk compromise,” commented Mr. Wilson, as he granted the engagement, but he listened without surrender. Il the world may say Woodrow Wilson should have compromised and that today he would have had Amer- ica a member of the league with res- ervations. But to Woodrow Wilson it was an enduring principle—he could not barter what he thought was fundamental to the peace of the world. And he looked on ever since, walting patiently for the turn in the tide—a turn that years of agitation {may or may not ‘bring—but at the hour of his passing from the stage of life America remains outside the league he worked so ardently tc establish, Never Wanted Pity. Tragic may be the atmosphere, sor- row felt by his friends and foes alike that he did not retain the physical vigor to continue his fight, praise for his courage—all this may be the comment of the outside world, but not a word of Pity or pathos did the Wilsonlan tem- perament want. His was the spirit of a crusader. His was the tenacity of a soldier in a hand-to-hand fight. He never gave an inch. For years he was ready for death. He went forth on his western trip againet the advice of Lis physiciane, but with a smile of disre- gard for life itself. He used to say he would gladly give his life for the cause of the league of nations. The remain- ing years of his life were meant (o him only for the accomplishment of the greatest {deal of all—a world organiza. tion for peace. Scarred by the war, racked in nerves, never forgetting the awful- ness of the combat in which he felt always a personal responsibility, he ( never could drive out of his mind the thoughts of the hundred thousand American boys who died, as he thought, for an ideal and of the hundreds of thousands who came home wounded and maimed in the service of the flag. Held Firmly to Ideals. “To make the world safo fop democracy” was Mr. Wilson's war slogan. To his critics it became an empty phrase. But the idea of a war to end war never left Woodrow Wilson. Long after the American people began to turn their minds to domestic concerns and the material side of reconstruction, the broodings of Mr. Wilson over the brezk-down $5.000 in National Prizes $1,100 in Local Prizes for the District of Nation-wide High School Oratorical Contest to increase respect. for the Consti- tution of the United States. Outline of plan and conditions of -con- test tomorrow in - \\ 7, q Star. SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 1924_TWENTY-EIGHT PAGES. 77 1 5% Pt 7 K o = — == RN L \Us\[%q ) ; \\\\“\l\' B ’ OIL RETANER HELD [ Hour of Surrender, Word Never Comes to Wilson Saddened World Watches Last Fight of No Quarter, Gave None, to Achieve_ His Ideals. of moral force continued. He was | arbitrary in bis views about a form- | ula for worla peace, because he was in no mood for detall or distrust of other peoples or governments. All had worked together in the com- mon partnership of war. All had put their armies and navies under one command and had given of their food and money and resources wjithout {stint for an ideal. The decision of 11817 meant to Woodrow Wilson a readiness on the part of America to assume obligations in the affairs of the world and to fulfill them. The recession from this viewpoint he could never understand. In his last speech to the American people over the radio on Armistice day, Novem- ber, 1923, Mr. Wilson was bitter in the' denurcilation of that policy. He called it “cowardly” and ignoble. And his words were résented by many. To the slck man in seclusion in the National Capital it was but the last feeble attempt to bestir the people to & reallzation of the change that had come ovor them since they pledged | themselves in 1917 so willingly to co- operation with the rest of the world without reservation. Seven years ago to a day almost— Saturday, February 3, 1917—came the fateful turn in_the career of Wood- row Wilson. It was on that day {that the United States severed diplo- | matic relations with Germany and or- idered Count von Bernstorff, the Ger- | man ambassador, to go home. War | followed two months later—a war that Woodrow Wilson never wanted {to enter, though he felt for a long | time prior to 1917 that American par- ticipation would sooner or later be- come imperative. He hoped against hope for an allfed victory without the ald of the United States. As he steered the ship of state in what he believed was a course of benevolent neutraiity, he praved that the allies would end the war triumphantly and enable the United States to play a role of peacemaker and healer of the wounds of war. But when war came he threw him- self into the fray with an abandon that wiped the mistaken phrase, “too proud to fight” out of the vocabulary (Continued on Page 2, Column 7.) MEXICANS ABDUCT U. S. PLANT MANAGER T. J. MacKenzie Held for Ransom by Villa Band; Report to El Paso. By the Associated Press. EL PASO, Tex., February 2—T. J. MacKenzie, general manager of the Bouquillas Power Company of Chihua- hua was abducted from the Adargas mines, near Jiminez, by Hipolita Villa and his revolutionary followers and 1s reported held for ransom. Mr. MacKenzie is well known in El Paso where he and his f Tived until recently. Ay The Bouquillas profect 1s one of the largest in Mexico and derives its power from the Concho river. It is owned by New York and Canadian capital. Mr. MacKenzie was a friend of the late Francisco Villa and had often visited him. It is said he has pald ransom to bandits in' Chihuahua at lease once in past revolutions. ] | nourly Columbia. The Sunday Star “From Press to Home Within the Hour” The Star's carrier system covers every city block and the regular edi~ * tion is delivered to Washington homes as fast as the papers are printed. Yesterday’s Circulation, 104,375 TWO CENTS. 'WILSON’S LIFE EBBS IN FACE OF STOICAL, COURAGEOUS BATTLE War President Grows Weaker Steadily, Refusal of All Food Disconcerting Sign. REMAINS CONSCIOUS; SLEEPS THROUGH DANGEROUS PERIOD Mrs. Wilson or Admiral Grayson Continu- ally at Bedside; End May Be Matter of Days. BULLETIN. At 11:30 o’clock this morning the following official bul- letin was issued: “Mr. Wilson is growing steadily weaker. He has been able to take very little nourishment, He has had some sleep and has no pain. He recognizes those about him, but is too exhatsted to talk. Our efforts in the main are directed toward keeping him comfortable. (Signed) “CARY T. GRAYSON, “STERLING RUFFIN, “H. A. FOWLER.” Steadily losing ground, Woedrow Wilson continues to grow weaker and weaker. But, having lasted through a night which his physicians feared would bring the end, they cannot predict how long his remarkable vitality will hold out. Although he has taken no nourishment in almost twenty-four | hours and is disinclined even to take sips of water, Mr. Wilson’s pulse, respiration and temperature early today were practically normal. make him more comfortable. Mr. Wilson's physiclans feared the | fitckering flame of life would go out in the early morning hours, when vitality is lowest. But while they anxiously watched over him, his heart action continued strong and his breathing regulat, while he slept rest- tully. Having come through the night, the physicians now feel there is no pre- dicting how far his tenacity may sus- tain him. It is not beyond the range | of probability that Woodrow Wilson | might linger along thres or four days. It is, of course, possible that some- thing may enep at any moment and he will slip quickly away. Mr. Wilson's failure to take nour- ishment this morning was a discon- certing signs to his physiclans. When offered light f00ds he shook his head firmly and whispered, “No.” When of- fered sips of water he made the same reply. The physiclans agreed that sustenance might have to be given in some other way. Mrs. Wilson at Bedside. In the shaded chamber where the former President lies, Mrs. Wilson is his almost constant attendant, and it has been with difficulty that Dr. Grayson has persuaded her to take any rest. She did take some sleep during the night while Dr. Grayson relleved her at the bedside. Then she took up the vigil this morning while Dr. Grayson went to his home for a brief rest. Either the physician or the wife are constantly watching and waiting. Enormous quantities of mall and telegrams pouring into the Wilson acknowledged, begin- horme oy C1656 triends Have Yol- Unteered to take up secretarial dutles: others have offered the loan of Servants, motor cars or anything clse needed for the emergency. Deeply stirred, Admiral Grayson came out early this morning and tol S lting mewspaper men of the heart- Dreaking fight Woodrow Wilson made | Par 1ife through the long, silent hours | of the treacherous night Creeping { Qawn found him victorious, but the | Jast bit of his ebbing strength seemed |wpent in tho struggle he was slowly | 108ing. Grayson Shows Emotion. haken mital Grayson said, his voice sl by the emotion he could not hide. He had just come from his night-long Vvigil by the death bed, and the ordeal ‘had left its mark upon his ashen Yace. ‘Hour by hour he had watched . tho slender thread by which Mr. Wil- {son_clung to 1ife sway uncertainly, Toady to part at any minute. i All the world, It seemed, k‘ept vigil the bedside of America’s dying sident. front of the 8 atreet home adhl‘x'l‘lelllll flashed word of his gamest battle to the farthest fringes | eivilization. And back came mes- hanges taxed beyond ca- O eith calls. from far and near, I asking the one anxious question: “Ig the President dead?” It seemed almost pitiful that nearly every one | should refer to him as “the President. Inquiries by the thousands poured into newspaper offices and many calls from distant points were directed personally to the telephone company. Hundreds Journey to Home. As the evening shadows gathered, the pligrimage to Mr. Wilson's house became precipitate. Hundreds of men i women—perhaps _thousands—jour- Bared By Tour to the. little colonial { door from which he delivered his last | address. Motor traffic on the street was forbldden and adjacent thorough- fares were almost blocked by the parked cars of those come to pay their last respects to Woodrow Wilson. Pitiful to the extreme were some of the scenes in that faithful band. One 1dly ap] loor for admittance. - In her trembling hand But he grew steadily weaker and weaker. physician, said his life was simply ebbing away. At no time has the former President been unconscious, at no time have such heroic measures as applications of oxygen been i resorted to, and at no times have opiates been given, as he has been in no pain. Some stimulants have been given in small doses. At no time has Mr. Wilson been delirious, and he seems at all times to be conscious of what is going on in his chamber, although he is too weak to carry on a conversation. He does whisper a “Yes” and a “No” in reply to questions as to what may be done to «1t almost breaks one's heart to|E& watch his great fight for life” Ad- While little groups | Dr. Grayson, his she held a lone rose. The door was {openad and she handed the touching tribute to an attendant, with the state- ment, “For the President”” Then she walked quickly away, before any one could learn her mame. - - Scores of the watchers kept thelr vigll until after midnight, anxiously watching the flickering light in a third-floor window that marked the place where Woodrow Wilson was waging his last and gamest fight. Every now and then word would come out, but it Was mere confirmation of the earlier reports—"Mr. Wilson's condition remains unchanged.” Physicians Issue Bulletin. When it became known that Mrs. ‘Wilson retired shortly after midnight, all but a few newspaper men hurried home for a' few hours' sleep. But throughout the night the flow of mes- sages continued by telephone and telegraph. The last bulletin to come from the physicians themselves, Dr. H. A. Fowler, Dr. Sterling Ruffin and Admiral Grayson, told the story of the ebbing flight in cold medical terms: “Mr. Wilson's temperature is nor- mal. His respiration is 20; pulse, 96. He has gradually lost ground. He That was the last official statement until Admiral Grayson emerged shortly after breakfast and made it plain that although Mr. Wilson had passed the “low hours"” of early morn- ing, which his physicians had feared so much, only a miracle could much { longer delay the end. His exhaustion is too complete, it was said, to enable him to keep up the battie he has waged sc doggedly. Grayson at Bedside. Throughout the night Dr. Grayson had remained almost constantly & the former President’s bedside. A soft light burned in the guiet cham- Bt a furse tiptoed here and there, always on watch. During a good part of the time Mrs. Wilson, too, was close beside her husband, bearing courageously the strain of | the long hours of ner vigil The remainder of the big house on S street, to which Mr. Wilson re- itired from the White House, was dark and quiet, after Dr. Grayson and his two coileagues, Drs. Ruffin and Fowler, had held their evening consultation of more than an hour and had announced at 10:30 that the former President gradually was losing round. 1~ Despite the great exhaustion of the patient, which today kept him hov- ering between ' consciousness and sleep, his heart remained strong and his pulse regular. There was no | fever and, for the most part, he suf- | fered no pain. The only hope of ihis physiclans was that there still might be energy enough in his broken constitution to ward off the languor under the spell of which resistunce at last would cease. Physicians Helpless. There was little the medical men could do to help him in that fight. More than four years of iliness had o racked his constitution that strong medicines and surgery would do more harm than good. They could only watch and hope for the best. After his night in the sick chamber, Dr. Grayson left the Wilson residence at 8:45 this morning for & brief visit to his own home before the morning consultation with the other doctors an_hour later. “He is slowly ebbing away” he sald. “He is a brave man. He knows that life is ending.” Mr. Wilson has been conscious or partially consclous, he added, fre- quently during the day and night that have elapsed since the_crisis came. He said also that Mrs. Wilson is bearing the strain courageously. Many Lemve Cards. Even before the physiclan made his appearance and other members of the household were astir, a new pro- cession of friends and admirers of the former President began to pass by the house to leave their cards as a sign of their sympathy or to stand mutely at a respectful distance. A police line again prevented vehicles from paseing through the nearby streets.