THE MYSTERIOUS DEATH OF WARREN HARDING
The death of President Warren Harding is one of those enduring mysteries that will probably never be solved. He died on August 2, 1923, and the cause of his death has never been established. The White House said it was food poisoning, and another physician later said it was a cerebral hemorrhage.
Harding started as a young reporter who purchased a struggling newspaper. It continued to struggle, but survived. Harding's new wife, very efficient and ambitious, organized and streamlined the paper and made it not only profitable but influential as well. Harding became active in politics, serving in the state senate and winning election as lieutenant governor of Ohio. In 1914, with the help of political boss Harry Daugherty, Harding was elected to the U.S. Senate.
In his six years in the U.S. Senate, Harding missed over two-thirds of all roll calls and votes, compiling one of the all-time worst attendance records in the history of that legislative body. He introduced only 134 bills, none of them significant. As much as he disliked the work, he loved the Senate. He was affable, and genuinely well liked by his colleagues. He was a good party man who worked to keep harmony. This was a great help to him in 1920, when a deadlocked Republican convention turned to Harding as a compromise candidate. He easily won the election, defeating Ohio Governor James Cox.
Harding made a number of excellent appointments in his new administration. Charles Hughes was named Secretary of State, Andrew Mellon Secretary of the Treasury, and Herbert Hoover Secretary of Commerce. He named William Howard Taft Chief Justice and Charles Dawes Director of the Budget Bureau. But the majority of his appointments were disasters.
The Ohio cronies who helped elect him wanted their share of the spoils. Along with a few others, such as New Mexico Senator Albert Fall, they were given the major offices in the Harding Administration. His chief supporter, Harry Daugherty, was named as Attorney General. Daugherty then controlled most of the other appointments. The result was that most of the people in government knew each other well and got along well. They were called the Ohio Gang. It made for an extremely efficient government. But this also worked against Harding.
Warren Harding is consistently ranked last in every presidential poll. His administration was marked by the most complete corruption of any in our history. The Navy Department transferred strategic oil reserves to the Interior Department, which then sold the leases to the highest bidder. The newly created Veterans Bureau was looted of millions of dollars that were supposed to be used to support disabled veterans. The Alien Property Custodian also accepted graft. Harry Daugherty accepted bribes to decide Justice Department cases. In spite of Prohibition, liquor was served at the nightly poker games in the White House, and Harding continued to have extra-marital affairs.
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