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Show PRESIDENT HARDING IS CALLED BY OEATII-COOLIDGE TAKES OATH MRS. HARDING READING TO HUSBAND WHEN, WITHOUT WARNING, WARN-ING, HE SHUDDERS AND COLLAPSES DEATH IS INSTANTANEOUS. Calvin Coolidge is Sworn in as Chief Executive by His Father, Who is a Notary Public Signifies Intention of Asking Present Cabinet to Serve. Presidential Headquarters, Palace Hotel, San Francisco, Cal. Warren G. Harding, president of the United States died instantaneously and without with-out warning Thursday evening at 7:30 o'clock, a victim of a stroke of apoplexy, apo-plexy, which struck him down in his weakened condition after an illness of exactly a week. Death came to the chief executive while he was conversing with members mem-bers of his family and according to an official statement issued by physicians, physi-cians, was apparently due to some brain evolvement, pr-oeably an apoplexy. apo-plexy. The end came so suddenly that the members of the official party could not be called. It came after a day which had been described by Brigadier Briga-dier General Sawyer, the president's personal physician, as the. most satisfactory satis-factory day the president had had since his illness began. The physicians physi-cians in their formal announcement of came out, obviously deeply distressed, and in a low voice said to newspaper men, most of whom did not know of the hurried call almost half an hour previously: "Boys, I cannot tell you a thing." "The president had a most splendid afternoon," said Lieutenant Commander Command-er Joel T. Boone, assistant to the president's pres-ident's personal physician. "When I left the room I commented, 'Doesn't he look splendid?' "Then, all at once, he just went like that " The commanders snapped his fingers. "Just like that" he repeated. re-peated. "Something just snapped; that's all." Secretary Wallace was the second member of the president's official family to learn of the passing of his chief and he likewise was so overcome over-come with grief that he could say nothing. The chief executive of the nation and, by virtue of his office and personality, . '. u5;f ;v v - y . i 1 1 WARREN G HARD! NGr"" " the end said that "during the day he had been free from discomfort and there was every justification for anticipating an-ticipating a prompt recovery." The first indication that a change had occurred in Mr. Harding's condition condi-tion came shortly after 7 o'clock, when Mrs. Harding personally opened the door of the sick room and called to those in the corridors to find Dr. Boone and the others quick. At that time Mrs. Harding was understood to have been reading to the president, sitting at his bedside with the evening paper and messages of sympathy which had been received during the day. Dr. Sawyer was alone of all the doctors in the president's apartments when the climax came. He first was called by Mrs. Harding, who then rushed to the door leading into the hotel corridors and commenced an impatient im-patient search for the other physicians. physi-cians. The death of the nation's chief executive exec-utive was announced in these words: "The president died instantaneously and without warning and while conversing con-versing with members of his family at 7:30 p. m. Death was apparently due to some brain evolvement, probably prob-ably an apoplexy. "During the day he had been free from discomfort and there was every justification for anticipating a prompt recovery." The story of the president's tragic end was told officially this way: "The president died at 7:30 p. m. Mrs. Harding and tho two nurses, Miss Ruth Powderly and Miss Sue Daus-ser, Daus-ser, were in tho' room at tho time. Mrs. Harding was reading to the president pres-ident when, utterly without warning, a slight shudder passed through his frame, ho collapsed and ull recognized that the end had come. A stroke of apoplexy was the cause of his death. "Within a few moments all of tho president's official party had been summoned." Secretary Hoover was tho first of the four members of the president's cabinet who are in San Francisco to learn the sad news. Ho went into tho room tt once, and in a few minul.es one of the world's leading figures, passed away at that time when his physicians, his family and his friends thought that medical skill, hope and prayers had won the battle against disease. The disease had been conquered, the fire was out; but seven days of silent intense suffering had left their mark, and a stroke of apoplexy came without an instant's warning and before physicians phys-icians could be called, members of his party summoned or remedial measures taken, he passed from life's stage after af-ter having for nearly two and a half years served his nation and for many more years his native state of Ohio. Calvin Coolidge, who succeeds Warren War-ren G. Harding as president of the United States, has been in public life and before the public eye more than twenty years. He was prominently mentioned as a presidential possibility possibili-ty at the Republican national convention conven-tion when President Harding was nominated nom-inated in 1920 at Chicago. When he wns elected for second place on tho ticket and accepted that nomination, Republican leaders considered him a valuable asset to the ticket. In his capacity as vice president, Mr. Coolidge has taken a more active part in the affairs of the nation than has the occupant of that office in any previous administration. Calvin Coolidge took the oath as president of the "United States at Plymouth, Vt., at 2:47 a. m. Friday, Aug. 3. Tho new president wns sworn in by his father, who is a notary public, and at whose home ho was visiting. The text of the pledge is prescribed by tho Constitution, nnd was telephoned to him by the White House. Word of the simple ceremony was telephoned to Mr. Coolidge's Secretary, Secre-tary, Edward T. Clark, who, after several sev-eral hours of unsuccessful efforts, hud established wiro connection with Plymouth nnd bad notified his chief of tho death of President Harding. |