PRESIDENT 'HOLDS LINE' FOR 5 MINUTES WHILE MR. FLETCHER FINISHES WITH REPORTERS
Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) On March 3, 1922, President Warren G. Harding "stopped the wheels of government business five minutes...and 'held the phone'" so he would not interrupt Assistant Secretary of State Henry P. Fletcher's* news conference.
The President had placed a call to Mr. Fletcher but waited patiently to allow reporters to complete an interview with the Assistant Secretary of State.
*Henry Prather Fletcher (1873-1954) was born in Greencastle, PA & served with TR's Rough Riders in the Spanish-American War. HPF became a career diplomat serving as Ambassador to Chile, Mexico, Belgium, Luxembourg, & Italy. He was Under Secretary of State 1921-1922.
SOURCE
"President Holds Phone Because Fletcher Is Busy With Reporters," The Evening Star, March 3, 1922, www.chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/
