RUMOR OF DISAGREEMENT BETWEEN PRESIDENT & AG CAUSES DISTRESS
St. Augustine, Florida (JFK+50) On March 29, 1923, the Evening Star reports "the entire presidential party was visibly upset...by the publication of a story that President (Warren G.) Harding...disapproved of" a statement given by Attorney General Harry Daugherty "announcing that the President would be a candidate for renomination in 1924."
David Lawrence writes...
"The President is said to have been distressed by the impression of disagreement between him and Mr. Daugherty."
Mr. Lawrence is of the opinion that had the President been consulted before the statement was made public, he would have "argued against" doing so.
The controversy coincided with the arrival of the Attorney General here in St. Augustine where the President and First Lady have been vacationing.
JFK+50 NOTE
This would be the last visit to St. Augustine for President Harding. He and the First Lady arrived on the yacht Victoria, attended services at Ancient City Baptist Church* on Sunday and dined at the Hotel Ponce de Leon which was the First Couple's quarters during the visit.
*Ancient City Baptist Church, 27 Sevilla St., St. Augustine, FL was completed in 1895. It is of Romanesque Revival architecture with a cone shaped turret atop a 3 story tower.
SOURCES
"Presidential Party Upset By Rumor," by David Lawrence, The Evening Star, March 29, 1923, Chronicling America, Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/
"This Week In St. John's County History: President spends day in St. Augustine," St. Augustine Record, March 25, 1923, www.staugustine.com/
