IV.

The Scandals

On August 2, 1923, as rumours began to circulate about corruption in his administration, Harding died in San Francisco. He was succeeded by his vice-president, Calvin Coolidge. In the months that followed, charges of misconduct in the Interior and Navy departments, the Veterans' Bureau, the Justice Department, and the Office of the Alien Property Custodian were disclosed in a series of congressional investigations and criminal trials. The scandals implicated both high officials and personal friends of Harding. Among those indicted were Attorney-General Harry M. Daugherty and Secretary of the Interior Albert B. Fall. Fall was eventually convicted of taking bribes and was sent to jail. Revelations of bribery, influence peddling, and outright theft overshadowed the positive achievements of the Harding administration. The president had spoken all too truly when he remarked that he could take care of his enemies but that he did not know how to cope with his friends.