A Presidential Secret: An Operation to Save The Nation

Image Credit

A Presidential Secret – An Operation to Save the Nation

On August 29, 1893, a startling report appeared in the Philadelphia Press. According to the writer, Elisha J. Edwards, U.S. President Grover Cleveland had recently undergone major surgery while on board a friend’s yacht, the Oneida, on New York’s East River. A large portion of his upper jaw had been removed, together with many of his teeth. The operation had been necessary, Edwards stated, because the president had been suffering from cancer.

Image Credit

The report was strenuously denied. At the time it appeared, Cleveland was in the White House in Washington, D.C., and seemingly in good health. His speech was normal and he displayed no signs of any recent operation. All that his aides would admit was that the 56-year-old president had indeed been on the yacht and had suffered a slight toothache, which was the reason that a dentist had been summoned on board. Most people were satisfied with the official explanation. The argument caused by the report raged briefly but soon died down. The affair was quickly forgotten.

The Need for Secrecy

Image Credit

Many years later the truth came out. A major operation on the president’s jaw had indeed been performed. Everyone involved in the incident had been sworn to secrecy and the affair skillfully covered up (despite the leak to Edwards), since the future health of the whole nation, not just of its president, was at stake.

Image Credit

In 1893 the United States was suffering a severe economic depression. Some 200 banks had failed or suspended operations, a number of businesses had declared bankruptcy, and at least 20 percent of the population was unemployed.