The Washington times., 1923-08-03
NEW CHIEF
ISLOYAL
PARTY
MAN
VIII Probably Follow Harding
in Policies Relating
to Europe.
By WILLIAM HARD.

by WILLIAM HARD
The expectations Of the best
opinion in Washington regarding
the consequences OF the lamented
death Of President Harding are
as follows:
Calvin Coolidge will exhibit to-
ward the memory Of Harding the
same steadfast loyalty which in
the last two years he has notably
exhibited toward Harding person
ally and toward the whole Hard
ing Administration and toward
the Republican party's national
organized representatives and en-
deavors.
President Coolidge will per-
haps be even closer to the Re-
publican party as party than
President Harding was.
L. Strong Party Man.
Coolidge as President will act
genuinely as the conscientious po-
liticaIt executor Of the will Of Hard
ing and also genuinely as the con-
scientious political interpreter Of
the will of the Republican Party.
There win be a certain strengthen
ing of the principle of party gov.
erment."
Harding'p international policies
will not be much changed. Cool
idge, in the first place, according
TO his temperament, as revealed
30. far in Washington, viii regard
those policies as a binding inheri-
lance.
In the second place, he comes
from Massachusetts,. 1t is a State
which lately has shown scant sym
pathy for ideas of Wilsonian Amer
lean tnternationalism.
Coolidge Is close to the Massachu-
sets Republican National Com
mitteeman, William NJ. Butler
Butler has apparently sympathized
strongly with John T. Adams,
chairman Of the Republican IA
tonal Committee, in his Iabors
against what he regards as ''EAlro-
pean entanglements."
Coolidge is also not hostile to
Lodge. Lodge triumphed easily over
Joseph Walker last year in Massa-
chusetts when Walker tried to de-
feat him in the Republican primary
for having helped to slaughter the
treaty of Versailles in the Senate.
In Massachusetts, even the Demo
cratic party is dominantly against
the~Wilsonian idea of American for.
eign relations. David l. Walsh, the
Democratic United States Senator
from Massachusetts,, is much closer
TO Lodge in such matters than he is
to Wilson.
Friendly With Adams.
Meanwhile, Coolidge has main.
tanned a steady cooperating friend
ship with the Republican national
committee and with John T. Adams,
while that committee and Adams
have continued to be the most de-
termined. and the most effective
known national source of antj|Iss 90
argument and effort.
AS heir to Harding, therefore.
and as a party man, and as a
Massachusetts man, it Is generally
confidently expected by political
managers here that Coolidge as
President will continue at least for
some time to follow an internationa1
policy of considerable aIoofness
from Geneva.
Meanwhile he will be pushed in
the same direction by an ultimate
new activity on the part of Hiram
johnson. The death of Harding
will release and open the ambitions
and the candidates. of many Repub-
lican Presidential aspirants who
might not have declared them
selves against Harding. but who
ultimately. it is believed, are Ger.
tain to declare themselvs against
Coolidge.
The final open entrance of John
son into the Presidential race will
serve, it is believed. to drive Cool.
idge even farther toward "irrecon.
cilabiIity" or else cost him the
friendship and support of certain
powerful conservative elements
which he will need in his fight to
be the representative of conservat.
ism against radicalism in the Re
publican party.
win Watch Policy.
It can be stated definitely that
even at this early moment there
are conservative elements of the
utmost consequence in the Repub
loan party which will stay with
Coolidge IL Coolidge remains anti
League but which will go to John
aon IL Coolidge begins to tend to
ward being pro-League. The result
of that second chance and stel
would be that the conservative wing
of the Republican party would b.
split and would accordingly be
gravely weakened in its figh1
against La Toilette, who also hap
pens to be anti-League.
Putting these things together
the most intimate and inward Re
publican observers of Washington