Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1923-07-07
significance of Carefully Pre-
pared Addresses Pointed,
Don't Rock the Boat" Is
Presidents Slogan
BY DAVID LAWRENCE
Ueased Wire Service ito The Iournal)
downright 1921
(Today's dispatch by David Lawrence =
an analysis Of the effect and significance 9t
President Harding's western trip


steady. don't rock the boat" This
may be the slogan of the Republican
party and the appeal Of President
Harding for reelection in 1924. 1t
epitomizes all of his speeches on~the
western trip. 1t is the theme which
he persistently proclaims, namely,
that compared to the rest of the
world, America has made substan-
tial progress.
Just three years ago this sum-
mer, the country was tired of war
time restriction and cried out, 'we
want change" If the American
people will be patient, the much
sought-after normalcy will come
sooner by a continuation of the pres
ent administration than by a change
in leadership or party-this is Mr..
Harding's whole platform.
Nearly every speech the president
has made on his western trip gave
an inkling Of his campaign plan. Con-
tinued to the extreme about making
too many promises, the president
felt tempted, again and again, to
emphasize what had been accom-
plished by way of reducing the pub
lie debt, absorbing the unemployed,
maintaining fairly high wage levels
and the general prosperity of the
country-al1 this being evidence to
Mr.. Harding's mind that at least
America has gone forward and not
backward in the last three years.
Seeks Voters Confidence
The statement Of Cordell Hull,
chairman of the Democratic national
committee, criticizing Mr.. Harding
for giving the impression in his Salt
Lake City speech that the reduction
of the public debt had been accom-
plished entirely under the Republic
an administration, drew promptly
from Mr.. Harding a reply that he
was not trying to claim credit for
all that had been done and that he
was merely pointing out that ever
since the war the record Of America
was unparalleled throughout the
world.
The president is shrewd enough
politician to know that he will gain
more votes by generously bestowing
praise upon the preceding admins
tration for such progress as it made,
than by denying it any credit what
soever The president knows that
the people will vote on the Harding
administration in 1924 entirely upon
the question of whether the man in
the White House deserves a further
vote of confidence. His whole west
ern trip was an effort to install con-
fidence not only in his personality
but in his administration.
Anyone who imagines that the
president prepared for his western
trim in a hurrery, or that on the
spur of the moment he emphasized
the various points he made, is mis-
taken, Mr.. Harding for many
months has been thinking OF TINS
tour around the country and when
the correspondents started west
ward on the presidential train they
were handed several printed
speeches which we're the work OF
several weeks. Mr.. Harding sought
advice and got a good deal OF II
but the. general strategy of his west
ern trip was his own.
What kind of an impression DID
tha president make? The answer
to this question would be of doubt
FIJI value even if every person in his
audiences could have been interview
ed. Modern campaigning does not
hermit of oratorical appeal alone De,
cause there is no particular. speh
about a speech that is read from
manuscript.
Takes Advantage of Publicity
Mr.. Harding, being a newspaper
man. realized that he would get pel-
ter publicity by preparing ms
Sneeches in advance because IN that
wav the newspapers generally "ouio
save telegraphic expense and De aole
IN nrovide space to handle them at
eyraater length. President RooseVels
wos the first to see the advantage OIL
this and often got his speeches. ineo
the mails, subject to release @S
much a a month ahead or the sPve'n
ine date. President wilson ulsiiho =
to prepare speeches in advance "ilo
eye1 his addresses to congress were
often held until the last minute w
convection MIR. Wilson used 10 say
tho+ no derived inspiration from the
crowds and that he hated 10 redu "
sneech from a manuscript
president Harding is a remark "a
~ f;re oaropaigner and can Hldh0
GOOD impression with an extern
noraneous speech, but he knows. ~
Sonyers of dealing with important
SUBJECTS in speeches composed on
+he snot. He was well aware Oh the
diffici1Ities of impressing a crown
with a written speech, and once VI
twice during his westward JouIn .t..'
no laid aside his manuscript dIt0i
finishing it and made an extenpo-
raneous appeal. The back platform
sneecbes were extemporaneous, now
ever. with one or two EXCEPTIONS
though the president was very
Guarded in what he said and did not
ATTEMPT to do any more than I'M
nress his personality upon the
crowds at the train.
Wherever Mr.. Harding departed
from manuscript and endeaNoreo ~
reach his audience with personal
anpeal he made a very effective nm
preston. Z It was only IN the o'g
auditorium where the heat ana
Sitting atmosphere were not con
ducive to enthusiasm over a ten
thousand word lecture on govern
ment finance or academic SUBJECTS
like the consolidation of railroads.,
that the audiences were more or
less unresponsiNe.
Hard to Gauge Effect
But the writer has had so mucn
experience in observing presidential
candidates and presidents in ad
dressing crowds that he would not
hazard an opinion as to the i'm
preston made by any of them sim
ply by gazing at the assembled null
titude. One cannot forget that
when President Wilson delivered in
Philadelphia his famous speech
shortly after the sinking of Lusl
tania in which the phrase TOO
proud to fight" appeared the au-
dience stood and cheered for nearly
five minutes. If this speech were