Imperial Valley press., 1923-08-03
DEATH MAX ES
BAD MIXUP in
PARTY POLITICS
Republican 1924 Program
Knocked Askew By
Grim Reaper
BY LAWRENCE MARTIN
Copyright 1923 by United Press)


SAN FRANCISCO, August g.
The republican party s whole 1923
political program has been knocked
askew by the sudden removal of
President Harding, who, had lhe
lived. would almost certainly have
been the nominee to succeed him
sell. ..a
One of the main hopes of the
party for success in 1924 lay in
the fact that party conferences did
not have to worry over internal dis
sensions about the nomination. Now
they will have to worry.
They are, in fact, little better
off than the democrats, who face a
mad scramble in their nominating
convention.
Calvin Coolidge becomes prcsi-
dent and for the second time in his
life is catapaulted into prominence
by an emergency. Mr.. Coolidge,
now that he is president becomes III
Il sense the "'loSical' republican
candidate. In fact he may become
the refuge of certain party leaders
who, though they have no great
enthusiasm for Coolidge rs can
didate would much prefer him to
Hiram Johnson of California, whose
star today is brighter on the po-
litical horizon that it has been in
a long time.
Situation Embarrassing
The situation is embarrassing, to
say the least. Mr.. Coolidge, though
Il man of sterling qualities and fine
character, is admittedly not man
to fire the popular sentiment of
the country with any great enthus-
iasm. Mr.. Harding seldom aroused
great outbursts of spontaneous
fervor among crowds, but he always
"'got over' with people because he
was :, good fraternizcr, Il friendly,
genial human man who liked his
fellow men and showed it. Mr..
Coolidge is handicapped by his New
England reserve, which is develop
ed in his case to degree that
causes Washington to wonler how
he ever got anywhere in politics.
In addition to that tho restles
progressives in the republican party
will not have the hesitation about
fighting Mr.. Coolidge in 1924 they
would have manifested in opposing
Mr.. Harding. Mr.. Coolidge be-
comes president by an act of Prov
idence; Mr.. Harding was elected to
office and having served his party
aceeptably, was entitled, BY an the
rules, to the full and loyal sup.
port of all elements of that party
for a second term. Even the pro
gressives who held Mr.. Harding to
be a reactionary, admitted that II
third party was their only means
of fighting him.
Coolidge Has no Claims
Mr.. Coolidge lacks any sucl
claims on party solidarity. In ad
dition he is regarded by the pro-
-gressives as quite, as much a stand
patter, if not more so, than Mr.
Harding.
The progressives will undoubted
ly seize the opportunity as means
of trying to mseat from party con
troll the Hughes Hoover group,
to whom they are opposed on both
domestic and international issues.
And the friends of Hiram John
4son will make the strongest pOssi-
BILE bid for the 1924 nomination.
Johnson will undoubtedly be put
forward as a happy mean between
the standpatters and the extreme
progressives.
But the Hughes Hoover R t
group and the LodgeGiilett-Jim
Watson group will not easily give
up their control of the party to
johnson or any other of his type.
They might get behind Hoover or
put Hughes forward again. But
the most likely course would be to
Join forces behind Coolidge and try
to put him across in the conven-
tion and election.
Mr.. Coolidge of course could de
cline. 1t may be that he will not
desire to be president for a full
term. Ihdt proDdoly Wouiu PlcdSe
some members of the groups men
toned, 1t would permit them to
name some one with whom they
would feel more likely 10 achieve
victory.
Fate seems to have taken a hand
in the great game of American
politics and today amid much spe,
culation and conjecture one can
not tell what circumstances or what
man will emerge from the tangle
created by the taking off of MI.
Harding.