Evening star., 1923-06-05
FINDS WEST FIRM
FOR PREPAREDNESS
Weeks Also Reports Strong
Sentiment in Favor of
President.
By FREDERIC WILLIAM VILE,

Popularity of President Harding
and sound public sentiment on pre-
paredness are two of the chief i'm
pressions received by John w. Weeks,
Secretary of War. from his transcon-
tinental trip. Mr.. Weeks has re-
turned to Washington to tell the
President that the Harding fortunes
stand we'll in the western country:
that there Is the keenest anxiety to
welcome him on his impending jour
ney. and that the expedition. from "A
personal standpoint, is bound to be a
triumph.
! Inspection of our military defen-
sive establishment being the pur-
pose Of my travels" said Secretary
Weeks in an interview with this
writer, 'it was naturally gratifying
to find everywhere an Intelligent and
sympathetic public interest in the
Army. Despite the intensiveness of
the pacifist campaign, l am convinced
that II has not seriously undermined
citizens realization Of the necessity
of maintaining what George wash
ington in the farewell address term
ed "a respectable defensive posture
Preached Preparedness.
81 did not conceal in my numerous
,
of such an establishment costs
money. but l did contrive. l think, TO
prove that it Is being conducted with
all possible economy. great meet
ing at Leavenworth was typical. IL
was attended by all the prominent
men of the city. L was told that
every clergyman in the community
was present. l preached the war
Departments doctrine of peace by
preparedness. The reaction was un-
iSto lSah
nous that this is no hour for Amer
lea to strip herself of the fundamen-
tails required for self-preserVatlon In
emergencies no man can foresee: IL
was the same wherever | went-Call-
fornia. Utah. Colorado. Kansas. Ne
braska and other sections of the VI
riIe west country.
Sentiment for President.
politics was not on my program,
but. as member of the adminlStra-
tion. it wasn't always eschewed by
my hosts when they were fraternlZ-
ing with me. Certaily | felt that the
quite unusual welcomes extended me
everywhere were mainly tributes to the
fact that | sit in the Harding capi-
net. The President confrontS IN the
Mississippi valley and beyond nceiw ine
able. The people out there are tre-
mondously anxious to meet hlm face
to face. They know him only by ions
a &
nor as President has he mingled with
bis fellow citizens in those remote re-
gfons There's a fine respect for the
eut mon, ths plain pHoPls is r;ora ana
than ordinary degree because OIL hiS
captivating personality.
when he was my guest at Lancas-
ter, y. H., d year ago, l lnduceu MN
one day to tarry in the public square
and shake hands with our iolks.
There was an old inhabitant, hard
boiled democrat, who never voted the
republican ticket in his life but VINO
after coming within the ORBIT OF thc
Harding smile. vowed ne was TOT
him thenceforward. My prediction
Is that in such parts as the President
nav not enjoy complete popularity
today he will have it when his forth
coming trip is over.
Want World Court.
How did you find sentiment on
the world court?" Secretary Wechs
Strong" he replied. In Cali
fornia, for example, | didn't flnd a
man or a woman who doesn't favor
II The wh9le Etate @ wa5 ob tafe'pT B PT.d I1
ericks to Congress from the Los
Angeles district on straight-out
world court platform. Fredericks is
considered the coming figure in Cali
fornia republican politics He VIII
he a new tower of strength for the
administration in the next House..
Mr.. Weeks. known modification
ist" on the prohibition issue. found
that the west looks upon President
Harding as an uncompromising dry.
The Secretary of War, than whom the
President has no shrewder or more
trusted political counselor, is con- I,,
vinced that the republican party Will
go before the country in 1924 on the
clean-cut program of prohibition en-
forcement as 1t exists. On that issue
Mr. Weeks is confident Mr.. Harding
will win.
This writer's inquiries reveal
widespread impression that the Presi-
dent favors the Volstead act unmodi-
fed. If he follows the advice of trust
ed friends he will steer clear of ad-
vocacy of any particular kind of en-
forcement code. which is the sole con-
Germ of Congress, and confine himself
to avowal of his purpose faithfully
to execute the statutes that are the
law of the land
Copyright, 1927