The Birmingham age-herald., 1923-08-03
WASHINGTON IS GIVEN SHOCK BY
 NEWS OF TRAGEDY
CContinucd From Page one.)


 would take the oath as soon as he
 could present himself before a fed
 eral judge and would come to Wash
 ington tomorrow. Orders detailing
 secret service men to proceed to Ply
 mouth and make up the usual guard
 that always accompanies a President
 were issued late tonight by Acting Secretary Gilbert of the treasury.
 WASHINGTON, August 2.-(By the l Associated Press. .)-Calvin Coolidge 1 is perhaps better equipped by experi- 1 ence to take up his administrative 1 duties in the White House than was
 any of his predecessors who have
 been called to that high office by the
 death of President.
 Having won for himself in large
 measure the vice presidential nomi- nation by his executive forcefulness
 as governor of Massa chusetts, partic- l ularly by his attitude in the police 1 strike, he has kept throughout the Harding administration closely ad- l vised as to the problems of the fed 1 eral government and has assisted in
 shaping administration policy by his | constant attendance at cabinet meet l ings.
 Although Vice Presidents usually have no other duties to perform than 1 that of presiding over the Senate,
 casting the deciding vote when that l body finds itself in d tie, MT. Coolidge | tleo dbStHICu iltiuSSll rom US SGS- sions every Tuesday and Friday to participate in the cabinet delibera- l tions. Thus he became familiar not only with all angles of the ma jor pub | lie questions, but also with the req :. sons actuating the President in his l decisions.
 Makes Many Speeches.
 Not only has he given his best
 ability to work, but he has done as much as any other member of the 1 administration to place it's accom- plishments before the people. He
 has travelled a great deal making ad- | dresses, and is said to have made
 more public addresses than the Pres | ident or any member of his cabinet. | His intimate touch with administra- 1 ton affairs sometimes has brought l upon him considerable pressure and some embarrassment from senators | and others who sought to obtain 1 through him information concerning l developments at the White House or | to have placed before the President
 particular views on pending issues. l He usually has remained retlcent un- | der these trying conditions, however refusing to discuss cabinet meetings or to act as a go-between for those i interested in having their views pre-
 sented to the President.
 Long In Public Service.
 MT. Coolidge. although by profes- sion d lawyer, entered the public service almost immediately upon 1 leaving college.
 | First elected member of the city 1 council of Northampton, Mass. the 1 city which had been his home since
 he became voter, he progressed l steadily upward through the offices l ol city solicitor, mayor, membership in the house of representatives anu | O. the senate of Massachusetts, SerV-
 ng as president of the latter body. and then as a lieutenant governor l until elected governor and in 1920
 Vice President of the United States.
 In the more than 20 years he gave | to these duties his time was almost
 exclusively devoted to problems of | public affairs. Only incidentally did
 he turn to the law, although he has
 always maintained an office with an associate at Northampton.
 He was born in the village of I Plymouth, Vt, on July 1, 1872, of Puritan ancestors, whC came to this country and settled in Watertown, Mass, in l630.
 He left the farm in 1881 for Am 1 herst college and graduated with
 honors in 1895. Immediately upon
 leaving college he went to North
 ampton to study law and finally set 1 l tied there.
 It was MT. Coolidge's common sense, his insight into legislative tactics and his mentality which first
 attracted to him the attention ot : political leaders. The late Senator | w. Murray Crane, who Was a resi- dent of Coolidge's congressional dis 1 trict, was among the first to note | | these qualities, and he resolved to | utilize the first opportunity to pro- 1 ject Mir. Coolidge into the national political arena.
 | O O O
 Continued To Rise.
 By hard work and steady progress MT. Coolidge continued his rise until
 he could be considered for high state
 office and then it was that Senator l Crane and other leaders exerted l their powers to have him nominated ! for the lieutenant. goVernorship. He was elected in the first campaign
 won by the republicans in Massa- l chusetts Tor several years, due to the progressive party split. There after it was but logical for him to succeed to the goVernorship, an of- 1 flee which he held for two terms and which he left for the vice presl- dency.
 The dramatic events of the Boston police strike, in which the governorl took d firm and unyielding stand for law and order, focused upon him 1 in 1919 national attention and made him almost overnight national fig
  prominently as presidential possl- bility.
 MT. Coolidge married Miss Grace Goodhue, whom he first met in Northampton as teacher, in l9oo and they have two sons. There was nothing to indicate that the change of chief executive would greatly alter the present makeup or the administration or would result in any immediate SummonlnS Of Con gress in extra session. Cabinet Will Resign.
 Although no announcement was made, it was the general expectation that the members of the present cab met would resign, that for the pres ent at least, thes resignationS would not be accepted, and that the work of the federal government would be i picked up again where the death of MT. Harding had brought 1t tenn porarily to d standstill. In that event it was pointed out there would be no occasion for an extra session of Con- gress.
 Under the constitution the success presidency in caseS of death is auL- matic. In some instances the oarn was administered at point away from Washington and then was repeated here later as a matter of form.
 Many Messages Pour In. Although it was after midnight be- fore the news of President Harding's death had been circulated generally throughout Washington, many mes sages of condolence began to pour into