The Omaha morning bee. [volume] (Omaha [Neb.]) 1922-1927, 1923-11-09
Coolidge Is
Busy on
to Congress
Cleans Data on Problems
From BEST Minds''-Ad.
dress to Cover IA Pub
lie Questions.
Washington Is Curious
BY MARK SULLIVAN.


Washington, Nov. S.-There is no
subject about which Washington is
more curious than the opening ad-
dress that President Coolidge Is CO.
ing to deliver to congress at the be.
ginning of its session December g..
Everybody has known that this
would be the first real revelation of
Coolidge, both as to his politics and
- to his personality since he be-
came president. Nearly everybody
has estimated that on this opening
address, and on the reaction of con-
gress and the country to it will de-
pend mainly the question whether
Coolidge will be nominated for an
other term.
In addition to these fundamental
reasons for curiosity the attitude
Coolidge has seemed to have toward
this address has tended to give rise
to a quality of dramatic suspense in
the atmosphere of Washington and
among the politicians. Everybody
has observed that Coolidge has
avoided making any public addresses
W ildItNtI anu ildS lllltIItu lndL ilS 10
saving up whatever he has to say for
the congressional opening.
Everybody has observed also that
50 far as unofficial and informal
things have come out of the White
House they have been confined
merely to the run of the days busl-
ness. 1t has been felt that it Is con-
spicuous that on important matters
like taxation. the world court, the
railroad question and the like, Cool.
ilge has been Intentionally silent and
has been reserving his utterances for
The formal appearance before con-
lrcss.
BEST Minds" Consulted.
Today a Washington correspondent
o1 the Boston Transcript, one of those
esew England papers which follow the
Presidents activities with especial
cioseness, sent his paper dispatch
which, while it makes no predictions
~ to what Coolidge is going to say,
pictures wildly the method he Is
following in making up his mind as
sgv1what positions he should take. 1t
reveals the fact that while it was
Harding who invented the phrase
best minds It is Coolidge who is
following that method in painsta1ing
detail. What the Transcript dis
patch says is borne out by the COM
mon observation OF others.
1t says that President Coolidge for
The last three months has been
sending for men from all over the
- he a
House, each man being chosen for
his capacity to give information and
advice on a particular subject. The
men summoned have been carefully
and deliberately selected. The Tran
script story says. for example,
that President Coolidge asked Sec
retary Hoover to prepare a list of
the men best informed in the var
ious parts of the country on differ
ent aspects of business; that this
list was forwarded to the White
House, and that letters were address
cd to the individuals recommended
advising them that the president de.
sired to confer with them.
Aside from business men the call
ers summoned have inrluded gov
eminent officials, members of con.
gress, members OF state and nation
al political committees, agricultural
experts, railway executives. leaders
of organized labor. newspaper edl-
tors, steamship owners and opera
tors, bankers. members OF the diplo-
matte corps. army and navy officers.
state officials, officers OF patriotic
societies and private organizations,
leaders of civil service reform. Off
Asajs Of world war organizations and
EXPERTS on the. tariff.
Gets Complete Details.
Many of these summoned visitors
having In mind the tradition about
President Cooidge's silence have
come prepared to pass out an
amount OF information and advice to
n listening president. What really
happened, however, turned out to be
Turn to Page Two. Column Three.)