Evening star., 1924-09-20
WASHINGTON OBSERVATIONS.
BY FREDERIC HILLI4H EJLE.

Despite White House official denials
political gossip for many a day will
revolve around the real reason why
Secretary Wilbur's naval expedition
to the Pacific coast was summarily
interrupted. Opinion is about equally
divided as to whether it was Cali
fornia politics or oratorical indis-
cretions anent Japan that resulted in
Mr.. Wilbur's withdrawal from the
mischief zone. One of the daintiest
morsels now pirouetting across the
Capitals eager tongues brings Sec
retary Hoover into the picture.
''They say that the ancient feud
between Hoover and Hiram Johnson
is at the bottom of the affair. The
Secretary of Commerce is alleged to
aspire to be the Republican Header
of California. If Hiram has one am
bition left in life, it would be to
throw himself across the path of any
such project. 1t is an open secret
that the Coolidge and Dawes fortunes
in California, while promising, can
not be trifled with. Johnson is re-
ported to be ready to be regular if
he is not unnecessarily rled. The
story goes that there was danger of
Wilbur, who is a Hoover man, rub
bing Hiram the wrong way, SO he
was brought home to attend to his
naval knitting.
X X
Democratic managers admit that
they have had hard shedding in get
ting their national campaign onto
real fighting plane. In the same
breath, they acknowledge that the
reason is that it's taken all this
time to line up the warning McAdoo
and Smith factions and induce them
to trot in double harness. 1t is be-
lieved the Rubicon has now been
crossed. October will find both Nc
Adoo and Smith themselves, and any
number of their one-time bitter parti-
sans, on the stump, East and West,
Narth and South, for Davis and
Bryan. Daniel c. Roper, McAdoo's
preconvention lieutenant in this re-
gion, has been 100 per cent for the
ticket from the outset In Illinois,
leaders like George Brennan, who
was an ardent Smith man, have grad
ually taken their coats off and rolled
up their sleeves. Next month, the
Democrats cheerily assert, it will be
all hands on deck, and working like
Trojans for the common cause.
X X X
Now that Mrs. Burton x Wheeler
is on the warpath for the Progressive
ticket and Mrs. William M. Adams
John w. Davis daughter) is home
from Europe to campaign for daddy,
it only remains for. some woman re-
lated to the G. o. p. standard bearers
to take the field. Nobody is so well
fitted for that job as Mrs. Coolidge.
The first lady Of the land wouldn't
have to make speeches to win votes
for her husband. She would only have
to be Grace Goodhue Coolidge, and
smile. Somebody told the Presidents
wife the other day that the deadliest
blow Chairman Butler could deal the
opposition would be to send Mrs.
Coolidge on a swing around the cir
Gle a couple of weeks before election.
She has never played politics. This
Is left to "Cal" in the Coolidge family.
X X X
In the outer office of the Attorney
General there is standing a life-size
portrait of President Coolidge, that
has an interesting history. 1t is the
work OF former inmate Ga counter
feiter) of the Federal penitentiary at
Atlanta The artist never saw the
President. but has prpduced an amaS-
inElx faithful ukshA kA af him In. nll,