Evening star., 1924-06-10
PLATFORM DESIGNED Z
TO PREVENT SPLITS
Is Conciliatory Document, Cool.
idgesque in Everything Ex-
cept in Its Length.
HAS KEPT COMMITTEE BusY
Is Product of Warren, Smoot and
President Working Together.
BY FREDERIC WILLIAM WIFE

Ohio, June 10.-with its orpaniza
ton effected the Republican national
convention is putting the finishing
touches to the platform on which
calvin Coolidge will go to the coun-
try. Little has been said or heard ar
cleveland about the platform, but the
Coolidge management is engaged in
deep heart searching over 1t. Until
yesterday 1t was practically forgot
ten' In the midst of still unsolyed
mystery over the vice presidential
candidate Now that that Gordian
Knot Is about to be cut-the next
t"enty-four hours, or less. will un-
raVel 1.-THE convention is giving
serious heed to the set of principles
by which the Cleveland ticket is to
stand or fall. =
CHARLES b. Warren, ambassador to
Mexico, and chairman of the commit
tee on resolutions, is in charge of the
big blue pencil with which the plat
form is being edited into final shape.
The long-distance telephone be-
tween Warren's hotel room and the
Presidents Office in the White House
10 dlSO pldylUS prominent role In
the process of hewing the manifesto
into the form it will eventually have.
Platform Coolidgesque.
1t will be a Coolidgesque document
in everything but length. measured
<by the Presidents passion for terse-
ness, for. as tantalizingly waved in
the face of this writer by the reso-
lutions chairman late last night, it
runs to twenty-five typewriter pages.
This represents a total of at least
5000 words. The pages are literally
interlarded with insertions and de-
Lotions. 1t is apparent that the orig
inal product has been added to and
subtracted from at a great number of
points.
Mr.. Warren suggested that the
modification stage was by no means
passed The White House telephone
will buzz often between now and the
hour on Wednesday when the suave-
diplomat from Detroit takes the plat,
form in Convention Hall to submit
the finished article. Warren's chief
coadjutor in polishing off the plat
form and removing the rough corners
is that veteran G. o. P. handy man.,
Senator Reed Smoot of Utah. Smoot-
was cloSeted with the am bassador for
hours last night. His activities indi
guard is palpably in eclipse at Cleve-<
land, it is not entirely snuffed out.
Treat Platform Lightly.
This Coolidge love feast, technical
ly known as the Republican national
convention, in solemn fact doesn't
care Boston bean about the plat
form. It rather thinks that placing
III, 80 ii -
pointing and alarm-viewing set of
planks is as unnecessary and time
wasting as gliding the lily. If there
had to be a platform this Amalga:
mated Association of Coolidge Com
rades would vastly have preferred to
take ten or a dozen of his pungent
aphorisms and let it go at that
Keep Coolidge" reads the legend
on the official convention buttons
That's enough of a platform for the
delegates. a thousand strong and
more. who will nominate him with
whoop on Thursday. But there are
other considerations that weighed in
the drafting of the somewhat volu-
m1nous platform which the conven-
tion VIII be asked to adopt. The su-
preme task that confronted its build
ers was to make platform on which
could stand both Calvin Coolidge and
the Republican leaders who lately de-
ned his major policies in Congress.
Coolidge and those leaders differed in
Washington. But. if victory is to
perch on Republican banners in 1924.
they must not differ at Cleveland. So
the problem was to saw and measure
planks strong and logical enough TO
give all concerned secure foothold.
The architects and carpenters think
they have done that, or will have
done it by the time the last tinkering
is over with.
1t has proved no child's play. How
to reconcile congressional opposition
to the President on the tax program.
immigration, the bonus and the world
court with Coolidges views has
taxed the ingenuity of even lawyer
Of Charles Bereher Warren's skill.
The happy medium appears to have
been found, for it is asserted that all
differences will be ironed out in the
resolutions committee. with no pros
pect of wrangling on the floor of the
convention.
Progressives to File Report.
Tho La Toilette delegation from
Wisconsin will submit a minority re-
port It Will contain the progress
sive" program which will be de (
scribed as the only kind of Republi &.
can doctrine which Wisconsin recog z:
nizeS But the Coolidge-warren-S
Smoot platform will be accepted byss
virtually the same overwhelmings;
vote ready to be cast for the Presi-s
dents nomination.
These may be set down as practi4 &
cal platform certaintieS: Z,
/. Virtual ignoring Of the thorpy
oonus issue, on the ground that ad-
Justed compensation has become laus
and passed from the domain of CON-
troverSy.
2. No argumentative discussion Of
the Mellon tax program, such as could
be interpreted as a breach betweeng
the President who favored it and theS
RepubiicanS who co-operated inis
smashing it. The platform viii conf:
merating the Republican adminfstra-
tion's record of economy and rededi =
eating itself to the program of tax
reduction.
No Anti-Klan Flank.
J. No anti-Ku Klux Klan plank. /
4. No light wines and beer plank
or any plank suggesting modifica- 4
ton Of the volstead law The plat 4
form will call for a policy of rigid /
law enforcement.
5. Advocacy of American entry
into the world court on tho lines
proposed by President Coolidge and
Secretary Hughes. with phraseoIog- I
ical concessions regarding our con-
tinued boycott of the league of ma
tions, such as will appease the 1
Lodge-Pepper anti-league senatorial,
group.
6. Ardent assertion OF the Repub- \
lican party's determination to help.
the farmer as soon as some sound;
and acceptable plan can be worke |
out. coupled with a subtle suggestion |
that the farmer should begin to help