Evening star., 1924-06-12
COOLIDGE CHARACTER
PARAMOUNT" ISSUE
Campaign Shaped Mainly on Per.
sonal Integrity of President
and Regularity
SENSE OF HUM0R ExT0LLED
Nominator Stresses This Trait to
Offset Popular View.
By FREDERIC WILLIAM VILE.

Ohlo., June l2-Calvln Coolidge goes
to the country on the twin issues of
his personal character and Republi-
can regularity. Convention events Of
last night and today made plain the
lines on which the battle of 1924 will
be fought. The frenzied enthusiasm,
mounting almost to ferocity, with
which the La Toilette onslaught
against the majority platform report
was rolled back was the real index
of the conventions spirit.
1t was the spirit of old-time stall
wart Republicanism-reac Re-
publi<anism, it's foes are bound to
call it-insisting that uncompromis-
ing loyalty to party principles must
be yielded by every man and woman
who considers himself or herself a
Republican. The convention cheered
itself hoarse at every suggestion of
that kind.
1t expects Calvin Coolidge to preach
that doctrine virtually to the exclu-
sion of the more or less stereotyped
platitudes, which comprise the ma
tional platform. 1t believes that AT
least the full Republican vote OF Lne
nation can be mobilized under tnat
banner.
Burton's Keen Analysis.
If the repulse of the La Toilette
insurgents hoisted high the nag OF
Republican regularity, the nominal
ing speech of Marion Leroy Burton
elevated to even greater attitudes the
personality of Calvin Coolidge as
campaign issue. Speeches placing
are traditionally personal and in
diyidual. They are expected to be
superlatively eulogiStic. But there
has seldom, if ever, been nomlnat-
ing speech which was so penetrating
an analysis of character as burton
N-ray of the President.
MY function is to present the man.
The emphasis must be just there
exclaimed the eloquent university
executive at the outset of his addreSs:
Coolidge the man, but even Coolidge
the boy. The speech was an avoWeo
attempt to place character even ABOVE
capacity as the prime requisite whlch
the people of the United States look
for in their President.
Cleveland has now shown IN a tnou :
sand ways that Coolidge VIII ng5t
the 1924 campaign boldly on hls ad-
ministrative record with congress.
He will lay less stress on the imme-
diate issues involved-bonuS, taxa
tion. immigration and the World
Cortland emphasize the fallures OF
support a Republican President in the
execution of his major policies
Stronger Than Congress-.
The President plainly calculates
that he is stronger with the people
than Congress is. He is ready for a
trial of strength on that score. He is
prepared to show that if he had had
organization support on Capitol Hill
in Washington, national needs would
have been more speedily and more ef-
fectively met. He will not shrink
from asking condemnation and an
nihilation of the La Follettes and
t.le brookharts, who, by wrecklng
party unity, made party achievement
impossible. In effect, Coolidge Will
invite Republican irregulars to quit
n1asquerading in G. 0. p. faiment and
permit real Republicans to legls-
late and rule in the party's name.
The convention having decided upon
for the Republican party, it became
DR.. Burton's task to prove that the
silent and cautious man from Massa-
chusetts is ideally equipped to lead
divided his brief into three parts
1.-The man, "the human being" and
"the American" There was notable
absence of politics in the nominators
delineation of Calvin Coolidge. There
were passing references to his best
known achievements in public life,
but these were introduced merely to
bolster up the character argument.
That argument ran through the
whole of Burton's Grafton, like the
harped upon it again and again,
though ringing constantly new
changes on the basic idea.
Has Sense OF Humor.
In a sense the nominating speech
was a plea in defense. Its purpose at
many points was to clear up alleged
misapprehensions of the Coolidge
temperament. There was, for ex-
ample, Burtons insistence that the
President, besides moral fiber" pos
sesses "a sense of humor." Everyb body
knows the stress which Coolidge's
critics, and often his friends. lay
upon his unjovial exterior. Burton
was at pains to demonstrate that
Coolidge humor does not find it's ex-
preston in "recounting incidents OF
ever-increasing triteness."
The country is notified that the
President lis not given to hflarity,"
but that his "humor is dry and de-
lightful" and is usually expressed
as sententiously as his more serious
utterances." 1t is probably the first
time on record that a presidential
nominating speech dweit so en-
phatically on a candidates sense of
humor. But it is evidently desired to
knock the props from beneath one
of the popular indictments leyeled at
. wi
From start to finish of his name
syric, DR.. Burton underlined char
acter, candor and courage as the
mainsprings of Calvin Coolidges
the nominator declared the nation
might safely rely upon the Presi-
dents possession of commensurate
capacity. Burton wound up his
culogy with an insistence upon Cal
vim Coolidge's "Americanism" and
described it as saturated with
humanity" and 'idealism."
Hints Foreign Cooperation.
There was a distinct and trans
parent effort to convince the coun-
try that the President is ready to
lead the United States into interna-
tional paths. by the methods of con-
ference and cooperation. provided
these do not take America down the
road which the League of Nations
travels.
The convention is ending amid
many external signs of fighting con-
fidence. There was a battle. and
punch" in the night session demon
stration against the La Toilette con-
tingent For a while it did not seem
a far cry from enthusiasm to vio-
lence. If the Wisconsinites had not
kept their temper they could easily
have provoked a physical combat.
The air was thick with the currents
that easily lead to strife.