San Antonio light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1911-1993, 1924-04-06
ONE HIRAM JOHNSON

The public IS tired OF and disgusted
by the manner in which the various in
vestigstions in Washington have been
and are now being conducted. 1t is sick
of the whole business and before long
will come to consider the United States
Senate as about as respectable an organ
ization as an aggregation of cheap ward
heelers. There is one service, however
that the investigations have performed.
That Is, they have enabled the Ameri-
can people to get something like true
perspective on the true character and
worth of Hiram Johnson of California.
When Johnson commenced his I'm
dig1ified canvass for the Republican
nomination he made declarations to the
effect that his rivals would "know there
had been fight" and 81 am going to
give them all the fight they want" and
other statements of similar nature. 1t
seemed to be the Johnson idea that the
Presidency of the United States was
something to be fought for, pretty much
after the fashion that a lot of toughs
might indulge in a rough-and tumble
fracas for the possession of dollar bill.
At the outset of his campaign Johnson
showed himself to be utterly devoid of
any proper idea of the nature and scope
of the presidential position.
His campaign has not varied In char
acter since it began. The man has never
advanced one constructive idea, or, in
any speech, so far as 1t has been re-
ported in the newspapers, struck a
single note that was not destructive Of
something or derogative Of somebody
He has nothing good to say of anybody
or anything except of himself.
His attacks on President Coolidge
have been the cheapest utterances that
have been heard in American politics ir
many a year. He realizes that the
President is his strongest opponent fol
the nomination and has lost no oppor.
tunity to criticize and villify the Presi
dent on any and all subjects. Whatever
the President has done, Johnson ha,
sought to cover with mud and slime
What makes his conduct all the NOR,
disgusting is that he follows this line o
procedure simply for the purpose o
making the American people believe, 81
far as he is able to make them believe
that President Coolidge is an utterl,
unfit man to be the chief magistrate O
the United States.
If Johnson holds this view Of tn
President, he is about the only man i
the United States who does. There ar
many hundreds of thousands of men VIII
believe in party organization and VIII
will vote against President Coolidge b.
cause he is the present high priest {
the Republican party, because they d
not like the Republican party, becaus
they do not believe the Republican part
has made good record at Washingto
since the election of President Harding
because they do not like the policies az
vocated by the Republican party, ar
for a dozen other reasons. 1t is safe
say however, that there are might
few voters in the United States who w
vote against President Coolidge becau
they believe him to be an unfit or /;
unclean man. He is neither one nor Il
other and the people of the United Stat
do not consider him to be so. TIL,
know better.
Tohnson's latest attack against Pre-:
Sent Coolidge is based upon the ia
that he has appointed Harlan Fisl
Stone of New York as successor TO A
torney-General Daugherty. There