Evening star., 1924-12-19
COOLIDGE STRIKES
BIPARTISAN NOTE
Presidents Contact With
Rival Party Leaders in
Senate Hailed.
BY FREDERIC WILLIAM VILE.


Unobtrusively, but with plain indi-
cation of his purpose, President Cool
idge has marked the beginnings of
his new lease of power by a Signifi-
cant exhibition of -partisanship.
Within the past fortnight he has en-
Fertaiued at his private week end
parties aboard the Mayhower the two
outstanding Democratic members of
the Senate. Early in December Sena-
tor Oscar w. Underwood of Alabama,
late leader of the Democratic mi
nority. and Mrs. Underwood were
yachting guests of Mr.. and Mrs Cool
idge. over the week end Of Decem-
her Ills the President and the first
lady We're hosts on the Mayf1ower to
the present Democratic leader in the
Senate, Joseph T. Robinson of Ar
kansas. and Mrs. Robinson.
BY the initiated these episodes are
regarded as straws which show how
the wind is blowing and how it will
continue to blow. The President is
believed to be desirous of a broader
spirit of non -partianship in the spe-
cial field Of foreign affairs Both
Senators Underwood and Robinson are
members Of the foreign relations
committee of the Senate Calvin
Coolidge is. of course, a stalwart Re
publican. There is no suggestion that
lie plans any hartering away Of ad-
Nantages in either the executive or
legislative realm that his party is
legiumately entitled to monopolize.
View Like Y0ung's.
The President probably would sub
scribe heartily to the theory enunci-
ated by Owen L. Young at the New
tork banquet rendered to the Con
FtructiVe genius of the Dawes plan"
MT oung said he hoped the time
would come when the United States
would have "a partisan foreign
policy free from the horseplay Of do
mestic politics" He envisa ged an era
When state Department program
might claim the support OF United
states Senators without subjecting
them to the suspicion of being trail
tors 10 their political parties"
There were two occasions during the
Coolidge administration when non
rartisanship in foreign affairs would
nave been very welcome at the White
House. The first was the recommenda-
ton that America should enter the
World Court. The second was Japanasa
exclusion. Party politics has been less
10 blame for the Illustration Of the ad-
nlnistratiUn's World Court program
man interparty politics-that is to say.
lhe President has been fouted on that
issue by Republicans. not by Democrats.
1t is the old lTTeconcilable Senate group
within Mr. Coolidge's own party that, to
date. has kept the World Court scheme
pigeonho!cd and side-tracked in the
foreign relations committee Partisan
ship OF that kind. as well as outright
obstruction Of foreign policy by an op-
position party, has always hampered the
conduct of Americas foreign relations.
PartisanShfP Prevailed.
PartisdnShip of another kind was re-
sponsible for the overriding of the ad-
ministration's will on japanese exclu-
sion. There was every desire on the
part of President Coolidge and SeCre-
tary Hughes to safeguard the Pacific
coast from inundation Of japanese i'm
migrants. They We're confident that
putting Japan on the quota basis would
cffectually provide such safeguards.
Finally, they sought to induce Congress
to allow the State Department TO nego-
Late with Japan for exclusion, instead
of enacting exclusion by law. But par
tisan passions in Congress prevailed,
and the administrations program was
wrecked.
In consequence mainly of partisan
ship the United States has never been
able TO pursue that continuity of
foreign policy which the great Euro
pean powers. and even Japan. pursue
John Hay once said that the United