Evening star., 1924-11-04
COOL AS COOLIDGE,
THOUSANDS WATCH
ELECTION RETURNS
WITH FEW CHEERS
President Sets Example for
City in Interested But Quiet
Reception of NeWs-Many
Seek Newspapers.


American citizens were being un-
scrambled into the orderly divisions
that would decide the nations
choice of a leader tonight, Calvin
Coolidge, President OF the United
States and Republican candidate to
succeed himself, sat complacently in
the White House and calmly re-
ceived the returns that spelled for
him his fate.
And the quiet man in the White
House seemed to set an example fo1
the thousands who jammed the
streets in the downtown part of the
city, or gathered in their homes and
clubs, and waited, like he waited, for
the final news of the result. There
was plenty OF enthusiasm, but little
noise. Cheering was frequent but
not the spontaneous outbreaks OF
elections in the past.
Sitting quietly in his library at the
White House, surrounded by Mrs
Coolidge and few intimate friends
the President exhibited little emo
tion, and with the characteristic
Coolidge calm" kept cool. And
the atmosphere of the White House
seemed to spread to the crowded
sections of the city only a few
blocks away, where the streets, II
spots, were black with an inter.
ested. if voteless, throng of spec
tatorS.
Have Common Objective.
| Ac fba b,,rnr,jpo 1riras norra5 o,,,
their fragmentary messages and bull
letins that gradually told the story
of the Nations trek today to the bal
lot boxes set up in every metropolis
hamlet and Squash Center" through
out the land, most of Washington
swarmed in front of newspaper offices
or at specially planned election night
meetings.
From Candidate Coolige to the plain
voteless District taxpayer. there was
a common objective: to learn whether
! chaos or calamity, peace or pros
perity, honesty or integrity and all
the other alternately alarming and
| cheering eventualities were in store
for them.
1t was a night mixed with emo
tions. AS each Offering of the great
national election drama was wrune
from the wire or radio in spasmodiC
and sporadic episodes. it was voci-
ferously damned and praised by par.
tiSan, though good-natured critics
What to one school of thought was
superb phase of the big show was tc
another the merest tommyrot.
Yet none allowed the distastefu
lapses to sway him from his deter
mination to see the drama through
in the hope that the climax might be
more to his individual liking.
! The native WaShingtOnian hv law
may have no personal voice in so i'm.
portant an event as ths election o.
this great democracy's leader, but h
demonstrated tonight that he car
make his voice heard in the final show
down. And it's the final act that tell:
the tale anyhow.
What the crowds downtown lacked
in potential voting power they made
up for in lung power tonight. As bull
letins favorable to one or the othel
of the candidates came over the wires
there were cheers that showed the
strength of each party's following, ant
it would have taken an expert vivs
voce connoiseur to have told which
coterie was the loudest.
! With streets cleared of traffic anC
special details Of police on hand tc
preserve order, the crowds gathered
{ early in front of newspaper offices
where elaborate arrangements had beer
made TO keep them informed of every
move on the electoral checker board.
Thousands at Star.
Thousand assembled in front Of The
Star Building to receive the lates
snatches of news buzzing into tn,
Washington headquarters of the Asso
ciatsd Press, coupled with the full
Western Union election service and tn,
reports of special and staff CORE
spondents, projected on d giant screen
They had the additional privilege o
listening to impromptu analyses of tn
returns by Frederic William Vile
noted political writer voiced through
remarkable new type of loud-speaker
Indoors, wherever the public is won
to gather, the election barometer wa
the main center Of interest. Politica
organizations staged private parties a
their headquarters to reap the harves
of their endeavors Hotels kept pa
irons of lobby and dance floor in toucI
with the latest developments. Theater
interrupted their programs to an
nounce, verbally or by screen, importan
bulletins Of the ballot check-up. Cafe
and clubs dispensed election news alon
with food and entertainment.
Even the realms of religion wer
invaded with the thirst for news O
the celebrates choice. At the Firs
Congregational Church, of whicl
President and Mrs. Coolidge are mem
bers, the up-to-the-minute develop
ments were announced by screen an,
! radio, while musical entertainment
! was interspersed.
Music lovers attending a commu
nifty center concert at Central HigI
School used their esthetic tastes t
listen to the swelling volume of tn
Voice of the People, as rendered il
e all its fullness through q radio loud
< speaker installed on the stage. Be
e tween times the L. S. Navy Ban
played appropriate selections.
e In the city room of The Star build
. ing a corps of reporters was KEEP
e busy throughout the evening answer
s ing calls for election information a
Continued on Page :. Column 60