The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1924-10-18
COOL IDGE.
FOUNDING
! myth
Progressives and Democrats
Make Gains, But Fail to
Break Down 9. o. r.
BY WILLIAM HARD.

n P@A1 SAAS S4AAAP0A6A WONA . S4AAVASA
10 its close, it becomes perfectly
clear that each party has retained
or developed certain advantages
which now are Of crucial interest
IN the first place for the Re
publicans the Democrats and La
Eollettites have totally failed "a
disrupt and destroy the so-calIed
Coolidge myth"
When the campaign began, the
Democrats and the La Follettites,
TO this writer's personal knowl-
edge, were sincerely sure that they
could break through Calvin Cool
idge's so-called shell Of silence
and prove to the voters that there
was no kernel inside the shell.
The theory was that Calvin
Coolidge was a thin-shelled empty
nut which it would be pie to
crack. )
TneOry FOum0 wrong.
This theory has not panned out
Calvin Coolidge remains as un
cracked and intact as he was
when the campaign began.
His n1ultitudes of rank-and-file
followers throughout the country
, are. just az sure now, as they
were then, that Calvin Coolidge's
silence Is one of contemplation
and not one Of emptiness and, that
inside his silence there is an ad.
ministrative industriousness which
makes the wheels of government
60 around well ana also 3 political
wheels from going off the track,
This estimate Of Coolidge, which
was held Ey his followers when
he was nominated in June, il held
by them firmly in the last weeks
Of October, Little by little, ac.
cordingly, the Democrats and the
La Fnllettites have abandoned the
effort to prick the bubble" of the
, Coolidge myth" They thought
they could prick II with pin.
They have not been able to break
Il with maIlet. The most not
able personal feature Of this cam.
paign remains the pernanence Of
the personal estimate formed Of
Coolidge by millions Of voters and
the strange effects of that estimate
In certain radical regions.
Radicals In West,
From some of those regions in
the West there will be najorities
Tor quite radical candidates for the
United States Senate and for the
House of Representatives, while at
the same time there will be quite
possibly n1aJorities also for Calvin
Coolidge for President.
Inquiries among voters In such
regions often reveal a state of mind
which roughly--and perhaps q bit
1ippantly-could be expressed as
follows:
I'VE feel terribly radical. we
would like, as William Allen White
aays. to tear up q couple Of miles
of the Sante Fe track. We would
like to. lynch couple Of bankers.
You just simply cannot know how
radical we feel. So we are going
to send some radicals down to Con.
gress to raise cain and the roof.
Just the same, however, it's q fine
thing to have something heavy sit.
ting on the roof so that the whole
building doesn't fly away. That's
where Calvin Coolidge comes in.
We calculate that as long as he
y there the cain-raising won't go
Tar enough to bust the Government.
So we are going to send radicals to
washington to make Calvin Cool
Adge 90 further, and we are going
TO keep Calvin Coolidge in Wash.
1ngton to prevent the radicals from
going too far. This may seem
illogical, but it's human, and it's
the way we feel, and it's what we
are going to do"
Where Coolidge Gains.
In other words Calvin Coolidge
Is going to win the remarkable
triumph Of acquiring q quite con.
siderable number Of votes from
voters who are against him on
many Of his specific conservative
politics but who want him in
Washington because Of the general
ultimate sense Of security which his
character or personality gives them.
1T is to be doubted II any man run.
ming for the Presidency in recent
times has received a moro extraor.
binary personal tribute.
Thus the Republican MANAGEMENT
on this point--which for them IL
the main point--must be admitted
to have scored q distinct victory.
They said that the issue was Cool
ldge. The Democrats and the La
Follettites took them up and said:
"We agree and we win break Cool
idge down personally" But they
have failed to be able to do so.
The Republicans come to the end
of the campaign, therefore, with
their main argument intact and
even expanded.
Meanwhile however, It has also
TO be said that John w. Davis has
won Q great personal triumph, He
has gathered to himself quite ex-
traordinary amount of personal es-
TEEN. In talking the other day
with the La Toilette leader Of one
OF our greatest States, this writer
was astonished to hear him say.
Ability In Conceded.
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