Evening star., 1924-05-01

whoIesouled and enthusiastic sup
mort is given by editors throughout
the United States to the recent order
by President Coolidge's secretary mr.
SIemp. to prevent the daliy TASK
of handshaking by the Executive
Many are the editors who recall that
no little part in the physical oreak-
downs of President Coolldges Two
immediate predecessors was due 10
the physical fatigue to which
President is subjected, no small part
of which is that OF promlscuous
handshaking. The only person who
comes in for roasting at the hanos
of editors in the matter is senator
Tom Hefiin of Alabama, who pro-
tested against the order on the floor
of the Senate.
Sensible people want the Presi-
dent protected from the time-squan-
dering attention of the merely curl
GUS" declares the St Louis POST
Dispatch; "the Hefiins need not be
considered" To which the Bay City
Times-Tribune adds, "The American
who stops to think about it will re-
joice because this country has a
President who will not permit ms
hand to be shaken and squeezed and
possibly disjointed by overardent ad-
mirers of the Chief Executive. With
q poke at Hefin, the Times-Tribune
adds, when he holds his next re-
ception We suggest that he put SEN
ator Heflin in line as an understudy
and let him do the handshaking.
with the conclusion. I'VE venture to
vinced that it is no schoolboy joke"
The Norfolk Ledger-Dispatch con-
siders the rule such good one that
it favors its permanent adoptlon as
a White House custom. 1t declares:
Sensible people will readily recog-
nize the necessity of the Presidents
conserving his strength for the duties
of his high office. The anti-hand-
shaking rule should continue in eff
feet. no matter who is the occupant
Of the White House"
To which the Duluth Herald agrees
and adds: eft. has always been unfair
to the President, and the practice has
been stopped none too soon. He will be
a very foolish President who ventures
to renew it" The American people
will be resentful for a while, in the
opinion of the Illinois State Journal,
which believes they will then rec
ognize the humor and the futility of
what President Coolidge has had the
courage to stop" The Milwaukee
Journal is glad to see Mr.. Coolidge
saving his arm this shock, and adds:
IIf he goes farther and uses one of
these contraptions which will let him
sign 100 commissions simultaneously,
so much the better"
Not all the editors are willing to
concede to the tourists even SO much
as the privilege of passing through
the Executive offices and watching the
President at work, as has been done
since the order was put into effect. For.
says the Chicago Daily News:
'It is to be hoped that Mr.. Coolidge
will not long permit streams of visit
ors to wander through his office dur
ing his working hours. That must be
distracting and a trial to his nerves"
To which the Waterbury Republican
adds:
at seems extraordinary that the
the same kind of thrill out of looking
at the President of the United States,
or a tattooed man in the circus, or
the only gorilla in captivity. win Jus
tify themselves regarding the first on
the lofty ground that in a democracy
it is the citizens right to fraternize
with the chief of state, and never see
it's analogy to the other two. By an
nouncing that he will do no more
handshaking, Mr.. Coolidge has vir-
tually told the sightseers that they
are a nuisance"
Undoubtedly the President had to
accustom himself to the experience of
being gazed at like a Gagged lion in a
circus" remarks the Duluth News
Tribune, "but IL he succeeded in doing
that, the new form of reception must
have been a great relief to him. The
Boston Transcript, however, sees no
objection to the passing procession
and observes, IF young people want
to file through hts offce ~ he reads