Evening star., 1925-02-20
WASHINGTON OBSERVATIONS
BY FREDERIC WILLIAM VILE

These are the days when the Presi-
dent gets as many suggestions how
to run the country as the average
editor gets from his readers as to
how to conduct his newspaper. In
Gle Sans family are great letter
writer's. One OF the things they're
fondest OF is writing to the Presi-
dent. Every communication that
reaches the White House is read
though not all communications reach
the presidential eye or desk. The
chief 1istener-in on the voice of the
people is Judson C. Welliver, former
Washington newspaper man and
sole survivor of the Harding regime
at the executive offices. The presi
Dental mailbag .bulges these days
with counsel, advice and admonitions
from the plain people on the state of
the Union. They are pouring them
into Mr., Coolidge's ear-or think they
are-with a view to having him men
tion them in his inaugural address.
Welliver has a. good deal of discre-
tionary authority in sitting the
wheat from the chaff. Otherwise the
President would be inundated.
X y \
Chief Justice Taft and Secretary
Mellon are the most consistent anti
banqueters in Washington. 1t is
any of the countless dinner functions
which rage in Washington and else
where at this season, Mr.. Taft alb
stains principally for reasons of
health and strength conservation.
Mr.. Mellon stays away because. of
an innate dislike of crowds and
speeches. The Chief Justice is a nat
urai-born after-dinner speaker, who
exudes good humor even before he
- 49,
Treasury Is total loss as a post
prandial or any other kind of orator
He would almost rather have Con-
gress wreck a tax plan than have to
make speech.
In voting s5,o0o.ooo for the District
of Columbia public schools, and af-
fording them long-needed extra IA
cilities, Congress aids the only truly
national public schools in America.
That Is description the Washington
schools deserve, for their pupils are
to a very large extent the children
of members of Congress, Government
officials and others temporarily park
ed on the Potomac In the Federal
service. Many congressman, for ex-
ample, are remaining In Washington
after the adjournment and until June
to enable their offspring to finish
school terms.
Mrs Robert Whitney Imbrie, widow
of the American consul murdered IN
Persia last summer, is in Washing
ton. She had turned over to her the
$50, 600 indemnity the Persian govern
ment was required to pay for Maj.
Imbriets death, but her friends feel
that the peculiarly foul circumstances
under which he was dispatched en-
title his dependents to even more
generous retribution. At one time the
United States thought of demanding
at Teheran the $110,000 which it cost
to send u. s. 8. Trenton to Persian
water to bring home the body of Mai.
Imbrie, but this claim has not been
enforced. The majors admirers think
the money ought to be collected and
handed over to Mrs. Imbrie. The lat
ter is now engaged in completing her
late husbands biography.
DR.. Marion LIE Roy Burton, the pres
ident of the University of Michigan,
who has just passed away, introduced
new note into nominating speeches
at Cleveland last June. He eschewed
the hackneyed, he-man-who" style
of convention fireworks, and adopted
instead the Chautauqua manner of
talking to the delegates like q crowd
of home folks. The. Burton speech
will be remembered for at least one
pungent phrase. He said he was
4eing to discuss Calvin Coolidge
With the brutal frankness of blood