Evening star., 1925-10-18
COOLIDGE DISPLAYS
MASTER STRATEGY
Davis and MacNider SeIec-
tionS Due to Please Middle
West and Former Soldiers.
BY DAVID LAWRENCE.


The smartest piece of politics since
the days of the last campaign, wher
master strategy was uppermost. has
! just been exhibited by President
! Coolidge this week in two appoint
ments-Dwight F. Davis of Missouri
! to be Secretary of War and Hanfort
Mac Nider of Iowa to be Assistant
| Secretary of War.
The success of a political maneuvel
is not always demonstrable at the out
set, but if the reasoning whicl
prompted the appointments should
work out as planned, II will remove
some of the principal sources of criti
cism which the President has lately
been facing.
Dwight Davis is a Missouri man
and the West has been clamorinG foi
recognition in the cabinet. Mr.. Cool
idge has been criticized for too much
New England" He had appointed
Harlan Stone to be Attorney General
and then elevated him to the supreme
bench and appointed another New
Ehglander in his place. When John
Weeks OF massachusetts, notified the
President, many months ago. of his
desire to resign. Mr.. Coolidge began
10 think of a Western man, feeling
that Massn chusetts would forgive him
if he didn't select a man from his
nome state to be Secretary of War
And Missouri Republicans have been
particularly anxious to secure a cabi
net port1 1olio because in two success
Sive presidential campaigns what has
been hitherto doubtful State has
been placed in the Republican cleo
toral. column.
Selection of MacNider.
Behind the selection of Hanford
MacNider of Iowa is another desire to
please the Middle West. But basical-
ly it was an effort to please the
American Legion and eX-service men
generally. This isn't because Mr..
Coolidge has felt himself weak with
the ex-service men ever since he We
toed the bonus bill, but because from
these eX-service men has been com
ing the largest and most enthusiastic
element in support of Col. Billy
Mitchell in his attack on administra-
tive methods in the Air Service.
While Col. Mitchell will be dealt with
by court martial for indiscreet state
ments, the President has been shreMd
enough to discover that the sentiment
behind Mitchell is by no means
negligible and represents d well de-
fined criticism of bureaucratic meth
DDS in Washington intensified by eX-
service mems experiences with Wash
ington during the war and since in
the handling of the veterans troubles.
Both Are Young Men.
Both Dwight Davis and Hanford
Mac cNider are young men, progressive,
active and influential with the younger
school in American public life. The
controversy over the Air Service is
in its essence hardly one of lack Of
funds for planes, as enough money
has been appropriated to absorb the
construction facilities of such airplane
plants as America possesses. 1t is
essentially a matter of administration
in which diminished personnel is due
TO small appropriations. But here
again differences of opinion arise as
to efficient administration with avail
able funds. The new Secretary of
War was instrumental in perSuading
President Coolidge to convoke Spe-
cial board of inquiry. He felt it would
bring out all the constructive criticism
and guide the War Department. Mr.
Davis has paid particular attention
to aircraft Hanford MacNider knows
from his war career, as we'll as his
experience as commander of the
American Legion, just what it is about
the w dT btpdI lllicIll tlldI
resentment out in the great open
places.
Mr.. Coolidge pleased his Western
political supporters, selected two en-
ergetic administrators to tackle a real
job of administration and made bid
for the support of ex-service men
conceded to be n wise bit of strategy.
And all this within a week after the
President had made = his dramatic
plea for tolerance at the American
Legion convention in Omaha, thus
bringing to his side many of the anti
Klan citizens who had been mis-
constituting the Presidents in
difference to the issue as acquiescenee.
Nineteen-twenty-eigh may or may
not be the Presidents object, but he
is leaving no stone unturned to make
himself politically strong enough to
pull through a Republican majority
in both houses of Congress in the
elections a year hence.
Copyright. 1921
The largest creature known, living
or extinct. is the sulphur bottomed