Evening star., 1925-02-27
Satirists Share Barbs
On Electric Horse.


the expense of the Presidents hobby
horse" have inspired editorial com
ment, chiefly in lighter vein, with
shafts directed by some against con-
gressional jokers and by others
against the White House horse. A
portion of the press takes occasion
to commend Mr.. Coolidge for his
economy" hobby.
Among the papers which ridicule
certain verses read into the Congress
sionaI Record by Representative Vim
son of Kentucky Is the Kansas City
Star, which says that such lines de-
prive their author of all "beneht OF
clergy" The Star continues: we
abandon him to the full penalty ac-
cruing to those Congressman who be-
long to the haw-haw school of Amer
lean humor." More severe is the con-
demnation OF the Hartford Courant,
which declares: Perhaps the worst
poetry that ever perpetrated in the
world was that Injected into the de-
liberation of the House the other day
on the Presidents exercise, which
exercise had caused a feeling of un-
controllable mirth to rise in certain
congressional minds. But no feeling
OF mirth ought to be held response
BILE for the kind of poetry evolved.
The Wichita Beacon aims blow at
the House as a whole, saying: 1t
may not be able to handle the Muscle
Shoals situation. 1t may not be able
to reduce taxes. 1t may not know
what is going on in the Veterans
Bureau or the aviation section. 1t
may not know what to do for the
American farmers. But Just give 1t
free rein to discuss electric hobby
horses and It is the greatest deliber-
ative body on earth"
A humorous vision of the Presi-
dents early days is given by the
Omaha World Herald. which says:
I'VE can imagine Calvin Coolidge lug
ging sap buckets on his fathers stony
Vermont farm and yearning for a
rocking horse. We can imagine him
registering a vow and keeping 1t ever
in mind as State legislator, as
mayor, as lieutenant governor, as
governor and as Vice President. Came
day when he was called to higher
duty. The old longing was forgotten
for the moment but it returned.
Again we see him in deep thought
He thumbs the stubs in his check
book, counts the loose change in his
pocket. A look of determination
comes over his strong face. he bangs
the table with his fist and declares,
in spite of his Puritan ancestry, BY
God, I'll do IT. And so the President
has a rocking horse"
Members of the cabinet share in
the humorous situation viewed by
the Huntington Advertiser, which
asserts that with Coolidge affecting
the life strenuous astride a hobby
horse and Secretary of Navy Wilbur
writing bedtime stories, we need not
be surprised If we hear that Secre-
tary of State Hughes has been seen
on the streets in a pair of bell-bot-
tom trousers" In reply to the jibes
the Minneapolis Tribune observes:
IF the Democratic punsters will look
into the matter they Will find cleo
trical hobbyhorses in every big club,
hotel and transatlantic line gymna-
sium. Thousands of men get their
exercise in this way every day. And,
II they will go a bit further. they
will find that 1t is an excellent way
to shake the oobwebs from the
brain"
A human touch is found in the sit
uation by the Peoria Journal, which
declares that the President was
never a hero of the people, but the
hobbyhorse may make him one"
The Journal continues: RPolitical1y,
to canonize man, the American
people must find the dross of COM
unique personality. His uniqueness
is his silence. His dross of every
dayness may be the hobbyhorse. Read
ing about it is like seeing him with his
collar of. Yes he has a neck like the
rest Of u.s." The Buffalo News believes
Representative Vinson gave the horse
an appropriate name, Economy, :"
and observes: THE country will have
no cause for complaint so long as
the President chooses to ride that
hobby" A plan to back Representa-
tive Vinson up to the mechanical
steed and then press the button la
beled snort and kick" is advocated
by the Milwaukee Journal.
Several papers take occasion to
emphasize economy" as the real
hobby. There are many statesmen
who can add to their popularity by
riding it occasionally" says the Okla
homa City Times. "On the whole.
the public seems well pleased with
his equitation," states the Kalamazoo
Gazette. "Strict economy is the win
ming ISSUE" says the Columbus Ohio
State Journal