Evening star., 1925-12-09

Is Calvin Coolidge becoming wordy
as he grows older? His third annual
message to Congress is about so per
cent longer than either of his two
preceding reports on the state of the
Union. The Presidents FIRST encyclical
in 1923. when he had been at the
White House but four months. was a
model of terse statement. 1t ran TO
only lG12 pages of printed words. In
1924 Mr.. Coolidge required 17A pages
to tell Congress and the country his
views of national needs. The presi-
Dental message of 1925, just sub
mitted TO the Sixty-Ninth Congress. is
document of % pages. which is
Silent Calls" most verbose record to
date.
For the benefit Of that regrettably
large community which never takes
the time or the trouble to read the
messages of the Presidents. 1t may be
useful to state that Mr.. Coolidge
tabulates % topics as the ma jor
in alphabetical order: Agriculture,
alien property. budget. civil service.
economy. Federal Trade Commission,
foreign debts. foreign relations. i'm.
migration, mothers aid, Muscle
Shoals. national defense. negro, pro-
hibition, outlying possessions. rail-
roads, reclamation. reorSa niZation. re-
tirement of judges. shipping, taxation,
veterans. water power. waterway de.
velopment and World Court.
Mr. Coolidge does not discuss the
Nations business in alphabetical
order, put In the order of the impor.
tance each particular issue, in his
estimation. assumes. Thus nobody
will be surprised to learn that econ
my is once again the top-liner in the
Coolidge bill. The President elevated
the economy issue to that eminence
a year ago. and there 1t remains. Mr.
Coolidge's talent for epigrammatic ex.
preston Is exhibited in his references
power over the purse Is the power
over liberty" Is one of the typically
Coolidgesque feurishes. Economy is
the method by which we prepare to-
day. to afford the improvements Of
tomorrow Is another variation of the
theme upon which. the thrift-loving
Chief Executive is fondest of harping.
Those who discern a coming change
in Americas attitude toward the out
side world-more of participation and
less Of isolation-wili derive en-
couragement from the place and space
President Coolidge gives to foreign
affairs. Including the World Court and
our. European-owed debts. These
issues are dealt with in the President s
message Immediately after his refer.
ences to economy. the budget and
taxation. They consume considera bly,
more of Mr.. Coolidge's language than
his views on domestic economics re-
quire. There is undoubtedly more
here than meets the eye. The Presi.
dents critics are fond Of saying that
foreign affairs bore" him and COM
mand correspondingly little of his
real interest. compared to that which
he lavishes upon purely internal ques-
tions. There's little proof Of, that
contention in the message sent to the
Sixty ninth Congress. 1t Is manifest
that Calvin Coolidge has become a
deep student of international rela-
tions.
In no respect is the President S
lively concern in external affairs more
apparent than in the messages per.
suasive argument in favor of the
World Court, In 1929 Mr.. Coolidge
devoted hardly half page to that
issue in his communication to Con-
gress. In 1924 he bestowed upon it
mere quarter of a page. In the
1925 message there are three entire
pages Of reasoned appeal to the Sen
q