Evening star., 1927-12-07
WASHINGTON OBSERVATIONS
BY FREDERIC WILLIAM VILE.

The Old Guard dies, but it never
surrenders. In the present cruel war
those who refuse to capitulate are the
Republican leaders who today insist
that Calvin Coolidge is still a candi.
date for denomination. To them, ap
parently, the English language is
merely a random collection Of mean
| ingless phrases. They are devotees
of the Talleyrand school, which holds
that words are but contrivances for
concealment of thought. The Presi-
dents latest bombshell-his eleventh
| hour statement to the Republican ma
| tional committee at the White House
yesterday-is. to most men, about as
plain an avowal as he or anybody else
could make. He speaks of the can
ddate to succeed me-" He refers TO
himself as eliminated, He urges the
G. o. p. to busy itself with the selec'
ton of another candidate" He
means that he is out.
X X II
c. Bascom Slemp, erstwhile Of the
White House and author Of THE Mind
of the President" reads the Coolidge
mind-despite Tuesdays developments
as being still open. So does that
other persistent pillar of the draft
| Coolidge church, Senator Simeon ID.
Fess of Ohio, who was recently
spanked for his apostasy. Messrs'
| Slemp and Fess proclaim that If Cal
vim Coolidge is sufficiently urged the
Dartv's invitation will not be rejected.
They are determined to go on preach'
ing that gospel until the President pc
comes 200 per cent unequlvocai-unti
| for instance, he says, Il Will not run
for President in 1928" A sage WASH.
ington political commentor opines that
a we'll known region famed for its
| tropical heat will freeze over betore
ANYTHING of that sort is forthcoming
Coolidge is irrevocably out, THIS au
tboritv observes, "but he has an IN
hihition against the future tense Ill
stating his own Intentions
| Immediate effect Of the President S
withdrawal is undoubtedly gong 10
he the unleashing of presidential
hooms all over the map. Frlends oi o
Herbert Hoover, in particular, Will
clear for action on intensive mes
The Secretary of Commerce When'
ever henceforward he avoWs hlmsell I
candidate can no longer be chareeo
with "disloyalty" to his cablnet chlel'
Hoover today probably mas more
widely diversified popular stTehetn =,
than any man in the ne1o.
stretches literally from New Ehela @ NJ
T,kes To the Gulf. Hoover will not
b@Va a walkaway. His most formi
dohIe rival is Dawes. The Vice Presl
dent will be the eventual heir OF the
T,owden strength and Of the Hughes
strength as we'll. The race down the
| convention home stretch, as most
view it today, will be between Hoover
and Dawes. Other candldacleS VIII
have their places in the sun, but, as
SHOWS themselves would melt in June
are doomed to evaporate.
X X X X
Reconvening of Congress resembles
nothing in the world so much as d
class reunion at college Though the
recess separates statesmen from one
another only for months, they glad.
hand. back slap, elboW-grease, and
even hug, like long-lost fraternity
brothers who haven't mingled fol
decades. Such scenes were enacted all
over the House and Senate this week
THEY'RE the trifies that prove afresh
the real comradeship which exists
among politicians despite the recrimi
nations of elections and debate. Some
of the heartiest welcomes are ex
changed between present and past
members of Congress. Lame ducks
by tradition, are permitted to float
around the ponds in which they once
uuacked. AS birds once of feather
''ins" and outs flock together
Frank B. Kellogg of Minnesota, Viii
liam Alden Smith of Michigan, Gilbert
M. Hitchcock of Nebraska, Thomas P
Gore of Oklahoma and Richard E
Ernst of Kentucky were some of the
ex-Senators who trod familiar boards
the day the new Congress assembled