Evening star., 1928-04-18
WASHINGTON OBSERVATIONS
BY FREDERIC WILLIAM VILE.

Draft Coolidge talk persists. Where
| 1t comes from, who is fathering IL, and
why 1t keeps up nobody knows, All that
Is certain is that the talk Is rife and
win not sibside The shrewdegt analysis
Is that AL Smith now appears so sure
Of the Democratic nomination that the
Republicans are faced by only one real
iSsue-which Of their candidates can
checkmate him in November. BY a
process OF elimination, the draft-Cool-
idge seers get down 10 the President.
Here's the way they're reasoning.
Hoover can't carry New York because
Wall Street" and the international
bankers" are against him. Lowden has
no chance for the Empire States IS
electoral votes because of mis- farm views
Dawes could make no showing against
Smith In New York because Of the Vice
Presidents McEary Haugenism and his
unpopularlty with organized labor. No
one takes seriously the ability of q. o,
r. fayorite sons-~CurtiS. Watson, Goff,
Norris or Borah--to smash Smith above
the Bronx. So. If "Al' ii the man who
has To be stopped, who else Is there 10
do the stopping except Calvin Coolidge.
who carried New York by over 100000
in 1924 against Davis and La Toilette
combined. and cut Smiths majority over
Teddy Roosevelt, jr, for governor To
i07 ,0002
Coolldge-d -drafters have a ready re-
ioinder when asked how the President,
In light OF his trio Of renunciatory
statements. can possibly accept renomi-
nation. Their flrst-hlush alibi Is that
Mr. Coolidge has never said he would
under no circumstances again become
his party's standard -bearer-~that he
has at no time indicated definitely any
thing but q strong preference not TO
run. Then the drafters bring UP the
heavy artillery~-~the kind they say Il
going to be used at the psychological
moment, for the purpose OF blowing up
the trenches of Coolidge reluctance.
They declare that, with Al Smiths
nomination by the Democrats in the
ofIing, the Republican convention viii
call Washington over the long distance
and say TO Coolidge: Mr.. President.
| you have got 20 come over into Mace
donia and help us. We are lost with
out YOU. The party solemnly summons
YOU to duty. You cannot refuse us.
You must run"
A. +A@
All this is predicated on the supposl-
| ton that the q. o. r. conclave will
promptly proceed 10 tie itself into n
| Hoover -iJowden or Hoover Dawes dead
| lock. Hoovers people. despite the
| "psychological" advance in Iowden
stock since the recent Illinois primary.
| are still confident they can put the
| Commeree Secretary over on the first,
or the second. ballot The Lowden-
| Dawes contingent comedies that It's
fight al Kansas CITY, In the frat in"
| stance. viii be 10 prevent Hoover's
| nomination on any early ballot. IL that
| can be done, the Illinois favorite-son
| combination holds that the Californian
| will be- sunk without trace, and that IT
/ will then be- I0Wden Dawes or Cool
| idge, Only one more dFaft-cOolldge
| thought requires mention Senator
| Fess' temporary chairmanship at Kan
| sag City Is being interpreted as mran~
| ing that Cal viii consent 10 be eoaxed.
70 the 30 0000~odd poatmasters Of the
country the United States Civil Service
| Commission has just mailed out poster
| headed Warning" IL adm0nishes
all Federal employees, especially postal
officials, against political aetiyity "in
| city, county, State OF national elections
| whether primary or regular" The
| warning II issued periodically, but Presl-
| DENT IIeming and hia fellow eUmnls-
| sionefs thought the approach of the 1919
| campaign makes It's repetition at THIS
/ time desirable Recipients Of the decree
| are asked 90 post II "c0nspleuousiy =
| They are reminded that competitive
employees, while retaining the right tn
| vote and TO express privately thelE
opinions on political subjects, are for
| hidden 10 take part IN political manage"
nent OF Ia political campaigns How
| far these instructions are 0beyed by men
| aud women who OWE their Jobs 10 poll
| tieians seeking denomination OF re-elee-
| ton we'll. that's horse of another
| color.
n II
! A statesman on Capitol Hill was res
Gently holding forth at a Washington
function, for ihe benefit nf woman
liatenaT. nn the ubiquitous topic 0G Eiftil