Evening star., 1928-12-09
What Will Curtis Do?

BY the same token, some OF these
friends are hoping that Curtis will not
permit himself to sink into the obscu-
rity that Platt wished unsuccessfully for
Roosevelt. They do not want him to
disappear utterly from the news COL
umns of the daily papers They want
the country to remember that he is in
Washington. They want something to
appear about their hero besides the
highly infreQuent occurrence of the Vice
President deciding a tie vote
Coolidge found this threat of obScu-
rity In the vice presidential Office diff
cult TO Surmount There are those who
say he would have disappeared if Hard
ing had not died in his first term
There are those who say that if Hard
ing had lived Coolidge would not have
been renominated with him. Yet Cool
idge. as Governor of Massachusetts,, had
become national figure. The Boston
police strike had centered the country'S
interest on him and built up his popu-
larity to such an extent that when the
revolt against the Senate oligarchy"
came at the Chicago convention in 1890,
when the leaders tried to nominate
Lenroot for Vice President, it was easy
to start a successful drive for Coolidge
Coolidge fought this enveloping pail
Of obscurity as best he could. He wrots
magazine articles. He made a trip 20
the Pacific Coast But it is undeniabie
that he found few opportunities for
keeping himself before the country.
Who recollectS without considerable
effort any act done by Calvin Coolidge
while Vice President? Yet here is a
man who, given the opportunity, i'm
pressed himself upon the country 50
vigorously and SO favorably that his
election after little more than a year
in Office was a landslide, and who, it is
generally admitted, could have smashed
the third term tradition and been elect
ed again this year without the slightest
difficulty!
Sure To Be Regular.
No one doubts that Curtis will be
regular. But there is not much news
in being regular. That will not get him
on the front page at the countrys
breakfast tables. Still less will it get
him on the front pages of the more
sensationally inclined afternoon papers
one glanceS through en- route home
from the factory or Office.
He can lay few corner stones ano
receive a few prominent visitors, and
thus break into the news reels, but even
those will be for very short footages. He
could give sensational interviews occa-
sionally, but that would be more or less
breaking the vice presidential tradition,
and Curtis is strong for observing ira
ditions. Also, he diSlikes sensational
interviews. He has never been one OF
those to whom the reporters rush when
they want comment on this or that.
He always has been chary Of expressing
his views for publication, except along
the most regular ines-and regularity
is to news value as the South Pole is TO
the North.
No one doubts that Curtis will do
good deal to lubricate the Senate's rusty
machinery He will help it move. He
viii smooth out difficulties and maneu-
vsr distractions out of the way. The
senate will be, able to accomplish more,
La obably, than with almost any other
nlan III public life presiding over 1t.
t,Lt there will never be anything spec
Casular about this. It will be done
ladch In the fashion that Speaker
nicholas Longworth has worked in the
House.
Longworth's Situation.
If one will just examine that House
record since Longworth has been Speak
er he will discover exactly what Curtis
friends now fear. As matter of fact,
every one in Washington agrees that
Longworth has made a most remark
able record in that Office He has re-
moved friction and had things accom-
pliShed to an amazing extent. He has
performed as regular of regulars, and
yet the cries of the radicals have been
stilled. Not since he has been Speaker
has that old fight by the radicals for
revision of the House rules raised It's
head. Yet every two years before he
came in-fron the day the old Cannon