The Washington times., 1931-09-30
COOLIDGE LIT rs
LOAD BORNE BY
BOTH PARTIES
Hoover. Endorsement Pleasing
To Democrats, Whose Fear
Of the President Is Least
BY WILLIAM C. MURPHY, Jr.

BY WILLIAM c. MURPHY, Jr.
Former President Calvin Cool
idge has finally done something
which is distinctly pleasing to
Republicans and Democrats alike,
His article in the current issue
of the Saturday Evening Post,
generally interpreted as meaning
he does not aspire to the Repub-
lican nomination next year and
will support President Hoover, is
the act which has brought him
that bipartisan appreciation.
To the Republicans, the elm.
ination of Mr.. Coolidge as a po-
tential candidate means removal
of the danger Of a factional
split or, at least, one factional
split. They have been appre-
hensive lest the draft Coolidge"
movement might get ou Of hand
and cause differences which
would ruin what chances the
party still has for victory in
1882.
Democrats Want Hoover
Their feeling now, in view Of
the Coolidge declaration, is that
the denomination of Mr.. Hoover
is practically assured.
Senator Simeon D. Fess (R0,
| kn NR
lican national committee, goes so
far as to predict that Mr..
Hoover's denomination will be all
but unanimous.
Democrats likewise are pleased
because they are convinced that
Mr.. Hoover will be the easiest Of
possible Republican candidates to
defeat.
Rightly or wrongly, the Demo-
cratic strategiSts are operating
on the theory that Mr.. Hoover's
name is so closely tied up with
the nations economic woes Of
the past two years that millions
of Republican voters will cast
anti-Hoover ballots to the bene-
fit Of the Democratic candidate.
Morrow Feared
There has been a real appre-
hension in Democratic circles for
some time lest the Republicans
should unite on some other can
didate, such as Mr.. Coolidge or
Senator Dwight Morrow of New
Jersey.
Either Of these men, from the
Democratic standpoint, would be
more formidable than Mr..
Hoover.
Mr.. Coolidge as a candidate
would evoke memories Of the
golden age Of a booming stock
market and general prosperity.
Mr.. Morrow, because Of his
advocacy of repeal Of the Eigh-
teenth Amendment, could be ex.
pected to make inroads into an
ticipated Democratic support in
the populous wet States Of the
East.
Neither Mr.. Coolidge nor Mr..
Morrow would hvae to bear the
burden of the disasters which
have fallen upon the nation
since the stock market crash Of
1929.
One Split, or Another
So real has been the Demo-
cratic fear that someone other
than Mr.. Hoover might be nomi-
mated that there has been q
noticeable decline in the volume
Of anti-Hoover propaganda issuing
from Democratic publicity sources
during the past month or so.
While the Coolidge pronounce
ment removes the possibility Of
one split in the Republican ranks,
it probably accentuates the dan.
ger Of another.
Progressive Republicans from
the farm belt and elsewhere are
expected to interpret the Coolidge
action as a consolidation of the
conservative elements Of their
party.
Their reaction may be a con-
Solidation Of their own forces
and a stimulation Of the move
ment for a progressive candidate
to contest with Mr.. Hoover in
presidential preference primaries
next spring,