MR. COOLIDGE'S CHOICE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIV, Issue 19736, 8 September 1927, Page 11

MR. COOLIDGE'S CHOICE.

PRESIDENT'S RETIREMENT. DRAMATIC PRONOUNCEMENT. AN UNEXPLAINED DECISION. [from our own correspondent.] NEW YORK, Aug. 10. The astonishment that greeted the announcement oi President Coolidge that he did not "choose" to be nominated for the Presidency in 1928 has now given way to a settled conviction that M?. Coolidge will not be persuaded into reconsidering his decision'. The President is a taciturn man. No one—not even members of his Cabinet — shares his confidence. Nobody therefore knows why he mado his dramatic pronouncement —"theatrical," one English commentator said, in reviewing Mr. Coolidgc's method of locking himself in with the pressmen, handing each a slip of paper, with the ten words inscribed on it: "I do not choose to be nominated in 1928," and then turning them out, without any comment on his decision. Tho nation was shocked, as it had come to believe that Mr. Coolidge, would accept the third term that was being offered hirn. Four Possible Reasons. Mr. Coolidge's action may be due to one or all of four reasons. He lost a tremendous amount of political support in vetoing the McNary-Haugen Farm Relief Bill, and, apart from a of financial aid for wheat pools, no compensating panacea has been forthcoming to meet the needs of the farmer. Secondly, he considers that what practically amounts to two terms in office is sufficient for a man whof holds very modest views regarding his capacity to fill the office of Chief/ Executive of the United States. Thirdly, the failure of the conference he called at Geneva to consider disarmament has been a lfeavy blow to his international prestige. Fourthly, Mr. Coolidge has, especially during the last few months, shown signs of wear and tear.

Tlie President's addresses have been noted for their candour. The average American does not respond kindly " to candour. Many felt the lash behind his academic phrases, in three outstanding addresses, in which he warned the people against intolerance, undue boosting while abroad, and incontinent spending. These have found it easy to console themselves for his loss.

Although the President's medical adviser says he is fit and well, his face is drawn, he has lost condition, and he has become somewhat nervous. From smoking two or three cigars a day, he has become quite a heavy smoker, with a partiality for cigarettes. There are other signs apparent in the President, which convince those closest to him that, he should take a spell from the cares of high office. Not since the war days has American international policy been so much under outside review as during the past two years. "Snubbing Prom Great Britiaia." Mr. Coolidge's eSorts in regard to international matters have beeu somewhat discounted by the fact that the people of America have little time for foreign affairs, although they 'reserve the right to critifiise. There are many thousands, tens of thousands, who believe that the demands of the United States at Geneva, which were made with the imprimatur of the President, were out of proportion to the needs of the country, compared with the needs of the British Empire. These are inclined to believe that America has got a bad snubbing from Great Britain, and blame the President for their'discomfiture.

That Mr. Coolidge's decision was made hastily is borne out by the fact that not the slightest rumour of his retirement leaked out. It is likely that members of his Cabinet got their first intimation of it from the press reports of the President's dramatic pronouncement. It is as if the failure of the Geneva conference, synchronising exactly with the date of the Presidential . statement, turned th« scale.