THE NEW PRESIDENT.

Waipawa Mail, Volume XXXVII, Issue 8405, 10 November 1920, Page 4

THE NEW PRESIDENT.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. Mr Warren J. Harding, the Presi-dent-elect of the United States, is 51 years of age. He entered life as a newspaper employee, and then, with his father’s assistance, bought the Marion “Daily Star,” a struggling little paper, which he energetically set to work to build up. It became a prosperous and powerful journal with a big influence, and is now “more widely quoted than any other paper outside the great cities. ’ ’ Harding was a member of the Ohio Senate from 1900 till 1904, then became Lieut.-Governor for two years. In 1910 lie was nominated as Republican candidate for the Governorship, but was defeated. He has represented Ohio in the Senate since 1915, his term as Senator expiring next -year. He is described as essentially a loyal party man, of great strength of character, and a great ability to make and retain friends. A recent biography says: “The Republican nominee is sensitive to the good opinion of the public. While self-approba-tiveness is a marked element in his composition, his caution is not from fear of loss of favor, hut rather from his abiding desire to be always found on the right side of public questions, and approved by believers in justice; and the ‘square deal’ critics see in this a lack of aggressiveness. But it is quite similar to the attitude of Lincoln and McKinley.”

In his election campaign Mr Harding declared himself as a champion of party government as against personal government, as conceived by Mr Wilson. In t-hc Senate debates last year lie opposed the League of Nations, hul voted for the ratification of the Versailles Treaty with the Lodge reservations, though, as he has once declared, “with grave misgivings.” Defining his international policy in the course of his election campaign, Mr Harding declared Unit whatever action lie might take in international affairs would lie taken in co-operation with the Senate, and promised “formal and effective peace as quickly as a Republican Congress can pass its declaration for a Republican Executive to sign.” When the peace had been secured he purposed, with the advice of the Senate, a new approach to the nations of Europe providing for mutual understanding in them, but one which could not possibly he misinterpreted as a pledge that the United States would take part in any wars under any circumstances except as it might freely decide for itself that duty demanded such action. The new Vice-President, Mr Calvin Coolidge, is 48 years of age and a lawyer by profession. Of old New England stock, Mr Coolidge was born on a farm in the village of Plymouth, Vermont. After a successful college career he was called to the Bar, and practised his profession in Northampton, Massachusetts. He has a long record of municipal and State service, and in 1918 Avas elected Governor pf Massachussetts.