World Court--Pianissimo

Mr. Harding's new itinerary has an important bearing on the World Court proposal. From his action in cutting the number of his "set" speeches from twenty to eight or twelve, various inferences may be drawn:

1) That Mrs. Harding's health comes first in the President's consideration; he is unwilling to take her on a long and fatiguing tour. President Wilson's League of Nations proposal failed, perhaps--and again, perhaps not--because of ill health. Will his successor's World Court plan suffer a similar fate?

2) That, as opponents of the World Court freely suggest, the limitation of Mr. Harding's speechmaking is brought about by the solicitation of his friends, who do not wish him to have too much opportunity to refer to his proposal. If he made a return speaking tour, he might be forced into a heated defense of the World Court by the animadversions of opponents against his speeches on the way out.

3) That the President does not greatly care whether the number of his speeches is curtailed. He has announced his intention of not pressing the World Court proposal. Will he carry out that intention to the point of giving up nearly all mention of the Court?

There may be some truth in all three possibilities. At any rate, it seems unlikely that more than one or two of the speeches on his present schedule will be devoted to the Court.