The Coolidge Week

P: President Coolidge took some wind from political sails by forwarding to the Congress a letter from Secretary Wilbur of the Navy, who asked that a commission of experts be appointed to consider the submarine, the late S-4 in particular and safety devices in general, after the Navy's court of inquiry gets through at Boston. The President seconded his Secretary and suggested $20,000 for the commission's expenses.

P: When U.S. Marines occupied Vera Cruz in 1914, they did $45,518.49 worth of damage. Among other things, they were ordered to destroy liquorous supplies. Last week, perhaps out of his senses of justice and order, perhaps to keep the cup of U. S.-Mexican friendship overflowing, President Coolidge urged Congress to pay Vera Cruz her $45,518.49.

P: President Coolidge offered his hand, still lame from holiday exercise, at the Judiciary Reception. Some 2,000 justices, lawyers, diplomats, legislators and ladies came, saw, shook gently.

P: Mrs. Coolidge's 49th birthday arrived and with it: Secretary Kellogg and U. S. Ambassador Houghton (Great Britain), for lunch at the White House; a concert by the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, after lunch; dinner at Secretary Mellon's in company with the Supreme Court Stones, the Treasury Millses, the Senatorial Metcalfs and Binghams, the Yale Angells, the General Electric Youngs, the Richard B. Mellons of Pittsburgh, the Adrian Larkins of Manhattan.

P: Time was when court jesters got their ears stoutly boxed for following up a timely prank with an impertinence. Last week, though the technique had changed, the intent was the same when "those close to the President" pronounced Funnyman Will Rogers in bad taste. Having just served his country by amusing President' Calles of Mexico at Ambassador Morrow's behest, Funnyman Rogers, home again in California, performed in a nationwide radio program to advertise Dodge automobiles. During his piece, Funnyman Rogers announced that the broadcasting would switch to Washington, where President Coolidge "would say a few words." The "few words" that followed were typically Rogersian but the voice that spoke them so closely aped President Coolidge's voice that many a dull-witted radiowner switched off his instrument under the impression that he had heard the President actually endorse Dodge automobiles.

P: Endorsements which President Coolidge did utter last week, applauded the following:

The mechanical era. It would grow, it would prosper, thought the President.

Record "brokers' loans" by the Federal Reserve system (see p. 27). These indicated prosperity, not overspeculation, thought the President. On the strength of the President's statement, tumbling stocks steadied in Wall Street. On Main Street, grumbling was heard.

P: When the Senate is in session, executives nominated for office by the President must wait for the Senate's approval before taking office. But if the Senate is not sitting, a recess appointee takes office at once and refusal of the Senate to confirm him when it meets constitutes an ouster as well as a veto. That is why the Senate, when it returned last week from recess, felt that President Coolidge had forced its hand in the matter of Chairman John Jacob Esch of the Interstate Commerce Commission. Chairman Esch's term expired Dec. 31. Anticipating this, President Coolidge renominated Mr. Esch before the Senate's recess. Busy, the Senate failed to act. Mr. Esch's term expired and for two days the Interstate Commerce Commission was without a chairman. The day before the Senate reconvened, President Coolidge gave Mr. Esch a recess appointment, permitting him to return to office at once without danger of Senatorial delay; also, with less danger of Senatorial opposition, some of which was brewing over a recent Esch decision.

President Coolidge made ready to do what only four of his predecessors in office ever did--leave U. S. soil. (See "To Cuba.")