Coplay High School - Coplayite Yearbook (Coplay, PA)

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of tlx next President to establish confidence in his party. He must free it from those forces whose conception of the administration is to rob the public and to secure the aims of their party. These are some of the tasks which confront the new President. A person in order to vote properly should know something of the character of the candidates who are in the field. Let us then take into consideration the most important men and compare them, giving their ideas on political matters and their fitness for the Presidential chair. Among the most important and best fitted men we might class our present President. Coolidge is the most fortunate and most unfortunate of our public men. lie is fortunate that his past can not be attacked, that lie has reached his office through hard work and not through any discreditable means. His reputation as a president will depend entirely upon the way he handles the Teapot Oil scandal, lie may fail and lose the election or win and be nominated. He may use the Republican party as a tool to accomplish public ends. If the public does not find such leadership in the White House now, they will seek for it elsewhere. Coolidge then above other candidates stands in the best position to be elected. As another important Republican candidate we might place Senator Hiram Johnson of California who has established a good record for himself even though lie is not well known by the public. He has served six years as governor of California, as well as Senator for two terms. If he is nominated he can fight the election on his own personal record no matter what the platform of the party might be. This, however, does not mean that he is a man without a platform. He fully understands that a man without principles can make no effective public appeal. He is marked as a man who stays on the job. Golf has no attractions for him. He is a man of decision, not impulsive, but decisive. Such a record should give him a fair chance in the nomination. The Democratic party has come into power several times in the last fifty years due to the fact that the public suspected the private interest of the Republican party. No radical Democrat has ever been elected since the Civil War, but a sound liberal could restore the Democratic party. Among the names who suggest themselves we have Oscar Underwood and William McAdoo. Mr. Underwood has been before the public for the Presidency in 1912, but perhaps he was stronger at that time than he is now for he

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If the people at large, the women voters, the millions of church members, really want morality and efficiency in official life; if they really wish peace instead of war; if they actually prefer the reign of good will and fair-dealing in national affairs, they can get them. How? By demanding them and by letting those servants to whom they have entrusted their public interests know constantly that the individual and collective consciences of the nation are not dormant but alert and ready for action. The present situation demands patriotic not partisan action. If we are to preserve democratic institutions and maintain the confidence of the people in the Republic, their disclosures are in vain if they do not stir us to a realization of the absolute necessity to rid our political parties and this government, OF tin people FOR the people and BY the people, of these sinister influences. TIIE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION OF 1924. J. W. Peters THE time is rapidly approaching for another Presidential election. Political bosses are forming the platform of their party and preparing their candidates for the field. Various would-be Presidents are addressing assemblies stating their ideas and urging citizens to vote for them. The Presidential election is of the utmost importance, for by it we choose our executive for Ihe coming four years. The election to be held this year is of more than ordinary importance, for the next President will go into office confronted with such problems whose solution will depend, to a certain extent, on our prosperity in the coming years. It is necessary that we improve conditions for the farmer if agriculture, our fundamental industry, is to be maintained. Also a relief from the severe tax burden will be required. The next President is likely to be confronted with a coal strike and let us hope the settlement of it will prove the first severe test of bis administration. The main issue on which the candidates shall fight is an issue between government as a means of securing the welfare of the public, or the government as a means of promoting private interest. Both political parties have been seriously injured by the Teapot Dome disclosures and both need a thorough cleaning. It is the duty

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is not well liked by the prohibitionists or women voters. Mr. Underwood is a man of brilliant qualities having served in both the House and Senate. His reputation is based mainly on his mastery of tariff legislation and his skill as a leader. Mr. Underwood’s qualifications are materially the same now as they were in 1912, only time has more fully impressed the qualities that made him a leading candidate at that time, lie was also a delegate to the armament conference at Washington. Bryan has always been his bitter opponent and this might be regarded as unsuitable to him as a candidate when Big Business is likely to be an unpopular issue. Underwood is not a party man. He never hunts trouble, but when once in it, fights to the end. However, despite this fine record, Underwood has been before the public too long and is too well known to fill the President’s office. William McAdoo is also a promising candidate as can be seen by his sweeping victory in the Georgia primaries where he defeated Underwood by a two to one popular vote. It was stated by an Atlanta paper that this eliminates Underwood as a serious contender for the nomination. McAdoo holds a statesmanly and historic record of service to his country, being a tenacious fighter and having a heart winning personality. Another paper says that they cannot see anything strong in his victory and that some other candidate can be found in the long list of deserving Democrats. In the coming elections, therefore, the citizens of this country should use the best judgment possible in choosing their President for their decision at the polls this year will determine our national destiny during the coming four. PUBLIC FUNDS AND IIOW USED Hilda Artinger OF all the various problems of the government none affects and interests the people more intimately than the problem of taxation. Taxes are considered by some as a burden which must be shouldered by all people both rich and poor alike. Before the war taxes were normal, but during the war taxes have been increased considerably. Numerous surtaxes have been levied but are gradually becoming smaller as the debts of the war are being paid. It is one of the problems of the government today to find the means to remedy the present system of taxation without financial