The Guardian And Evening Star, with which is incorporated the West Coast Times. MONDAY, JUNE 18, 1928. CHOOSING A REPRESENTATIVE.

Hokitika Guardian, 18 June 1928, Page 2

The Guardian And Evening Star, with which is incorporated the West Coast Times. MONDAY, JUNE 18, 1928. CHOOSING A REPRESENTATIVE.

Although the United States—groat Republic that it is—is to be admired and respected from many points of view, its methods of choosing a PreI sident hardly commend .themselves to ! ;he onlooking Britisher blessed with a I reigning royalty. Indeed, it would ap- ! pear to be more easy to choose a Prei sident than it is a party rep resell taI tivo for the post. The late proceedings ! at Kansas City whore the Republicans I have been endeavouring to select a sucs cessor of Air Coolidge, can hardly be I considered creditable to the greatness ! of the nation Politics in the United ! Staes, we are often led to believe,..takes | somo queer turns, and of late there has I been plenty of opportunity for action, j AVerc the occasion not so momentous ! to the life of the nation, the ! proceedings would surely savour ol I grotesque burlesque. Although the gathering were people of one party, it is evident the party is more torn asunder than any other political party under the sun. The vastness of the country accounts perhaps for its numerical'’divisions, but even allowing for that, the degrees of difference arc indeed numerous, and a representative to lit in with all the demands such a gathering might require would .surely be a super man. But in making the selection, the parties seem to work reversely. That is, the. meeting bears mostly what the candidate is not, rather than what he is. His failings and shortcomings arc magnified in a remarkable way, and the wonder is that in the end a choice is at all possible. Candidates after passing through the ordeal must, have very little character left and certainly a besmirched reputation. The individual who emerges from the ordeal has a great task to fulfil, or endeavour to fulfil, if he attempts to serve all his party. AVisely, however, if he becomes President, lie seeks to please himself. Mr Coolidgo’s record is largely of that nature, and so successful has he been that the party fain would nominate him for another term. Alt’ Coolidge professes to have had enough of office, and is prepared to give way to another. The Republican party is Evidently going to select Air Hoover as the party representative, and doubtless he is at heart Mr Coolidge’s own choice. Air Hoover has been before the country chiefly as a great organiser. He is a man of parts and has accomplished great work. His organisation work where relief is necessary in times of distress, has been outstanding, for it has been wonderfully successful. His probable opponent in the final choice for the Presidency will be Governor Smith, a pronounced Democrat with evident claims also for special consideration. The nation will soon complete the protracted task of selction, hut whatever the final issue, it still must remain a puzzling process to Britishers—this method of selecting a President There are times when comparisons are justified, and British people will be thinking themselves fortunate that their constitutional head is by a monarchy through less disturbing channels when the selection of a successor becomes inevitable. The national feeling in this respect is expressed in British communities when the anthem is rendered either vocally or instrumentally, and it is a reminder of our portion and fortune in life to he under a constitution while giving every security and serenity, also supplies us with a constitutional head who though not elected is of, by and from the peo]f!e in every sense, and enjoys the loyal support and good will of the nation at large.