On Thursday, June 12th, in the United States, the Republicans
chose Mr. Coolidge as their Presidential candidate. The Times correspondent says that the Convention was one of the quietest on record, which is a fact worth noting as the Conventions are apt to be uproarious. Probably the reason was that the choice of Mr. Coolidge . was almost certain:. The Convention, however, could not be quiet all the time, and at the end, when the name of Mr. Coolidge was presented, restraint broke down. It is a tradition at these Conventions to withhold the name in the proposing speech till the curiosity of the audience has been sufficiently worked up, just as in the happy far-off days in the. House of Commons, when finance was not a lugubrious subject, the Chancellor of the Exchequer used to play upon the suspense of his audience. " Shall I give you a penny off the Income Tax ? Or shall I make it 2d. ? Or shall I go even further and, by retaining the present duties on beer and tobacco, make it 3d. ? " When the secret was out at the Republican Convention, the audience rose to their feet, cheering for ten minutes without ceasing, and sang " Onward, Christian soldiers."
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