A USEFUL VICE-PRESIDENT

Yet another favorable sign of the future Republican administration comes from Marion. The Vice-President is to become more than a nonentity; under the Harding regime he will be an ex-officio member of the Cabinet. For many years the office of Vice-President has been filled by honorable men of little account, in keeping with the little responsibility attached; or by men of too much account for the political bosses--like Theodore Roosevelt, who became objectionably prominent as Governor of New York. The men who were elected Vice-Presidents were considered shelved.

Senator Harding, speaking of his plan to make Governor Coolidge an ex-officio member of his Cabinet, remarks simply: "It would be a fine thing, and I don't see why it hasn't been done long ago." The country will agree with him. It has no desire to see a man like Governor Coolidge wasting his time in Washington; the decision to make use of him is surely in accord with common sense. And "why it hasn't been done long ago" is a question that seems particularly applicable to numerous things today. Senator Harding shows all along that he realizes well the possibilities for improvements; he has started without delay to do things that should have been done long ago.