I just finished The Politics of Normalcy by Robert K. Murray, published in 1973. It’s a short book, but you have to be some sort of political junkie to read anything about the Harding administration. One thing I did learn was that Republicans in Congress from 1918 to 1920 had no interest in helping the Wilson administration solve problems. They desired a bad economy and hard times, believing that would propel them into the White House. Sounds familiar.
Harding died on a western speaking trip after visiting Alaska. He gave a number of speeches on that trip and made quite a few proposals. He urged a wise use of the nation’s natural resources, and called for federal-state cooperation in the development of water power. He urged the creation of a Department of Public Welfare to coordinate all of the federal government’s welfare activities on behalf of the American people. He predicted that Alaska would one day be a state. He called for the U.S. to join the World Court. He prophesied that if railroads didn’t increase their efficiency, bankruptcy and government ownership would result. He predicted increased development of commercial aviation, the automobile, and radio, and noted the need for regulation. He called for a national integrated highway system.
Finally, he expressed his belief that labor unions were beneficial and workers had a right to organize and strike. When is the last time you heard a Republican leader say that unions were beneficial? Come back, Warren G., come back.
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