As I begin this story, I am seated in an old-fashioned hotel in a
small village nestled amid the hills of Vermont. I have come all the
way from the broad prairies of Illinois that I might catch a little of
the spirit of Calvin Coolidge.
In his autobiography, Mr. Coolidge wrote: "Vermont is my birthright.
Here one gets close to Nature, in the mountains and in the brooks, the
waters of which hurry to the sea; in the lakes that shine like silver
in their green setting; in the fields tilled, not by machinery, but by
the brain and hand of man. My folks are happy and contented. They
belong to themselves, live within their income, and fear no man."
Yes, and I have met the folks of whom he boasts, and in conversing
with them it seems easy for my mind to go back to the time when Mr.
Coolidge was a barefoot boy, roaming amid these beautiful hills. In
fact, everything about this rugged New England state, with its
farmhouses and barns that were built so many years ago, seems to carry
one back to the early history of our country.
As I looked upon the little country schoolhouse to which Mr. Coolidge
used to go, I thought of this story. One time, many years ago, there
lived a schoolmaster who had this unique custom. Every time he met a
boy who attended his school, he would lift his hat. When asked why he
did this, he replied, "Who can tell but that one of these boys will
some day become the chief ruler of the land; and inasmuch as I cannot
tell which one it will be, I must lift my hat to them all."
Surely if a teacher were to slight any of the boys, it would be the
one with freckles and red hair, for never before in the history of our
great country have we had a red-headed president.
Let us go back then in our imagination forty-four years and visit the
little red schoolhouse at Plymouth, Vermont, that was then better
known as the "Notch."
To reach Plymouth is not easy, for it is eleven miles from Ludlow,
which is the nearest railroad station, and the road from Ludlow is
rough and hilly. When we reach Plymouth, we are likely to drive by,
for the town is so small it doesn't seem possible that a future
President could have been born in such an out-of-the-way place.
The first man we meet in Plymouth is John Calvin Coolidge, the father
of our President. We soon learn that he keeps the village store, shoes
horses, collects insurance premiums, and runs a small farm. In
conversing with him, we discover that he is of staunch American
stock--in fact, he reminds us that his ancestors came to America in
1630, just ten years after the Pilgrims landed. In 1880, his
grandfather moved to the hill country that is now known as "Vermont,"
and for four generations the Coolidges have lived on the same farm.
But, we are not so much interested in the father as in the son, who,
we are told, is at school. As we approach the little country school,
we observe that it is recess, and the children are playing. Soon young
Calvin is pointed out and we try to get acquainted with him, but he is
silent and bashful. From his teacher we learn that he has few friends
and no enemies. Unlike the average freckled, red-headed boy, he is
rarely teased and never gets into a fight. He is so modest and minds
his own business so well, that the other pupils are inclined to leave
him by himself. Rarely does he play any games--not even marbles or
baseball. Later in life he bought a pair of skates, but was never
known to wear them but once.
Young Calvin had no brothers and only one sister, Abigail, who died
when she was fifteen. His mother also died when he was a lad of
twelve, but his stepmother was always very kind to him. His own
mother, however, was his idol and even to this day, President Coolidge
carries in one of his pockets a gun metal case that holds a picture of
his mother. Calvin's father, in speaking of his son, says that he was
always a great hand to work. He continues, "When Calvin was a boy on
the farm, if I was going away and there was anything I wanted him to
do, I would tell him; but when I came back, I never thought of going
to see whether it had been done. I knew it was done."
The following incident shows that he could not bear to leave his work
undone. "One night an aunt who was sleeping in the house heard a
strange noise in the kitchen. Hurriedly she put on her kimona, and
went downstairs to see what the commotion might be. There she found
little Calvin filling the wood box, for he had forgotten to do so the
night before. She tried to persuade him to wait until morning, but he
would not return to bed until the job was finished, declaring that he
could sleep better if the wood box were filled."
No doubt, were we to ask President Coolidge to recall some of his
boyhood experiences on the farm, he would tell us how he slid off the
old, white mare and broke his arm so badly that the bone stuck out
through the flesh, and how long it took to bring the doctor eleven
miles over the rough road from Ludlow to set it. Or, he might tell us
about the wall-eyed cow that the hired man hit with a milking stool
and so frightened her that he could never milk her again. Alas, for
Calvin; this meant that he had to get up at five o'clock each morning
to help with the milking.
After completing his work in the country school, Calvin attended the
Black River Academy in Ludlow where he graduated at the age of
eighteen.
One September morning, the next fall, Calvin's father hitched up the
old, bay mare and drove his son to Ludlow where the boy took the train
for Amherst College. At that time, the college had an enrollment of
only about four hundred students.
While in college, young Coolidge lived very modestly, paying only
$2.50 a week for room and board. His nickname in college was "Cooley."
We were able to learn very little about his college days. From one of
his professors, we learned that he never took part in athletic
sports, never danced, and attended but few of the social functions of
the school. We were able, however, to find the following in the
_Amherst Olio_, the school paper:
"The class in Greek was going on,
"Old Ty" a lecture read,
And in the row in front there shown
Fair 'Cooley's' golden head.
"His pate was bent upon the seat
In front of him: his hair
Old Tyler's feeble gaze did meet,
With fierce and ruddy glare.
"O'ercome by mystic sense of dread
"Old Ty" his talk did lull,--
'Coolidge, I wish you'd raise your head,
I can't talk through your skull.'"
While in college, his favorite studies were debating, philosophy,
history and the political sciences. His greatest achievement came when
he was a Senior. The Sons of the American Revolution had offered a
prize for the best essay on "The Principles of the American
Revolution." The contest was open to all college students of America.
Coolidge won first place.
After graduating from college, young Coolidge returned to the farm and
worked all summer. That fall he went to Northampton, a mill town in
Massachusetts, where he entered the law office of Hammond & Field.
Here, under the guidance of two able lawyers, he studied so hard that
within less than two years he was admitted to the Bar. As soon as he
became a full-fledged lawyer, he organized the law firm of Coolidge &
Hemenway.
From this point his advancement was steady and rapid. There were no
jumps in his career. In 1900, we see him City Solicitor; in 1904,
Clerk of Courts; in 1907-1908, a member of the State Legislature; and
in 1910, Mayor of Northampton. In 1912, he was elected a member of the
State Senate, and in 1914 was chosen President of the Senate. In
1916-1917-1918, he was Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts, and in
1919 was chosen Governor. He has been elected to every office for
which he ever ran. This seems strange when we study him, for he is not
considered a good speaker, does not resort to flattery, is a poor
"mixer," and is not attractive in appearance. But, possibly we are
tired of the show-window type of politician, who does entirely too
much talking. Those who know him best, admit that Coolidge has earned
every promotion by attending strictly to the work he had in hand.
An event in 1919 made Governor Coolidge a National character. The
Boston police force had organized a union and had planned to enter the
American Federation of Labor. Edwin E. Curtis, Boston's Chief of
Police, declared they had no right to do this. Three-fourths of the
policemen immediately went on a strike. The forces of lawlessness
broke loose and mob rule prevailed. Mr. Coolidge at once had nineteen
leaders of the police force brought before him for trial. He held that
the best interests of all the people could not tolerate any such
conduct on the part of the policemen. His attitude was so sound and so
firmly taken that he won the support of all law-abiding citizens. His
position also met the approval of the Nation and at once he became a
National figure.
While Mr. Coolidge was in Northampton, he married Grace Anna Goodhue,
a teacher in the Clark School for the Deaf, at Northampton. She is a
graduate of the University of Vermont. In many ways she is the exact
opposite of the President; she is vivacious, attractive, tactful, and
richly endowed socially. To this union have been born two sons, John
and Calvin Coolidge, Jr.
When Mr. Harding was chosen President of the United States, Calvin
Coolidge was elected Vice President. Upon the death of President
Harding, Mr. Coolidge became President, and so faithfully did he
discharge the duties of his office, that in 1924 he was chosen
President by an overwhelming majority of the voters of the Nation.
The American people like President Coolidge because, like Lincoln, he
belongs to the plain people. He understands and loves them; he is
modest, sincere, and honorable. Even as a boy, he had a purpose, and
willpower enough to carry it out. He works hard and speaks little, but
when he does, the public listens to his wise counsel.
[Illustration: THOMAS A. EDISON (On left)
The Greatest Inventor of All Time]