About $12,000,000,000 is due to our Government from abroad, mostly from
European Governments. Great Britain, Finland, Hungary, Lithuania and Poland
have negotiated settlements amounting close to $5,000,000,000. This
represents the funding of over 42 per cent of the debt since the creation
of the special Foreign Debt Commission. As the life of this commission is
about to expire, its term should be extended. I am opposed to the
cancellation of these debts and believe it for the best welfare of the
world that they should be liquidated and paid as fast as possible. I do not
favor oppressive measures, but unless money that is borrowed is repaid
credit can not be secured in time of necessity, and there exists besides a
moral obligation which our country can not ignore and no other country can
evade. Terms and conditions may have to conform to differences in the
financial abilities of the countries concerned, but the principle that each
country should meet its obligation admits of no differences and is of
universal application.
It is axiomatic that our country can not stand still. It would seem to be
perfectly plain from recent events that it is determined to go forward. But
it wants no pretenses, it wants no vagaries. It is determined to advance in
an orderly, sound and common-sense way. It does not propose to abandon the
theory of the Declaration that the people have inalienable rights which no
majority and no power of government can destroy. It does not propose to
abandon the practice of the Constitution that provides for the protection
of these rights. It believes that within these limitations, which are
imposed not by the fiat of man but by the law of the Creator,
self-government is just and wise. It is convinced that it will be
impossible for the people to provide their own government unless they
continue to own their own property.
These are the very foundations of America. On them has been erected a
Government of freedom and equality, of justice and mercy, of education and
charity. Living under it and supporting it the people have come into great
possessions on the material and spiritual sides of life. I want to continue
in this direction. I know that the Congress shares with me that desire. I
want our institutions to be more and more expressive of these principles. I
want the people of all the earth to see in the American flag the symbol of
a Government which intends no oppression at home and no aggression abroad,
which in the spirit of a common brotherhood provides assistance in time of
distress.
***
State of the Union Address
Calvin Coolidge
December 8, 1925
Members of the Congress:
In meeting the constitutional requirement of informing the Congress upon
the state of the Union, it is exceedingly gratifying to report that the
general condition is one of progress and prosperity. Here and there are
comparatively small and apparently temporary difficulties needing
adjustment and improved administrative methods, such as are always to be
expected, but in the fundamentals of government and business the results
demonstrate that we are going in the right direction. The country does not
appear to require radical departures from the policies already adopted so
much as it needs a further extension of these policies and the improvement
of details. The age of perfection is still in the somewhat distant future,
but it is more in danger of being retarded by mistaken Government activity
than it is from lack of legislation. We are by far the most likely to
accomplish permanent good if we proceed with moderation.
In our country the people are sovereign and independent, and must accept
the resulting responsibilities. It is their duty to support themselves and
support the Government. That is the business of the Nation, whatever the
charity of the Nation may require. The functions which the Congress are to
discharge are not those of local government but of National Government. The
greatest solicitude should be exercised to prevent any encroachment upon
the rights of the States or their various political subdivisions. Local
self-government is one of our most precious possessions. It is the greatest
contributing factor to the stability strength liberty, and progress of the
Nation. It ought not to be in ringed by assault or undermined by purchase.
It ought not to abdicate its power through weakness or resign its authority
through favor. It does not at all follow that because abuses exist it is
the concern of the Federal Government to attempt the r reform.
Society is in much more danger from encumbering the National Government
beyond its wisdom to comprehend, or its ability to administer, than from
leaving the local communities to bear their own burdens and remedy their
own evils. Our local habit and custom is so strong, our variety of race and
creed is so great the Federal authority is so tenuous, that the area within
which it can function successfully is very limited. The wiser policy is to
leave the localities, so far as we can, possessed of their own sources of
revenue and charged with their own obligations.