At long last, after much effort on the part of some determined Americans, the White House is going to display the rug woven by Armenian orphans in gratitude for the United States and her leading role in the rescue, relief and friendship for those who survived the genocide perpetrated against Armenians in 1915. It was to President Coolidge that the intricate rug was given in 1925, an honor he cherished the rest of his life, ensuring its preservation through his son, John. The rug, displayed by President Reagan in 1984 and President Clinton in 1995, was subsequently put away and, despite countless requests, has not been allowed a showing…until now. A sincere thanks goes to everyone who refused to take “no” for an answer. It reminds us all of the devotion Americans still hold, as Calvin Coolidge did, for helping the innocent, standing by those in pursuit of freedom, defending the sanctity of an individual’s life, and supplying that spirit of good will and generosity that unite, not divide, us. It is also a reminder that when Americans rally together behind a just and noble purpose, nothing can stand against them. Coolidge would be proud.

“Instead of putting all the emphasis on the great amount of wealth our country has accumulated, some thought should be given to the amount it is continually giving away. These are our permanent investments on which the returns are most satisfactory” (Calvin Coolidge, May 4, 1931).

Keep posted at the Armenian Weekly

“We Must Turn Back Picketty’s Charge” by Burt Folsom

May 1, 2014May 1, 2014 / gouverneurmorris / Leave a comment

Dr. Folsom has another excellent analysis of the latest (and still just as devoid of substance) “scholarly” plea for taxing “the rich” so that government “helps the poor.” That “help” never gets to those who actually need it, does it? Folsom’s new article, looking back on the ground laid by Hoover and FDR in the 1930s, reminds us that there is nothing new under the sun and redistribution still fails every time. As Coolidge once said, “No matter what any one may say about making the rich and the corporations pay the taxes, in the end they come out of the people who toil. It is your fellow workers who are ordered to work for the Government every time an appropriation bill is passed.”

Phi Gamma Delta Conference, 1926

April 30, 2014April 30, 2014 / gouverneurmorris / Leave a comment

Phi Gamma Delta Conference, 1926

Leaders of the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity visit fellow member, President Calvin Coolidge (Amherst 1895), at the White House, January 23, 1926. L to R: W.T. Pangmon (Syracuse 1902), Donald Davis (Kansas 1918), Cecil Wilkinson (Ohio Wesleyan 1917), Harry White (Alabama 1916), Carleton Potter (Dartmouth 1918), Charles Anderson (Columbia 1925), Charles Eastman (Illinois 1906), Penfield Mower (Dartmouth 1904), Horace Brightman (Columbia 1902), Edwin Clattenburg (Roanoke 1902), President Coolidge, J. Earle Dunford (Richmond 1915), Luther Brewer (Gettysburg 1883), Ralph Cake (Oregon 1913), George Snyder (Pennsylvania 1900), Donald Canfield (WPI 1919), Clarence Williams (Reserve 1914), Frank Lee (California 1918), Danner Mahood (Davidson 1922, Virginia 1923), and Harry Swanson (Chicago 1917).