First Presidential Transatlantic Conversation, October 13, 1928

February 13, 2014February 16, 2014 / gouverneurmorris / 2 Comments

Pictured here in the Chamber of Commerce Building in Washington, D.C., from L to R: Don Mariano de Amoede y Galaremendi (Spanish Embassy, Washington); Under Secretary of State J. Reuben Clark; President Coolidge, speaking to King Alfonso; Walter S. Gifford, president of AT & T; and Joseph H. De Frees, chairman of the board, U.S. Chamber of Commerce. The man in the portrait above them is businessman Harry A. Wheeler, the first chairman of the Chamber. Thanks go out to Mr. Jerry Wallace and everyone who, through tenacious detective work, identified all the details behind this photograph.

The occasion this photograph captures marked two historic firsts: It was the first time a President personally used a transatlantic telephone and it was the first telephone conversation held between a President and one of Europe’s leaders. While the very first transatlantic service was achieved on January 7, 1927 between New York and London, the nation of Spain is here linking up with America via telephone technology, joining France, Germany, Sweden, Holland and Belgium in the ability to connect over a circuit of 6,500 miles inside of one-fifth of a second. The conversation between President Coolidge and King Alfonso XIII was flawlessly crisp, heard clearly on both sides of the Ocean and was noted as the best talk thus far experienced with such a device over so long a distance. President Coolidge had spoken to the leaders of Mexico, Canada and Cuba in past months but it was this conversation that made history.

After exchanging greetings, President Coolidge elaborated on the exceptional potential of the telephone and what it meant for future. Coolidge, speaking to the King, observed, “I welcome this added link, no less strong because it is invisible, between Spain and the United States. I believe it to be true that when two men can talk together the danger of any serious disagreement is immeasurably lessened and that what is true of individuals is true of nations. The international telephone, therefore, which carries the warmth and the friendliness of the human voice, will always correct what might be misinterpreted in the written word.

“Whatever brings our two countries closer is of value to us and to the world. This Western Hemisphere, discovered by the wonderful navigators of Spain, has always owed much to your country. The language of Spain is the language of a great part of the Americas. The fine traditions of Spain are the basis of the culture of a large part of the Americas and our friendship with the great nations in the South draws us closer to their mother country. With your country and with theirs the United States stands for the promotion of world understanding and peace…I am especially glad thus orally to greet your Majesty, because I know the position of great personal responsibility you hold in directing the policies and progress of your country. I wish for your Majesty a long and happy life and for your country all the prosperity and happiness which come from wise and benevolent leadership in all those things which make life richer and finer.”

King Alfonso XIII of Spain, painted by Philip Alexius de Laszlo in 1927. De Laszlo also painted a portrait of Coolidge (1926).

The portrait of Coolidge painted by Hungarian artist Philip de Laszlo, two years before the telephone conversation with King Alfonso.

To that, King Alfonso replied, “Mr. President, I thank you for the cordial words in which you do Spain the honor and justice to recognize her outstanding services to the Americas and I agree that we ought to expect from this new means of communication ever closer relations because of the intimate and more perfect understanding between the two peoples.

“I reiterate to your Excellency, with my salutations, the testimony of my most sincere appreciation and extend best wishes for the peace and prosperity of the United States.”

On September 21, 1976

February 6, 2014February 6, 2014 / gouverneurmorris / 2 Comments

While today marks the 103rd anniversary of Ronald W. Reagan’s birth, he would appreciate the focus not upon him but the reappraisal that is underway of an exceptional, yet far underrated, predecessor. A thoughtful admirer of Calvin Coolidge, President Reagan proved that “Silent Cal’s” economic model is anything but outmoded or theoretical: universal tax cuts spur growth and expand opportunity for everyone. The accomplishments of the 1980s, while by no means complete or consistent with Coolidge’s full record, demonstrated that moving back toward individual liberty and away from a massive government bureaucracy still works. It accomplishes genuine results, establishes peaceful progress and preserves opportunity to move forward and upward as free individuals. “Big Government” can only promise material goods without substantive delivery, disrupt social advances and destroy individual potential. Coolidge’s example — slashing tax rates four times combined with drastic annual reductions in Federal spending while paying down the national debt, $5 billion paid during his tenure alone — will work anywhere, anyplace, anytime. It only requires the will and courage to translate those principles into policy. The current administration, hostile to these proven precepts, continues to pull America further from its roots, the fertile soil of bold and disciplined leaders like Coolidge.

Heading into the election of 1976, as the nation stood poised to elect Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan (four years before the Presidency) took the occasion of his radio broadcast to deliver one of the most cogent expositions of why Coolidge still matters. His words, spoken almost forty years ago, ring truer now than they did at the time,

“The names of some Presidents are invoked by spokesmen of both political parties as ‘men for all seasons,’ epitomizing the greatness of America, Washington, Lincoln, Jefferson etc. Then there are Presidents whose names are brought in party circles, hailed as great but, if acknowledged by the other party at all with NOT quite the same enthusiasm.

“There are also two lists of Presidential names – one for each party, usually held up to view for strictly partisan purposes. Each party lists past Presidents of the opposing party as examples of that party’s terrible record.

“The Democrats for example get laughs by mentioning Silent Cal Coolidge. And truth is many Republicans chuckle a little and go along with the idea that he was a do nothing President. Sometimes I wonder if he really was a ‘do nothing’ or was he a little like a Life Guard on the beach who also seems to be doing very little when there is no emergency. If you take a closer look he is quietly being watchful.

“Cal Coolidge is good for laughs but not all of them are at his expense. There was the press conference where a persistent reporter asked the President if he had anything to say about prohibition? Cal said ‘No.’ ‘Any comments on the world court?’ – ‘No.’ – “What about the farm situation?” Again the answer was ‘no.’ The reporter said, ‘You don’t seem to have any comment about anything.’ Coolidge said, ‘No comment & don’t quote me.’

“Probably no President has ever lived in the White House and maintained so unchanged his previous life style. Which in Coolidge’s case was the simple, even frugal life he had lived on a New England farm.

“Shortly after he became President he sent his teenage son into the tobacco fields to work in the summer as he always had. One of the other workers surprised at this said to the young Coolidge, ‘if my father were President I wouldn’t be out here working in the field.’ Young Coolidge said, ‘If my father were your father, you would.’

“But while ‘Silent Cal’ seemed to be doing nothing as President, the federal budget actually went down and so did the national debt. Consumer prices fell but unemployment stayed at the figure we only dream of – 3.5 % which means everyone who wanted a job had one. Federal taxes were cut four times.

“The number of automobiles on our streets and highways tripled during his years in the White House and radio sales went up 1400%.

“In just the 5 years from 1922 to 27 the purchasing power of wages rose 10%. It was a kind of ‘Golden Era,’ in other ways. Hollywood would never again be more glamorous and there were giants in the sports arenas whose names are still legend – the Manassas Mauler, Jack Dempsey, Knute Rockne, The 4 Horsemen, Red Grange, Babe Ruth and Big Bill Tilden. No I’m not saying President Coolidge was responsible for them but they were larger than life figures that went with America’s place in the world.

“So what if he was a ‘do nothing” President. Do you suppose doing nothing had something to do with reducing the budget, redu’ing the debt, and cutting taxes 4 times?

“This is Ronald Reagan. Thanks for listening.”

Taken from Reagan’s Path to Victory:The Shaping of Ronald Reagan’s Vision: Selected Writings (pp.72-74).

Portrait of Coolidge with Rob Roy by DeWitt M. Lockman, 1931. Commissioned for the New York Historical Society.

The Coolidges in Florida, January-February 1930

January 23, 2014June 8, 2015 / gouverneurmorris / 1 Comment

The Coolidges in Florida, January-February 1930

Having visited Florida near the end of his term to dedicate Bok Tower in Lake Wales, February 1, 1929, Calvin, and his wife Grace, came back to visit the state from January 8-February 13, 1930.

They visited a number of places during their brief time here before heading West, reaching California by February 19th. In this picture, snapped on the 24th of January, Mr. Coolidge is touring the Orange Festival in Winter Haven while Mrs. Coolidge is not present, having remained in Mount Dora to plant a cypress for the local Garden Club that day. The Citrus Queen, Ruth Snyder, is presenting former President Coolidge with grapefruit while Mrs. Trumbull, wife of the Connecticut Governor and mother-in-law of Cal’s son John, samples an orange. Lakeside Inn manager, Archie Hurlburt, stands between them and at the far right of the photo, then-Major James Van Fleet, former head coach of the Gators and ROTC director for the University of Florida, Gainesville, watches the informal ceremony.

The same day, January 24th, Mrs. Coolidge remained behind in Mount Dora (where they stayed at Lakeside Inn for a month) to plant this cypress for local Garden Club, dedicating the Community Center.

The same day, January 24th, Mrs. Coolidge remained behind in Mount Dora (where the Coolidges stayed at Lakeside Inn for a month) to plant this cypress for the local Garden Club, dedicating the Community Center.

While the inscription is blurred, it was assumed that Calvin, not Grace, would dedicate the Community Building. As it turned out, he was out of town at the Orange Festival, while she planted the tree. Unfortunately, it did not last long being a variety of cypress that did not adapt well to the Florida climate.

While the inscription is blurred, it reads “Dedication…By Calvin Coolidge.” This is not actually the case. It was assumed that Calvin, not Grace, would dedicate the Community Building. As it turned out, he was out of town at the Orange Festival in Winter Haven, while she planted the tree. Unfortunately, the tree did not last long, being a variety of cypress that did not adapt well to Florida climes.

This note corrects the inscription on the handle but beware when taking the tour at the Mount Dora Historical Society Museum: They characterize Cal as too mean and rude to participate in the ceremony. They neglect to mention that he was not even there…but spent the afternoon in Winter Haven that day, as pictured above.