Evening star., 1919-11-16
C1assed as Unique Figure.

II the governor becomes prominent
! in the presidential campaign, one way
or another, there will be just as much
| difficulty in analyzing or appraising
| as has been the case in Massachusetts,.
He is unique figure Massachusetts,
never saw a man prominent in public
| life like him. He may be compared
to a combination of country lawyer
| and city politician. But that ap-
| him just plain Yankee. with a sort of
city polish. and the description fits
better.
The governor likes to be called a
typical Yankee. Perhaps he wouldn't
care to hear applied to him the usual
But he was born on farm in Yer
| mont, spent his boyhood amid the
Green mountains, admireS the strength
and character of Vermonters, mar
| ried Vermont girl and has lived near
enough to the Vermont line to imbibe
the atmosphere constantly.
Nearly every public man likes to be
| called a. home body; to have newspa-
per writer's refer to the wife and chill
dren as an influence most intimately
concerned with success. Nobody ever
heard Calvin Coolidge toll Of the in
| fiuence which his wife or children
! nave welded in his career. Not that
he is ashamed to relate it, but simply
because he Is not that sort of man.
What They Tell in Northampton.
But they tell you in Northampton,
where the governor has lived since his
graduation from Amherst College that
Mrs. Coolidge has had mos to do with
her husbapd's success politically than
| the public can imagine. She is called q
| wonderful woman. not only as mother
to her children and housekeeper, but as
l adviser She ia
arly and of strongly developed political
| tastes. There is hardly a subject re-
garding which she cannot converse. She
has followed state problems with an
and every week during the legislative
session, when the governor makes the
trip to Northampton to spend Sunday,
| she is in the habit of going over his
business with him.
The Coolidges live in the downstairs
tenement Of double house. 1t is
modest tenement, such as the ordinarily
prosperous citizen would occupy. 1t is
simply furnished, yet with more than
pictures, which one seldom sees in such
| cramped quarters. and an air of old
| time refinement permeates the tenement.
| The two boys have been brought up
with the idea that they are entitled to
no more respect than other boys in the
! netghborhood just because they happen
| to be the sons of a former mayor of
Northampton. q former representative
and senator in the general court, a for
mer lieutenant governor and a governor
| soon to enter upon his second term.
Suggestion Leaves No Imprint.
| Somebody may have told them
perhaps their teachers-that their
| father would be President some day,
| but the suggestion has apparently
left no imprint. The boys were in
| structed early in their lives that they
should make and save their ipennies.
| has had q paper route for several
years and the other picks up many a
| seldom come to Boston. Nine months
Of the year they are in school and
| during the summer they are at work
or in the country or at camp.
but seldom finds the time to go. He
is fond of'strolling about Boston after
dinner, at night, before going to bed.
Often he is seen alone and with
cigar in his mouth. These walks con-
| stitute the only exercise he obtains in
| the busy legislative session.
Occasionally he enters an ordinary
restaurant for his meal, takes any
vacant seat, and. if recognized, resists
every attempt to draw him into con-
| versation. Those who know him we'll
] and he has dozen or more in
| Inmates in Boston-regard him as one
| of the best posted men on state and
! national affairs that can be found in
| Massachusetts. He particularly shines
| as a judge Of men. During the time
! he served as lieutenant governor he
, knew personally nearly all Of the state
officials and employees at the state
thoroughly and surprised his COL
leagues from time to time with the
| intimate information that he could
bring to bear upon discussions of
public interest He carried that love
Stepping Stone to oovernorship.
| From the day that the governor
was elected president of the Massa-
chlusetts senate his candidacy for
| governor was without question. Not
that anybody could ascribe to him ef-
forts to shape his political fortunes
in advance. He appeared Indifferent.
| Talking only when he has something
to say, and listening whether there
sonality has been puzzlipg to the
state at large. His success has been
equally puzzling. Men have voted
| for him in the past on confession that
the more they saw of him the less
they could understand him. Some
how, Massachusetts, seems to like the
thoroughgoing type Of Yankee
| the governor always has secured the
votes.
| Many persons have said that It was
t1resome to listen to Mr.. Coolidge;
but nobody ever accused him Of max
| ing a long speech when there were