Evening star., 1920-11-03
COOLIDGE PLAIN,
HAS CAPAC|TYAS
ASOUND THINKER
New England Furnishes First
Successful Candidate
in Years.

successful national political ticket. Gov.
Coolidge Of Massachusetts, today elect
ed Vice President, is typical Of his New
England country. A plain man with a
capacity for sound thinking because OF
simple living and native faith in the
fundamentals. He has proved himself
a courageous man at all times. His sue
cess at the polls today Is only a con-
tinuation Of his victories when going
before the electorate. Since his nrst
nomination for public Office. that of city
councilman in Northampton, Mass. he
has never been defeated for election. He
has been successful at fifteen elections
for various offices. including that to
which he has just been elected.
| Became National Character.
Though long a man Of distinction In
his own state, it was not until his re-
election to the governorship Of Massa-
lchusetts last fall that he became a ma
tional character, and he was returned
to the governors chair by an over
whelming popular vote that hinged on
a condition growing out of the police
lmen's strike in Boston. Gov. Coolidge
was steadfastly opposed to the strike.
which occurred shortly before his term
jexpired, while his opponent took up the
cause of the strikers
After the first night of rioting in Bos- ,
ton the governor ordered out the state
iEuard to patrol the streets, and char
acterized the strikers as "deserters. So
that the strikers never were restored to
their positions. In a proclamation of
September "a last he said:
There appears to be a misapprehen-
ision as to the position of the police Of
Boston. In the deliberate intention to
iintimidate and coerce the government
of this commonwealth a large body Of
policemen, urging all others to join them.
deserted their posts of duty. letting in
the enemy. This act Of theirs was volun-
tary. against the advice of their we'll
wishers, long discussed and premedi-
tated. and with the purpose Of obstruct-
ing the power of the government to pro-
tect its citizens or even to maintain its
lown existence. It's success meant an
archy. BY this act through the opera
ton of the law, they dispossessed them
selves. They went out of Office. They
stand as though they had never been
Iappointed.
His Ultimatum to Strikers.
There is no right to strike against
the public safety by anybody, anywhere.
lany tinle." said the governor, when the
riots were at their height II am deter
mined to defend the sovereignty Of Mas
sachusetts- and to maintain the au-
thority and jurisdiction over her public
officers where it has been placed by the
Constitution and the laws Of her peo-
II Gavin Coolidge was born under au-
spicious circumstances. for he first
saw the light on July 4, 1872, and
attention has been called to the fact
that three Presidents of the republic
have come into the world on Inde-
pendence day. His father. Col John
the birthplace of the vice presidential
nominee. Gov. Coolidge's mother died
when he was but twelve years old.
Completing the course in the pub
eS41 T.
lidge entered Amherst College at the
age Of nineteen years. and was grad
uated with the degree of A. B. in 1895
During his senior year and in COM
petition with undergraduates Of all
American colleges he won a gold
media! for the best essay on. '*The
Principles Of the War for American
Independencer
Read Law Twenty Months.
Choosing the bar as a profession,
the young graduate read law" for
twenty months in the offices of Ham.
mond Field. Northampton. Mass,
and was then admitted to practice.
He opened an office in Northampton at
once. and he is still in business there.
though most Of the time the Office
is occupied by his partner, Ralph W.
Hemmenway. Though governor Of his
state, he lives in utmost simplicity in
Northampton, occupying a two-story
frame house and sharing a party-line
Il
the local churches.
4 The first public Office which Coolidge
held was that of clerk Of Hampshire
county. being appointed to I'LL out the
who died. Refusing to be candidate
for the Office again, he returned to
his law practice and was shortly
thereafter elected to the Northampton
city council. While serving in that
capacity he was elected city solicitors
and later represented NORTHAMPTON in
the lower branch Of the general court.
Answering a popular demand that
Coolidge returned to Northampton and
was twice elected to that office. serv-
ing in 1908 and 1909.
With an ever-increasing acquaint-
ance and popularity. broader field
opened before the young attorney, and
ne was elected to the state senate in
l9Io. where he served with distinc-
tion for two terms and held the Office
OF president Of the senate for a time
1t was as member of the senate that
, he first became known to the people
OF the state at large, and for three
years after his service in the upper
house he was the lieutenant governor
OF the state, leaving that Office to be-
| come governor. During the war he
proved most able executive. and his
reelection came as climax to long
service for the state Of his adoption
| Attention Was Nationwide.
So intense was the issue Of the
strike during the campaign last fall
that 1t attracted nation wide atten-
ton, the general feeling being that
the issue Of strike violence was being
tried out in Massachusetts. Mere par
tisanship was smothered in the wider
question, and this was made evident
when President Wilson. sent tele-
gram to Gov. Coolidge congratulating
him on his victory, although the op-
ponent OF the governor had been a
democrat.
Though widely known for. his
speeches. which have run through sew
eral editions, Gov Coolidge is not an
orator, being a man of restrained en-
thusiasm. But his ,earnestness never
fails to impress his audience, and his
native shrewdness and dry humor
have made him much sought after as
| a speaker.
| 1t is rather as a writer than a
speaker that he is best known to
! thousands, and his epigrammatic way
] OF expressing himself has resulted in
his being widely quoted. His politi-
cal position may well be expressed in
| one of these epigrams, which follows:t
Expect to be called 'stand.patter,'
| but don't be 'stand-patter.' Expect
to be called a demagogue. but don't
as revolutionary as science. Don't
hesitate to be as reactionary as the
multiplication table,"
Urged for Presidency.
Admirers tried to induce Gov. Coo
lidge to become an active candidate
President. They had gone SO far as
; to open headquarters for him in
Washington and Senator Henry Cahof