Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1923-08-06

vi lls
Is Master of Detail.
Calvin Coolidge Is so utterly different
from the usual run of politicians that
most people wonder how it was that
he succeeded. In personal appear
ance he is no Beau Brummel. He is
of the average height, thin and wiry
of body. with a sharp, angular nose,
blue-eyed and authenticated. His
long pointed fingers denote a man
who loves to investigate every prob
lem he is called upon to consider. He
is a raster Of detail. This he is
proving since he came to Washing
ton as President and took up the
reins of government which fell from
the hands of Warren Harding when
the latter passed away in San Fran
cisco.
Most Presidents of the United States
would have been satisfied to have
summoned their military AIDES ana
secretaries. outlined what they want
ed done in the nations tribute to their
dead predecessor and permitted the
subordinates to have worked out the
details. Not so with Calvin Coolidge
He has taken personal charge of the
funeral arrangements of President
Harding. and every little detail has
been worked out by him or received
his personal direction. Calvin Cool
idge is one OF those old-fashioned
men who cling to the idea that II you
want anything done we'll do 1t your
self, and you are certain that II Is
done and done right.
Honesty ConviBces.
The new President is not an elo-
ouent public speaker and yet moro
people would go to hear Coolidge
make a speech in his home state
than would turn out to hear A
grandiloquent spellbinder. They go
because they know what he has TO
say. he says in such a. way that 1T
impreSses them, and. what is more,
they remember most of the things he
saws He gives them something TO
think about. He convinces them that
he is honest He is always willing to
allow somebody else to wave the flag
and beat the tom-toms. Facts are
his hobby.
Most people think that President
Coolidge is shy. but he is not A
lot of folks believe that he is timid.
He is not. 1t is true that Calvin
upon his sleeve, but folks up around
Northampton, Mass. his home town.
know that he has a heart as big as
an OK He Is chock full of sentt-
ment. but he is not lachrymose. His
word is as good as his bond. IL Cal
vim COOllONS tGllS SeHdlot vi Z"
representative that John Smith Will be
appointed postmaster they can go
home and not waste any waking mo-
ments on that promise. II Will be
redeemed.
Is Deeply Religious.
President Coolidge is a deeply re-
ligiouS man. His accession to the
presidency will be hailed with JOY by
od-fearing men and women. but Cal
10; 90 rfaS his religion and
not his sectarianism into his public
life He has never been ashamed to
acknowledge his religious convictions
not in any narrow sense, for no
American Is more tolerant In these
matters than the new Chief Executive.
Yet one can sense the deep religious
side of his nature when his last act
before leaving his ancestral home up
in the hills of Vermont after he had
been sworn in as President of the
United States. was TO VISIT the n.tIs
family cemetery back of his :boyhood
home, where five generations of Cool
idges are laid to rest, to pay homage
to his mother. With uncovered head
alone under the clear blue sky he
spent several minutes beside her
grave communing with his creator
and the spirit of his mother
Like Lincoln and all great men. Cal
vim Coolidge has a deep yeneration
for the memory of his mother. Like
Lincoln's mother. Mrs. Coolidge died
when Calvin was small boy. but he
always has her in mind. When he
was Governor of Massachusetts there
used to stand on his big, fiat mahog-
any desk at the State House little
old daguerreotype of his mother.
When confronted with a difficult state
problem it was to that little old pic
ture that he turned for inspiration,
guidance and advice. Her memory to
him Is the sweetest thing in his life,
together with his beautiful and ac-
wife. his two manly boys
and a noble father whose Yankee
modesty' prevents him from publicly
speaking in praise of his gifted son.
.Raised" on Farm.
tened John Calvin Coolidge. was
raised" on a Vermont farm. as they
say in the Green Mountain state. He
knows the trials and tribulations of
the dirt farmer. There is not any
thing done on a farm that he can
and raking hay in the field near his
fathers home the dav before Presf-
dent Harding died. The way he
handled the horse and the hay rake
and the manner in which he drove
his three tine fork into the win
drows of new-mown hay proved that
he was a haymaker par excellence.
He can milk a COW. drive a yoke Of
oxen. handle an AK like. woodsman
and swing a scythe with the best Of
same day that when Calvin was at
home in his college days he was
worth any two men the old gentle
man could hire.
Won College Honors.
When young Coolidge went to col
lege at Amherst he attracted atten-
ton and comment for the same rea-
CO. ho he III 80
public life. He was different from
the run OF students. He wasted no
time on athletics. but he did study
hard, and the honors he brought
home proved 1t. He was the orator
hs won year al Gold ed ms so ahe
best essay submitted by college grad
yates that year on American history.
With his characteristic modesty, the
essayist told none of his friends Of
that one of the partners in the firm
where he was studying law read an
item about 1T in the local Springfield
paper nobody would have known 1t!
Calvin Coolidge could not afford
to enter law school to study law.
He fitted himself for the Massachu-
sets bar in a law office in North
ampton. doing clerical work and
running errands in payment for his
instruction. With little help fnan-
CiaIly from MS farmer-sherin father,
he mastered enough law to be ad-
mitted to practice, hung out his
shingle in Northampton and lived
on his income. Living within his
income and saving a little besides,
1t may be noted. has been one of
his rules of life. 1t was in North
ampton that he wooed and won Grace
Goodhue. a bright, vivacious school
teacher from Burlington, VT, anu
this gracious, kindly woman is now
the first lady Of the land.
In the same little Massachusetts
city Calvin Coolidge started on his
meteoric political career. which has