Evening star., 1924-11-05

Il
Iwyer or business Inan-but by the
FAVOR Of that inScrutable destiny that
sometimes watches over the careers
e.! the chosen.
"CUOlidge Luck" Maxim.
coolidge luck has become
maxim among the friends of Calvin
coolidge. They accept it in the same
matter -of-fact way they accept the
rain, the sun. the snow or any other
natural phenomenon.
Calvin Cuolidgc's friends have put
him into office after office because.
first Of all, they liked him. and sec
"mdly, because they believe him
.'af", in the way that business men
ike 10 feel safe about their public
s"rVantS. He has acquired through
lifetime largely spent in public Of
ice . reputation for the safe, solid
conservatism that appeals to the av-
"rage business man too busy with
His own affairs 10 want to bother
watching a man in office.
The ancestors of Calvin Coolidge
settled in Massachusetts about 1880,
Or 10 years aftc" .iTrival of the
Mayf1ower n -.e Pilgrims. A
pioneer CONF j on the Charles
Rive. kuot. - Watertown. saw the
IL IcG: ii Mary Coolidge. Fifty
~ the Cooldges who lived
-. I'D west of the Connecticut
p Il hilly country. which later
90. diue the State of Vermont, and
They were the sturdy pioneers of that
section, and for generations the Cool
idseS have been farmers right up to
John c. Coolidge (the father of Cal
vim Coolidge), who was also a coun-
try storekeepcr, and who never took
part in politics. The mother. Victoria
Coolidge, was also Of old New England
ancestry.
BOyhood UneyentTuI.
calvin CooIidge's boyhood was no
different from that Of thousands of
others i'll New England. lie grew up on
the farm. His father owned the farm
aud worked it. He helped his father,
aS American farm boys usually do,
until he reached the age where he
wanted some higher education than
is furnished in rural Vermont.
He went to Amherst College. That
vas in 1891, and he was IS years old
II. completed the usual four-year
course, graduated in '95 at the age of
70 and, with a lawyers degree and
little money he set up d, practice in
Northampton, Mass. His career a
college was not marked with any
particular distinction. His marks
'tcre good. but no better than the
average. Frail of physique, he did
not engage in athletics. but led a
%;udious. somewhat retired life. He
made many friends, but no more than
the average boy.
The career OF Calvin Coolidge as an
undergraduates at Amherst College
can be inferred from the humorous
comment III the Olio of 1895, the class
Year book He was reticent young
fellow. not distinguished by any
number OF college houors, either those
attained through popularity or work
for the college organization.
One College Honor.
hfter his name on the roll of the
senior class there appears only one
item: Grove Orator. 1t IS the duty of
the grove orator to present a humor-
Gus speech on class day. He is
elected by the Senior class. That
was Coolidge's only office at Amherst.
The Rev. Tracy s. Griswold. Brook
!yn, says, He was a shy fellow, and
the class did not really discover him
until he was a senior"
The editors of the Olio of that year
rNclaim in the preface: 80 here we
ire-seniorS. Conceive, if you can,
Of Booth. Rocker and Coolidge ever
Icing more than subfreshmen.' The
President apparently did not take
things too seriously, although his
name is rot found among the more
iIlustrious bon -vivants of his class nor
on the list of Phi Beta Kappa.
And, although he did not take him
self seriously, he was not obtrusiVe.
He roomed with Robert II. Manner,
and among the questions put to
seniors in order that they might dis
plsy their wit was, "Why did you
come to Amherst" Manners answer
was, TO room with myself.
Practice Not Heavy.
In Northampton things were rather
Slow for Il young lawyer fresh from
school He practl ed with Indifferent
success for time and then came an
opportunity to become city solicitor.
The Job did not amount to much in
NORTHAMPTON, but it was better than
nothing, so young Coolidge took 1t.
He made little money, but he needed
little, as his tastes were simple, and
irugality was a part of his Vermont
ancestry.
Twelve years passed by and there
was but little about Calvin Coolidge
10 mark him as different from the
hundreds of other men in similar
station in life in tho small towns of
America. He was still in very mod
crate circumstances, living in two
family" house. for which he paid $35
:. month rent. In 1905 he married
Grace Goodhue, a teacher. Two years
later, in 1907, came an opportunity to
20 TO the Legislature. He accepted it
as he had accepted the city solicitor
ship. He served two terms.
calvin Coolidge entered political
life back in the year 1899, when he
was ~ years old Like many other
American boys he had, even before he
was able to vote, shown a deep in
1erest in the political history of his
country. In his senior year in Am
herst College in 1895, just before his
graduation with highest honors, he
won the first prize, 4 gold medal,
awarded by the Sons OF the American
Revolution for the best ESSAY outlin-