Evening star., 1933-01-06


the amusing things he did while Presi-
dent will be told and retold as White
House anecdotes.
Looking over the history Of former
Presidents there never was one of his
unusual personality and peculiar traits,
and according to a group of his asso-
ciates who were discussing his retire
ment to private life four years ago,
There never will be another President
just like Coolidge"
BY this remark it was not meant that
there would not be greater or more
beloved occupants of the White House
in the days to come. but that there
just could not be another man Of his
personality and characteristics elected
President.
Officially he was every inch the Chief
Executive, but behind the scenes, while
with the members of his household ana
in his private Office he was mixture
between a mischievous boy and the
sage OF crossroads general store.
Probably above everything else he will
be remembered by his former White
House associates for his quaint humor,
his fondness for story telling and prac-
! tical jokes, and above all else for his
laconic replies to questions.
All Respected Him.
Every one associated with him about
the White House liked and respected
him. Some few feared him because of
his sharp eyes, that seemed to miss
nothing and because of his severe look
and tone, which most of the time was
affected by him "just for fun
Coolidge was always fair and just
and reasonable in his requirements re-
garding work, and If for no other rea-
sons his memory will always be cher
ished by those who worked with him
during his administration.
In spite of popular belief, Calvin
Coolidge was no man of silence. He
was cartooned and generally described
as silent CAL" but, as a matter of
fact, he was silent only when he
thought the occasion demanded 1t or
because he '.just didn't feel like gab-
bing."
To be sure, he was temperate and
economical in words, except when he
was among those he liked or in whom
he had confidence. lie then would
talk freely. He seemed to enjoy max
ing funny remarks and to relate humor-
GUS stories to illustrate better his point.
He asked questions necessarily. With
real interest in the person to whom he
was talking.
When he preferred not to talk, or was
in silent mood, it was a painful and
impossible task for any one trying to
make conversation with him. This
economy in conversation was usually
exercised at banquets or other social
functions. Naturally on such occasions
he was the despair Of his host or
hostess. Even Mrs. Coolidge couldn't
break his silence.
Regarding conversation, Mr.. Coolidge
once said, by way of declining to COM
ment upon some public subject Of the
moment, You can't get into trouble
for something you never said"
Made Many Addresses.
Strangely enough, too, Mr.. Coolidge
made more than the average number
of public addresses during his occu-
pancy of the White House. But in pub
lie gatherings, especially Of a social
nature, he disliked talking unless he
really had something to say--something
he wanted to impart or something IN
the form Of message. This trait was
made evident once when he became
stalled during the drafting of speech
incident to some not very important
patriotic celebration. He put of the
Job as long as possible and then sum-
moned Erwin Geisser, his private
stenographer, and after quickly dictat-
ing about four paragraphs, turned and
gazed out the window for several min
utes. Finally, he faced Geisser and, In
rather pitiful tone, said, II have said
all there is to be said and yet am ex-
pected to say about a thousand words
more. Have you any ideas? No. Well
we will call it of for today"
The next day Mr.. Coolidge struggled
along until he had strung the speech
out to the required length. He was not
proud of his accomplishment and as
he concluded he remarked, This is an
awful waste of words"
But on those occasions when he was
| in talking mood he had real charm
about it. He had rare knowledge of
human nature. He seemed to enjoy
most talking on trivial and common
place subjects. Subjects one would not
expect President to be interested in,
much less talk about.
He never tired talking about his old
home in Plymouth Notch, VT, and
about the good times of his boyhood;
about his boyhood friends. He liked
to discuss the history of Vermont and
Massachusetts,, his adopted State, and
about the national figures associated
with those States. He loved to trace
his ancestors back to old Capt. John
| Coolidge, who landed on the Massachu-
sets coast about 10 years after the
| first landing of the Mayflower. He
dotted on politics, but his interest
seemed to be centered more in Massa-
chusetts and the days he was running
for Office in that State, rather than
national politics.
Discussed Many Subjects.
This writer was with Mr.. Coolidge
many times when he was in talka-
| tive mood, and has heard him discuss
variety Of subjects among them be-
! ing things such as radiators and the
| piping Of heat and central heating
plants; the best kind of paint for cer-
tain climates; trees, flowers, dogs, cats,
wild animals, horses, cows, milking.
cheese-making, farming and all that
goes with that life; styles of dress for
men and women; the price Of clothing;
| fishing, hunting, bees, tin dippers,
maple syrup; all sorts Of things to eat
and the best way to cook them; In
dians, Indian arrow heads and beads,
and the weather.
Most of these talks with the Presi-
dent were in the press room in the
morning before the arrival of the cleri-
cal force or the customary gIpup of
White House correspondents. Seldom
a week went by during his years at the
White House without a visit in the
White House from Mr.. Coolidge.
During talks in his Office, Mr.. Cool
idge usually sat with his feet perched
on a drawer of his desk which he had
pulled out FAR enough to serve as a rest
Always he was drawing calmly and
slowly on long cigar tucked in long
white holder. These talks generally
opened with something about the
weather. Then Mr.. Coolidge would dis
cuss some piece of news on the front
page of the newspaper fire, suicide