Date: March 9, 1931
Location: Northampton, MA
Summary: Calvin Coolidge praises the contributions government officials make to our country.
(Original document available here)
The retirement of Chairman Legge of the Farm Board brings to mind the enormous amount of service, often accompanied with large personal expense, which the Federal government receives without giving full compensation. In both houses of the Congress, the courts, the Cabinet, the diplomatic service and the executive boards are hundreds of men giving their time and spending their money from a sense of public duty. They are great business men, bankers, professional men, and experts in many fields.
This is not the largest contribution they make. An even greater sacrifice is required of them in the public misrepresentation and abuse to which they often find themselves subjected as soon as they are proposed for office. We can understand the dollar-a-year man who served in time of war. Sometimes he was an object of attack, but usually he was thanked. These peace-time men show an even higher order of courage and patriotism. They are entitled to everlasting gratitude for the public service they perform. No one can contemplate them without realizing the reserve strength of our nation. So long as this great reservoir of public service remains we can thankfully believe that the foundations of this Republic are secure.
Citation: Calvin Coolidge Says: Dispatches Written by Former-President Coolidge and Syndicated to Newspapers in 1930-1931 (Calvin Coolidge Memorial Foundation)
The Coolidge Foundation gratefully acknowledges the volunteer efforts of David Wang who prepared this document for digital publication.