Date: April 17, 1928
Location: Washington, D.C.
(Original document available here)
The national head of the Disabled Veterans and Senator Phipps and Senator Waterman came in yesterday to invite me to attend the convention of the – the national convention of that organization, to be held in Denver, I think, on the 23rd of June, or about that time. I explained to them that my movements were rather uncertain, on account of the critical illness of my wife’s mother. If she should continue in her present condition, I should have to stay somewhere within reach of her. If I should be passing the summer somewhere in the West, or out that way, there might be some opportunity that I could attend that convention.
And what I have said about that applies to the possibility of my spending the summer at Lookout Mountain. That is one of the places I have under consideration. It is only one. There are quite a good many others, but it wouldn’t be possible to visit there under the present condition of mother Goodhue.
I have talked with some of the leaders of the House relative to the flood control bill. They are working on it with the interested parties. Of course, the plan as proposed by General Jadwin had $110,000,000 in it for navigation of the Mississippi. The other $190,000,000 was for flood control. The bill that passed the Senate is thought would run as high as $1,500,000,000. Now, taking the $110,000,000 out, it leaves $1,400,000,000. So that bill boosts flood control from less than $200,000,000 to nearly $1,400,000,000, which is obviously a very large boost. That seems to be due in large part to the attitude of those that are interested in the lumber companies. That accounts for a good deal of the activity about here. And while I don’t want to take any property that belongs to the lumber companies, or anybody else’s – couldn’t if I wanted to under the Constitution – without giving them just compensation for it, I don’t think that in passing a bill of this kind the opportunity should be seized on to put the Government in a position where it would have to endow them with very large damages. That is the difficulty about the bill; the main difficulty about it. I don’t know of any proposal that has been made, certainly since I have been President, and I doubt if any was ever made, of such an extortionate nature as that provided for in the bill passed by the Senate. I don’t think the Senate understood it, what its implications were, or what is behind it. It went through there practically without discussion. It had been brought out of Committee very recently. I doubt if the Committee understood what the implications were. If the administration was attempting to boost a $200,000,000 proposition up to $1,400,000,000, I think there would be a wide discussion in the press and a good deal of criticism. I should think it would be a fruitful source of exploration for anybody that had the opportunity to look into it, investigate it, undertake to find out what is behind it, and what the motives are that are supporting it.
I am going to make a short address of welcome at the Mayflower on May 16th to the joint Convention that is to be held there of the American Federation of Arts and the Association of Museums. I didn’t happen to mention that the other day.
This evening I am expecting to attend the concert of the Hampton Institute that is to be held at the First Congregational Church. Mrs. Coolidge will not be able to go, but I expect to go.
Citation: Calvin Coolidge: Remarks by the President to Newspaper Correspondents
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