Date: April 26, 1927
Location: Washington, D.C.
(Original document available here)
There was no discussion in the Cabinet over the proposal to open the levees on the lower Mississippi, other than the report of the Secretary of War that he had a telegram from the Governor of Louisiana stating that they had such a proposal under consideration and the suggestion of the Secretary of War that the Federal Government hadn’t any legal authority either to approve or disapprove or assume any responsibility for possible damage.
Here is a suggestion about a summer residence in Wisconsin quoting some newspaper reports. I am willing to take any responsibility I can for newspaper reports. I can’t always be entirely responsible for them. It says that this was a report that I was to summer on Green Lake and might take the Mayflower there. This question here, I suppose, partakes of a newspaper report, so I don’t want to assume any more responsibility about that than I do ordinarily. It says Green Lake is 26 miles over land and says that the Mayflower is 2600 tons, I think it is 3200. I wonder how it would be transported over there. It says that the Welling Canal has a draft of about 14 ft. I presume that is correct, because, I had it in mind that the Mayflower could not go through the Welling Canal. I don’t know where or what the source of this newspaper report may have been. Perhaps what was meant was that some of the launches from the Mayflower might be taken up to that Lake. That would be entirely possible, though I have no doubt the Lake is sufficiently provided with boats and launches to minister to such sailings as I might want to take.
I haven’t made any decision about my summer vacation. Very soon I expect to send out some one to look over the different proposals and bring back some reports, and make a final determination about it.
There hasn’t been anything further done in relation to the selection of judges.
I have only observed in the most cursory way the press reports on the address that I made last night. So far as I have observed them, they seem to be favorable. It is my observation that if a president makes an address and it doesn’t do any harm it is a good address. You naturally can’t expect that a President would say much of anything that is new. About all I could do would be to assemble certain facts and arguments that have been made a great many times, but perhaps the fact that the President assembles them and restates them, puts them in a little more authoritative form and brings them to where the public can hear and see them, enables it to get in that way a little new information that it didn’t have before.
Citation: Calvin Coolidge: Remarks by the President to Newspaper Correspondents
The Coolidge Foundation gratefully acknowledges the volunteer efforts of John McLeod who prepared this document for digital publication.