Date: August 10, 1928
Location: Superior, WI
(Original document available here)
I haven’t any information from the State Department about any other countries adhering to the peace treaties, except the expression and the hope that others will adhere.
I don’t know just what date I am going to visit Duluth. Arrangements are being made by the office here and the secret service men and the same about the trip to the Apostle Islands. That is being looked up to see whether it is feasible. I do not expect to go to the log rolling contest at Washburn.
I think that the court has appointed a U. S. Marshall for the western district of Wisconsin and that being so I don’t expect to take any action in relation to it until the Senate is in session, so that they can make a confirmation.
I don’t know about the items included in the general sums for the budget estimates for 1930. There will be so much allocated to the legislative department, so much to the different departments, and how the departments are planning to spend the sums allocated I do not know. This preliminary estimate will be sent back to the departments. I have allocated so much to them and then they take the amounts and undertake to frame their bill saying that they are going to spend so much for each activity pretty much as they desire.
It is too soon to say what could be done as the result of the peace treaties relative to our national defense. It would be better to wait and see whether the peace treaties are signed and ratified by the Senate before we begin to discuss hypothetical conditions that may arise as the result of their adoption. This of course is to be kept in mind — that these treaties that are being made are treaties in which they agree not to attack each other and have very little to do with national defense, so that so far as our country is concerned the peace treaties would have little effect on the Army and the Navy, because our Army and Navy are maintained entirely for defensive purposes and not with the idea of attacking anybody.
I don’t know of any important visitors that are likely to come in the near future. I have had some interesting visitors this morning, but I assume the press saw all those that came in, there is a list of them there, especially the Committee of Congress which was here, and Rep. Frear of this State came up with a delegation of the Bar Association of Pierce and St. Croix counties. Mr. Frear was very helpful to me last spring on the flood control bill.
I haven’t received any additional information concerning a proposed naval limitation between Great Britain and France that would enable me to add anything to the comment I made the other day, which was to the effect that I was pleased to know that France and Great Britain were able to agree on a limitation and I do not know whether it would be of any particular interest to us.
I don’t know the purpose that the British had in submitting the proposed peace treaty to the League of Nations. Perhaps it was with a view of interesting the different governments that are signatories of the covenant of the League of Nations to join in this treaty. Not knowing what the purpose was, it is not possible for me to comment on it. There is a provision in the league covenant that requires all treaties that members of the League make to be filed at the Secretariat of the League, but I think it does not apply to the treaty until it has been made. And there are certain limitations I should say in the covenant of the League concerning the kind of treaties that can be made. Perhaps this was submitted with the idea of finding out whether the League had any objection to the members of the League, certain members, entering into a treaty of this kind. I can’t conceive of any objection that could be raised. The claim of the League has been that it is an instrument of peace, though some opponents of the League have not always viewed it in that light, I should suppose the members of the League, whether it was proposed to include them in this treaty or not, would be delighted to see the great powers joining in a treaty of the kind that is proposed.
Citation: Calvin Coolidge: Remarks by the President to Newspaper Correspondents
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