Date: June 24, 1927
Location: Washington, D.C.
(Original document available here)
I haven’t any information about the Great Falls water power project in Washington, other than what has already been made public in the press. I recall that that was debated in the Senate while I was Vice President. The only thing I could suggest would be that if an application has been filed with the Federal Power Commission that it will be taken up and disposed of by that Commission in the regular course of its business.
There are no new developments about the possibility of a special session. As I have indicated to the conference the other day, until I indicate that I have determined to call a special session of the Congress you will be perfectly safe in saying that there isn’t to be any. What I mean by that is that I do not wish to make any commitments in favor of calling a special session, and I don’t know what may develop in relation to it.
I have no doubt that interest in aviation will be stimulated by the recent trans-Atlantic flights. I think I have suggested at previous conferences that this country is doing more in the way of commercial aviation than any other country. While I don’t think we are carrying so many passengers, perhaps, as are carried in some of the foreign countries, our commercial aviation is covering very much larger mileage. That of course includes our air mail service. I am not enough of an expert on aviation to form any judgment that is worth while on what the effect will be on the art, as the result of the experience that has been secured from the Trans-Atlantic flights. That goes more into the realm of mechanics than anything else, it indicates, of course, that the modern plane is capable of a very sustained flight in relation to time and mileage. I do not think that it developed anything new relative to military operations. Any effective military planes would have to be of a range which, compared with the Trans-Atlantic flight, would be rather short. I think perhaps those that saw the review of the fleet which was held a short time before I left Washington would get there a very good idea of the general use that is being made of airplanes in naval operations.
I expect that General Wood will return to the Philippines and remain there indefinitely as Governor General. He is going from here to Washington, I think, to have a conference with the War Department and he is going to New York to attend to some personal business of his. I believe he is also planning to make a short stop in Chicago, he is at the Lodge and would be pleased to see the newspaper men any time this afternoon, I think he is leaving there about a quarter to five. His train leaves Custer about 5:30. So that if you wish to see him you could come out after lunch, reaching there about 3:00 o’clock. I had expected that he would come here to Rapid City, because I realized that it would be a little more convenient to the newspaper men, and I knew you wished to see him, but he is having some difficulty about his railroad car and decided it would be better to have that stop at Custer and he came in from that direction.
I don’t know whether Ambassador Herrick will come out here while he is in this country. I think it is somewhat doubtful, though he may. I haven’t any plan about that at the present time. I do not think he is coming here with any plans for a new treaty between this country and France relative to the suggestion of outlawing war. I never heard of any such thing and I think it is entirely improbable that such is the case. There have been no developments about that. I think you had a report from the office of the Secretary of State relative to the nature of the response that he made to France that our country would be glad to know what plans they had and that they could be developed when Ambassador Herrick returns to France and when the French Ambassador returns to America .
1 thought the Naval Conference at Geneva started off very well and of the proposals that were made by the three governments each of them indicated very clearly that they were very sincere in their desire for further naval limitations, I don’t care to discuss the details of them while the conference is going on, because it often happens that in the somewhat informal methods of discussion here in the conference when the reports are carried abroad they are given quite a different impression from what I had intended to give to the conference. So while the conference is in session I shall not undertake to discuss in detail the questions that it has before it.
I think the press is informed of all the guests of importance that are to come up to the Lodge in the future. Several people write to me nearly every day suggesting that they would like to see me and I am indicating to them that I would be pleased to see them here at any time. Quite naturally we didn’t give out that information here because it isn’t known whether the people to whom I have made that suggestion are going to come or not and there will not be any information about people that are to come to the Lodge except those that have accepted invitations to come. Of course, any one that I send an invitation to and ask to come here will come, but those who are merely in this region might not feel the same about it as they would if they got a special request from me to come and make me a visit.
I haven’t decided when I will return to Washington, I suppose that will be a stock question from now on. Stock questions are kept going even after the adjournment of the Congress.
There isn’t anything I can say about possible tax reduction that I did not say in my budget address. I realize that, of course you do, that the matter of taxation is peculiarly one for the House of Representatives, and Chairman Green and the Committee on Ways and Means of the house is looking into the problem, assembling information and undertaking to make a survey of the situation to see what is required.
I do not see how I can go to the farmers’ picnic, I have invitations to two farmers’ picnics. The one at Ardmore is the one I am expecting to attend. That is a Federal project and an experiment station, especially devoted to experimentation in dry farming. I have never seen anything of that kind and thought I would like very much to go down and look it over to see what it includes and what it is doing, what progress it is making, and as they are to have a picnic there on the 16th of July the people there thought that would be an acceptable time for me to come. The attendance at that time would be not only from South Dakota, but from Wyoming, Colorado I think, and Nebraska.
Question: Will you speak, Mr. President?
President: No, I don’t expect to make any address down there.
I don’t think they have speakers at that occasion. I don’t know whether I have changed any in weight since I have reached the Black Hills, I am heavy enough. I don’t desire to get any heavier and, perhaps, running through the fields may reduce my weight a little. If it did, I shouldn’t regret it at all, I find the general effect of this climate and surroundings to be good.
I don’t have in mind any Minnesota farm organization leaders that are coming here. It may be that some one has written in that they would like to come and see me, who is a farm organization leader, that I didn’t happen to recognize as such. Do you know of any, Mr. Sanders?
Mr. Sanders: No.
Question: Mr. President, there is a report to the effect that some Minn, delegation is to come here? A man named Reed is connected with it.
Question: J. F. Reed, President of the Minnesota Farm Bureau Federation?
President: I have had communications come in from several different quarters that they had an organization, I don’t think it has been a farm organization, that was contemplating a trip into this region and asking for an opportunity to see me. I have responded to such suggestions that I would be very glad to have them come. There may be something of that kind. I don’t recall it now. Mr. Sanders has had a number of suggestions of that nature from people that wanted to make an automobile trip or something of that kind, very much like the Editor’s association, the newspaper men that came the other day, I expect to have more or less of them coming off and on during the summer.
Question: It isn’t to be a formal farm conference in any sense of the word?
President: Not that l know of. Now, it may be that he had written to me when I was in Washington and we told him that we would be pleased to have him come and call on me while I was here. The South Dakota legislature is an example of what I just had in mind. It is coming tomorrow, about 1:30, about the same place that the newspaper association was.
Question: At 3:00 o’clock we may see General Wood?
President: Yes.
Citation: Calvin Coolidge: Remarks by the President to Newspaper Correspondents
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