Date: June 5, 1928
Location: Washington, D.C.
(Original document available here)
I have two or three bills still before me, not of any particular importance excepting the Muscle Shoals bill, that I am still studying.
My position relative to the Cuban parcel post convention was set out in my message to the Congress, in which I strongly advocated the passage of legislation that would give the Cuban Government what it was requesting relative to importations in this country of tobacco. Such importation would be of no detriment to us and the privilege of sending merchandise to Cuba by parcel post was of great benefit to our people. The apparent advantage of the business done that way was 12 to 1 or something of that kind. It was very largely in our favor, but I wasn’t able to get any action from the Congress on it, nor was I able to get any action relative to the Austrian debt situation, or the Greek debt situation. Perhaps at the next session it may be more possible to secure legislation relative to questions of that kind. It is a little late perhaps to comment on it, but I did secure from the Congress very important legislation, beginning with the Alien Property bill, the Flood Control bill, the Tax bill, and the Child Labor bill for the District of Columbia I regarded as quite an important piece of legislation. But those others were particular bills that were of importance. Some things went through the House like the Naval Building program that didn’t get a chance to come up in the Senate. It was reported to me that the Senate was overwhelmingly in favor of the Naval bill, but of course it wasn’t possible to displace the Boulder Canyon bill with anything except appropriations, so that the vote on the motion that was made to displace that in order to bring up the Naval bill didn’t represent at all the sentiment in favor of the bill. There are a great many people, many members of the Senate, that were committed to the Naval bill and were in such a situation that they were unable to vote to displace the Boulder Canyon bill in order to bring that up. But the results of the Congress as a whole are very satisfactory. Appropriations were kept well in accord with the budget recommendations. I think I suggested at the last conference that I would much prefer that the press didn’t undertake to publish the time when I might leave Washington. It isn’t fully determined yet. That is as much for the protection of the members of the press as it is for the protection of myself. After I have made a request of that kind I really don’t see why the members of the conference should publish dates on which it is alleged I am going to leave. Practically every newspaper that I saw Sunday had some alleged date of my departure. I suppose one guess is as good as another, but I am not going to leave until some time next week. I will try to notify you in time so that you can catch the train.
Citation: Calvin Coolidge: Remarks by the President to Newspaper Correspondents
The Coolidge Foundation gratefully acknowledges the volunteer efforts of Mitch Rushing who prepared this document for digital publication.