Date: March 27, 1928
Location: Washington, DC
(Original document available here)
I haven’t in mind at present making any further representations to Congress on the subject of the Navy bill. I don’t see that anything is likely to arise in relation to that which would call for any further expression of opinion to the Congress. Very likely I may talk with different members concerning it to find out how it is going, or something like that, but I have no present intention of any formal communication.
I do not know what the proposals were that were made in the Cushendun letter, the British representative at Geneva, other than some reports that I have seen in the press. Of course, if a communication of that kind comes to our State Department, it will be taken up and considered there, and previous to its receipt I would not care to make any comment in relation to it.
I have no information about the bomb explosions in Chicago, other than some of the headlines I have seen in the press.
I do not know what Secretary Mellon is going to decide in relation to the amount of tax reduction that would be practical. I stated at the last conference that so far as I had any information at that time I was still holding to the $225,000,000, but I coupled that with the statement that the reports for the tax returns that came in during the period between March 15th and January 1st, or perhaps it would be a little better to phrase that between January 1st and March 15th, had not been collected and studied, and until that was done no authoritative decision could be reached. I am advised that those reports will be tabulated by next Monday or Tuesday, and that at that time Mr. Mellon expects to be in a position to make an authoritative recommendation. Before he makes that recommendation I assume that he and I will confer, and that any representation that he makes will be one that has my approval. Judging from past experience, and my confidence in the accuracy of the reports and estimates of the Treasury Department, I should expect to give my approval to any recommendation made by the Treasury. Of course, that recommendation is arrived at after conferring with the Bureau of the Budget to find out what the expenses are going to be. It doesn’t make any difference how large our income is, if arrangements have already been made to expend all of it.
There is little that I could add to the report made by Secretary Davis on the question of employment throughout the country, and it revealed about what I had expected it to reveal, that in some places there are people who are not employed in their usual vocations, other places where there are advertisements for labor and they are not able to secure all the labor they wish to have.
I don’t recall any offer of a summer home near Charlottesville, Va. There have been several offers come in. Do you recall any relative to Charlottesville, Mr. Sanders?
Mr. Sanders: Yes. I have a letter now about that.
President: That is a very beautiful region down there. The home of Thomas Jefferson is located within sight of Charlottesville, and it is also the seat of the University of Virginia. There is some elevation there, but I should hardly think it would be enough so it would be very cool during the summer time.
The only reports I have received about mother Goodhue are that she was a little brighter this morning than she had been. The situation continues to be very grave.
Citation: Calvin Coolidge: Remarks by the President to Newspaper Correspondents
The Coolidge Foundation gratefully acknowledges the volunteer efforts of Kelly Hess who prepared this document for digital publication.