Date: March 9, 1928
Location: Washington, D.C.
(Original document available here)
I have several departments making a study of the Alien Property bill. The Treasury Department reports to me that it isn’t so good a bill as the one that they prepared, but I have not received their formal report on it. There is one thing in the bill that hasn’t been overlooked. Three salaries have been raised.
Question: Could you say what they were, Mr. President?
President: I think they are two drafting clerks of the House and the Senate that have been put on the same salary as the Solicitor General of the U.S., and some person in the Treasury Department. Those are all people that have access to the Ways and Means Committee of the House and whenever any bill goes through the Ways and Means Committee of any particular importance it usually has a way of raising somebody’s salary. So you can see that the Alien Property bill has some merit in it. (laughter)
Question: Was there any other feature?
President: I think that is the outstanding feature, (laughter)
Of course, I haven’t any idea when I might be able to get away for the summer. My wife’s mother is very ill. Where I could go, and when, might depend quite a little on her condition. Quite naturally I should stay here until Congress adjourns, unless for some reason it is to stay way into the summer, and I don’t know when that will be. I am glad to report, however, that the supply bills, the appropriation bills, are going forward, and other legislation is apparently to be determined very soon, so that it looks as though Congress might adjourn by the middle of May or so. I am quite certain it can if it wishes. Then there is the Budget meeting that comes in June. I think the plan is to have that this year about the 11th. And so I shouldn’t want to go away until after that had been taken care of. But the whole thing, as you can see, is entirely uncertain. A certain date there is the Budget meeting, which we have on the 11th of June. It will be some time after that before I could go.
Question: Are you getting many suggestions and invitations for your summer vacation?
President: Some are coming in. I had presented to me yesterday an invitation by a gentleman that has a very attractive residence near Asheville. That is within easy striking distance from Washington. It takes about 14 hours by the regular train to get out there or to come in here. That isn’t toward the north, but the elevation there is about 3,000 feet, and then the town is about 2,500 ft., so that summers there are more comfortable then would be indicated by the position or the degree of latitude. Then I think I have got some other invitations. One from Virginia to spend the summer on a visit to the Virginia shore. That wouldn’t really necessitate moving out of the White House. It is substantially in that position now, of course, except that I haven’t in front of me any expanse of the ocean. Perhaps it would make the temperature a little more comfortable.
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.