Date: November 10, 1925
Location: Washington, D.C.
(Original document available here)
I don’t know of any change in the attitude of the Government towards the celebration that it is proposed to hold at Philadelphia commemorating the 150th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. The provisions of the resolution are being carried out and the committee that I was to appoint from the various states has been appointed, I think every one of them, it is possible that there are two or three states where for some reason recommendations have not yet come in, but I think they have all been appointed, and of course the Government is going to cooperate up there in any way it can. I have several inquiries about that, I see.
I don’t know whether any telegram has been received here from an American Legion Post in New York. If it has, it hasn’t come to my desk, and when it comes, I will deal with it in such a way as seems appropriate. As it is in relation to Colonel Mitchell, I should expect that I would refer it to the War Department for such action as they thought was proper.
I don’t know any particular inference that is to be drawn from my appointment of Mr. Walsh to the Shipping Board, other than what is perfectly apparent on the surface. I understood that he was an experienced and practical shipping man, so I have appointed him to the Board. I haven’ had any report yet from Mr. Dalton. I though t it might be in by the latter part of this week. I should be guided to a good deal of an extent by what he might say and the United States of Chamber of Commerce is also making a study. Their conclusions and their reasons for arriving at them I assume will also he set out, and of course will have a good Ideal of influence on me.
I haven’t any Armistice Day plans, other than to carry a wreath to the tomb of the Unknown Soldier, and I expect to be there at 11:00 o’clock, leaving here a few minutes before 11:00. It developed in conference in the Cabinet this ‘morning that it was rather the opinion of the members that a very proper way of observing Armistice Day would be for some cessation of activities at 11:00 o’clock, that being the time of the day that the Armistice went into operation. I suppose that was 11:00 o’clock European time, but there is no reason for trying to translate that in time that corresponds over here. That I imagine is the reason of my going to Arlington at 11:00. It is suggested that if there would be a cessation of business activities for one or two minutes at that time, it would be a very appropriate way for those that haven’t made other arrangements for observing Armistice Day. That shouldn’t be taken as a suggestion to discontinue anything else that is being done, but simply as a suggestion that those who haven’t made any plan and would like to do something to observe the Day it was thought could very properly adopt that method.
Will that be done in the Government in any way, Mr. President?
President: Well, I understood so –
Press: In all the Government Departments?
President: that there might be a cessation of activities for a minute at 11:00 o’clock tomorrow. It is of course a purely voluntary thing and the suggestion is not an order to any department or anyone in the employ of the Government, but a suggestion of what one may do if nothing else has occurred to them to do and they very properly want to make some observance of Armistice Day.
Of course no suggestion has come to this Government about an Arms Conference at any place, and I doubt if the situation would be helped in any way for me to comment on newspaper suggestions. The only thing I could say about any suggestion would be that when it was presented through the proper channels so that it has back of it the requisite authority, why then that our Government of course would give consideration to any proposal and try to determine it on whatever merit it seems to have. I make that in reply to a question about some suggestions that are being made in some of the Japanese newspapers that a conference should be held in Japan.
Citation: Calvin Coolidge: Remarks by the President to Newspaper Correspondents
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