Date: October 29, 1926
Location: Washington, D.C.
(Original document available here)
I am going to start home to vote Monday night reaching Northampton some time Tuesday morning. You can get the hour of the departure of the train – I should say Monday night, I didn’t say Sunday did I?
Press: No, Monday.
President: You will get the hour of departure of the train some time Monday. I am reminded that I went home to vote four years ago. I had been on a speaking campaign, I think I spoke in 14 states, speaking the Saturday night before election in Huntington, West Virginia, where we had a very splendid rally followed by an unfortunate election. So I went through here. I left Huntington, West Va., on the C. & 0. Sunday morning about 11:00 o’clock. I went through here Sunday night and I stopped at New York. I believe I changed from the Pennsylvania Station to the Grand Central and reached home some time Monday afternoon. I don’t know just what the arrangements will be at Northampton. I saw by the press that they were going to hang out some flags, which is appropriate. I believe there is a small committee coming down to meet the press and myself. The Mayor of Northampton I believe is away. I am not sure, but it is my impression that I had seen that he had been married recently, so I expect he is away on his honeymoon. I think I have seen references in the press to that effect.
Press: What is the name of the Mayor? President:
Leach, I think, I am not sure. But he is the man that came to Northampton just about the time I was coming to Washington. There was a very fine young man that died there, George P. O’Donnell, a member of the bar, and this man came over there to go into his office, as I recall it, and sort of take his place.
Press: Is he a Republican?
President: I think he is a Democrat. Then there is to be a reception that my wife and myself will give, or that is tendered to us I suppose, to be in the High School Hall. I don’t know whether that is to start immediately after we vote – I suppose we shall leave the train and vote at the polling place, which is right next to the City Hall, that is owned by the city, called Memorial Hall, erected in memory of those who lost their lives in the Civil War. I don’t know whether the reception is to start after that or whether I am to go home and take in the reception when we come back down to go to the train. I expect to leave Northampton some time during the day and reach here in the evening. I notice that the press constantly refers to my home up there as the residence of Mrs. Goodhue, my mother-in-law. I feel a little jealous about that. It is my home. And I shouldn’t want the people of the country or the people of Northampton to think I had abandoned my residence there.
Press: Is there anything unusual about voting in Memorial Hall?
President: That has been changed a little. That Memorial Hall when I voted there before had always been used for a library. We had two very good libraries. There was the Clark Library and the Forbes Library. The Forbes Library was a well endowed library for a small place, I think $12,000, to be used for the purchase of books, periodicals, and so on, so I think the Clark Library has sort of been consolidated with that. This building, which I say is the Memorial Hall and is owned by the city, is now used as an annex to the City Hall. They are either right together or there is only one building in between. I rather think the First Congregational Church or the Second Congregational Church, which is a Unitarian Church, stands between those two. Formerly the first four wards voted upstairs in the City Hall, but now that the women vote I presume they rather need more room for four wards than could be secured up there.
Press: Will you be back here in time to get the returns?
President: Well, I shall be back some time during the late evening. I judge there wouldn’t be any returns in by then.
There wasn’t very much that took place in the Cabinet this morning. Seven of the Cabinet are away, making campaign speeches and going home to vote. Secretary of War Davis, Postmaster General New, Secretary Work, Secretary Hoover, are all away, and then on the other side the Attorney General, the Secretary of the Navy, and the Secretary of Labor, Mr. Davis, and Secretary Mellon is going home to vote. Secretary Kellogg is voting by mail. Secretary Jardine is going home to vote. Two years ago, of course, you know I didn’t come home to vote, having a radio talk to make the night before election.
Commissioner Rudolph hasn’t resigned yet. I thought I made that plain to the press. He has indicated that he is going to resign, but no time has been set for his resignation, so that I can’t choose a new Commissioner until he indicates to me that he is ready to retire . I imagine from what he said that he will retire some time before Congress convenes. If I am able to secure an acceptable appointee I shall name him at once when Commissioner Rudolph retires, because there is a good deal of work to be done on the Commission and they need the three men there all the time.
Citation: Calvin Coolidge: Remarks by the President to Newspaper CorrespondentsÂ
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