Date: September 16, 1927
Location: Washington, DC
(Original document available here)
THE PRESIDENT: I am not certain whether I can attend the International Exhibition of Paintings which is to be held at the Carnegie Institute in Pittsburgh on the 13th of October. I have been invited by Mr. James Francis Burke, former Member of Congress, and Colonel Church, who is the head of the Carnegie Institute in Pittsburgh. I told them I would take it up and let them know in a short time.
There are no announcements to be made about appointments.
I presume everybody saw the report that Mr. Hoover made to me relative to the relief situation in the Mississippi Valley. That appears to be taken care of until January first. That leaves the matter of flood control. On that matter the Secretary of War says that he can’t possibly have the annual report of the Board of Engineers of the Mississippi River Commission completed before the 15th of November — it may be the 1st of December. There will be a preliminary report by some of the engineering boards — he said there are five different engineering boards at work — before that time but the final report will not be ready until that time. As far as the Mississippi River flood problem is concerned there would be no action that Congress could take before it s regular session. I think, however, that some of the committees might be at work on some of the problems before the coming in of the session, and I am giving you the situation as it appears to be today. Something may come up that would change it — it has changed so from time to time — but that is the situation as it has been presented to me today.
I haven’t any information relative to the cotton market or the reports of the Department of Agriculture as to the probable trend of prices of cotton. Any information concerning that question would be much better secured at the Department of Agriculture. It has occurred to me that for any Department of the Government to undertake to give an opinion as to the probable trend of prices is rather hazardous. It seems as though we had a Congressional committee report not long ago that said that the price of gasoline was going up a dollar and the price of kerosene oil thirty cents. That hasn’t yet turned out to be a fact. I give that as a rather extreme example of the errors that can be made by the agencies of the Government in undertaking to forecast prices.
I am not sure whether I can attend the Regatta tomorrow. I would like to and may find that I am able to do so. I am not expecting to take any trip on the Mayflower over the week-end.
There hasn’t anything developed as far as I know relative to tax reduction that has not already been published. I do not know whether Chairman Green is in town or not. I haven’t seen him since I returned. I rather think that he isn’t here. Do you know, Mr. Sanders?
MR. SANDERS: I do not know whether he is here; we haven’t been in communication with him.
THE PRESIDENT: Several members of the House have been in — Western members — but I haven’t seen Mr. Green.
I do not know of any needs in the War and Navy Departments that are likely to jeopardize the reduction of taxes. I am expecting some additional expenditure in those Departments, though I think that the Departments informed me that the additional expenditures would be rather for non-military purposes. The War and Navy Departments take a peculiar view of that. They always seem to think that if they can tell me that the expense is for non-military purposes it doesn’t cost the taxpayer anything, and that, therefore, I ought to approve it. I am telling you that for your information – not for your publication.
Citation: Calvin Coolidge: Remarks by the President to Newspaper Correspondents
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