Fortunately for us, the sterling character of teachers of all kinds has kept them at their task even though we have failed to show them due appreciation, and up to the present time the public has suffered little.
Calvin Coolidge
The Public Record
Calvin Coolidge was the 30th President of the United States, serving from 1923 to 1929. A member of the Republican Party, he was known for his quiet demeanor and strong support for business and limited government. Coolidge's presidency is often associated with the economic prosperity of the Roaring Twenties, and he famously advocated for a hands-off approach to the economy, believing that government should interfere as little as possible in the lives of citizens and businesses.
gutenberg.org
The condition which was described by the teacher of Queen Elizabeth, that greater compensation is paid for the unimportant things than is paid for training the intellectual abilities of our youth, might exist in the sixteenth century, but…
The people of the Commonwealth cannot support the Government unless the Government supports them.
God that sitteth in Heaven laugheth their choice to scorn and rewardeth their liberality as it should.
We sought no spoils from war; let us seek no spoil from peace.
Men find their true satisfaction in something higher, finer, nobler than all that.
Those who seek for a sign merely in a greatly increased material prosperity, however worthy that may be, disappointed through all the ages, will be disappointed now.
A desire for the earth and the fullness thereof must not lure our people from their truer selves.
It was by a stern determination to discharge the duties of the present that Ephraim Williams provided for a future filled with a glory that must not yet be termed complete.
But this day, if it is truly to represent the spirit of this college, means more than a glorification of the past.
Their heroism was no less heroic because it was unconscious there or because of befitting modesty it is unostentatious here.
The choice lies between living under coercion and intimidation, the forces of evil, or under the laws of the people, orderly, speaking with their settled convictions, the revelation of a divine authority.
All who love Massachusetts, who believe in America, are bound to defend it.
It is my purpose to maintain unimpaired the authority of her laws, her jurisdiction, her peace, her security.
It is my purpose to maintain the Government of Massachusetts as it was founded by her people, the protector of the rights of all but subservient to none.
And knowing this the people have a determination to support the Government with a resolution that is unchanging.
They know that the property of the Commonwealth is their property.
Disobedience to it is disobedience to the people.
They know that this Government is their Government founded on their will, administered by their representatives.
They know that the laws are their laws and speak their voice.
It costs something but it is the cheapest thing that can be bought; it causes some inconvenience but it is the foundation of all convenience, the orderly execution of the laws.
It is seeking to prevent a condition which would at once destroy all labor unions and all else that is the foundation of civilization by maintaining the authority and sanctity of the law.
Who is there that by compromising the authority of her laws dares to haul down that flag?
These forces may all be dissipated, they may be defeated, but while I am entrusted with the office of their Commander-in-Chief they will not be surrendered.
A government which does that is a reproach to civilization and will soon have on its hands the blood of its citizens.
Politicians like Calvin Coolidge
