Evening Star Newspaper, December 15, 1929, Page 25

COOLIDGE PUZZLED OVER HIS FUTURE S Friends Doubt He Would Be| Content in Senate; Observes | Small-Town Routine. hile th warning Senate istens t vin. Coolidge @ “aidetract Trom an opportunity for the presidency In 1933, and swhile the Roosevelt Club demands to know w e will run for the Senate, the f President goes on living il Northampton. Mass A reporter visited Northampton to see how Mr. Coolidge has succeeded in slip- PinE back nto the routine—a biz na- Tionnal figure 1 & smail city _how he is meeting the always (rying probiems of a Tormer President NORTHAMPTON, Mass., December 14 (NAN.A,).—It is long after 5, and | lights gleam on the snow across the | wide main street of Northampton when Calvin_Coolidg> swings around in_his | old-fashioned. high-backed office chair to push the bell on the wall. He in- structs the girl secretary who appears at _the door to call his car. But he is not yet ready to dismiss his late afternoon caller. He has put in a full working day at the task of being an ex-President. But it is a leis- urely time for Mr. Coolidge at the end of the day. ‘There is still an inch re- maining of his last cigar before supper. He has no train to catch. Northamp- ton is unhurried by commuters tear- ing for the 5:15. From his officc window Mr. Coolidge ean see other men starting home to early suppers from their Main street offices. They take a comfortable pace, hands deep in overcoat pockets, col- lars turncd up against the brisk De- cember evening. Some pause to glance meditatively into the Christmas win- dows of the brightly lighted stores, just freed of the afternoon’s flow of women shoppers. Beyond the stores they turn from the central stem of- the town into side streets, where frame houses are widely spaced and sitting room lamps are lighted. They walk home at night, gen- erally alcne and unhurried. Daily Walks Given Up. It is one of the satisfactions that Mr. Coolidge knew as a lawyer of North- ampton, but which he must now forego as an ex-President. His daily walks, familiar_detail of his routine in Wash- | ington, he has given up since he left his Secret Service escort behind. Too many would impose upon him, gtop him with “Just a minute, Mr.| President,” solicit him to do something that he would not want to do, harry him | 10 make a speech or espouse & cause. | To protect himself from perpetual an- noyance and exploitation he rides to the office and home again. ! That is part of the penalty of having been President. The two efficient-look- ing girls in the outer office suggest the further penalty. Mr. Coplidge maintains & staff and puts in a working day ac the unavoidable chores of his unpaia sition as former President of the | Inited States. | . On his way out he dictates a final letter that needs attention tonighu. | Then he walks down the single flight or wide marble stairs to the curb, where John Buloski waits hunched in his cont in the driver's seat. John drives at an easy speed the single mile up Main street to where Elm street forks off to the right, by Smith College, and arcund the corner into Massasoit, where the Cham- | ber of Commerce's sign with the arrow still points to “Home of Calvin Cool~ idge.” Reaches Haven at Home. At home Mr. Coolidge reaches his | haven, as quiet and content as the hign sehool principal’'s home in the other half of the house. He does not take the ex-presidency home with him. Thac stays at the office. He has his homu telephone calls screened through tae | office secret: Many who think ta take advantage c{ Mr, Coolldge on the tei- speeches 15t being @ public affair he has it understood dis- tinctly that he is not to be called on. But even then he has to sit usually and listen to other )ple making speeches about him. If he is not in their pre- red speeches they inject.him to prove whatever it is they ere proving: Mr. lidge stands this very well. but he doesn't court it, though in reminiscence such an episode appeals to his sense of humor. ‘The Coolidges keep the hours of a small town. Up early, they have break- fasted before 8. Dinner is at 12 ‘and supper soon after 6. Mr. Coolidge is in bed a little after 10 unless a particular occasion keeps him up. When he was just a Western Massa- chusetts lawyer a meeting of the Ver- mont Association in Boston or the Mid- dlesex Club was an event to relieve his uneventful routine. Such a meeting now would be one more public occasion, one more inroad upon such time as he can salvage for his own. He has made no speeches since he came home. To that extent he has suc- cessfully resisted the pressure of nis position. Pcople hound him to make speeches. His daily mail is a deluge of invitations. Speechmaking a Drudgery. Speechmaking to Mr. Coolidge is drudgery. And he is deing no more writing. He wrote out his own experi- ence, to tell people what he was think- ing about, as the background of his public record. And he has written one review of a book that appealed to him— a recent life of Daniel Webster. But writing does not appeal to him s a career to cap his public service. | He has refused invitations to join edi- torial stafls. So Mr. Coolidge is still looking for a job, actively turning over in his mind the big question of his future. He is yet a reasonable way short of 60, and | a man, like his father, who ages only imperceptibly from one decade to the | next Plenty of people would think they had a job if they put in the routine office hours that Mr. Coolidge does. He | is at work soon after 8 o'clock, dictating to one or the other of his two secretaries | through much of the morning, sifting the appointments asked of him, re- jecting politely the requests to make speeches, replying to the questions and | requests of friends and public men, and seeing the people who come to see him. At 12 o'clock, when Main street busi- ness men close their offices or leave one assistant to tide over the noon hour, Mr. Coolidge goes home to dinner. Tnvariably Rests After Dinner. Mrs. Alice Reckahn, who has kept | THE SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C, DECEMBER 15, 1929 over the kitchen, now with another|in his own way. It was not an effusive irl to help formal life of the Coolidge household. After dinner Mr. Coolidge invariably | ways been. fond rests, and usually has a nap, a practice | joyed he followed during his entire period in | in Wuhmgwm Most the presidency. He is back at the office | could not bring home. soon after 2 o'clock and keeps his secre- taries busy until 4:30 or later. In the early period of his return he spent much office time receiving former neighbors of the downtown com- munity. These little reunions gave him real pleasure, and they continue to fur- nish him relaxation and contentment. He enjoys shaking hands with old ac- quaintances who drop in out-of his ‘Washington career for a visit. In these meetings Mr. Coolidge is an informal and entertaining h He talks easily when he is in the mood for a talk, and gives callers every appearance of en- Joying the chance to chat about his own experiences, and even his present prob- lems and conjectural future. Probably he smiles more easily and often than he did in the strain of the White House. At any rate he lights up his conversation with frequent and infectious smiles. Some of them could better be described as grins. When he talks he smokes, and invites his caller to share the smoking. , His cigars are no longer the economical stogies for which Mr. Coolidge was famous in his days in Massachusetts politics. They are rich Havana cigars and he is not sparing of them. He uses an ivory cigar-holder. Treats Papers Equally. Mr. Coolidge feels that if any state- ment of his is worth an interview it should be given equally to all papers. He does not intend to be the subject of competition for scoops. He never has any objection to having his picture taken, but photographers sometitmes find him a formidable sub- ject. At a recent local ceremony Mr. Coolidge saw a Northampton photogra- pher who had.known him long. “Want a picture?” Mr. Coolidge asked affably. ‘That was just what the photographer did want. He looked in his box. “Can you look a little pleasanter, Mr. Cool- idge?” he asked. “If you want my picture youll have to take me as I am,” he was told curtly. To his old friends, in the time that he has for them, Mr. idge is unchang- ed. To his Northampton acquaintances he is now “Mr. Coolidge,” never “Mr. President,” as he often finds himself addressed outside his home town. The pressure of the public upon him in his unofficial position has made his old neighbors somewhat constrained about approaching Mr. Coolidge with house for the Coolidges almost since | the old familiarity. their first housekeeping, still presides Mr. Coolidge was always neighborly By Way of an APOLOGY . In an Advertisement ?eamring the 1930 Screen Grid ATWATER " KENT at $109, and which appeared in this newspaper on Friday, December 13th, an oversight occurred ... the words “LESS TUBES” were omitted. We regret giving you a false impression. Post Standard Radio Stores in the somewhat more|way but an observini e e X R B O B B e B B R 2 s g one. Both Mr. and Mrs. Coolidge have al- of pets. They en- the nmny pets that came to them of these they But they have a canary and two dogs, besides Mrs. Goodhue's terrier, Beans. New Collie Is Deaf. Mrs. Coolidge has her red chow, Ter- rible Tim. When Mr. Coolidge’s white collie died he had become so attached to it that he asked the man who gave it to him for another. But the new collie is deaf. This has been a disap- pointment to Mr. Coolidge. “A dog’s not much use.” he lamented, to a friend, “if you can't talk to it. Mr. Coolidge certainly looks relaxed and unharried now after nine months in Northampton. He tells his friends he is contc=t_and happy to be back home. Mrs. Coolidge, as all who see in her resumed routine of neighborhood life will testify, is radiant to take up the home town lite where she left it off. She recently presided at a booth for a bazaar at the Edwards Congrega- tional Church, fitting as naturally into the picture as in her days of obscurity. Almost every Sunday she and Mr. Cool- jdge attend the Edwards Church in their old pew. Mrs. Coolidge makes the shopping rounds with her friend and neighbor. Mrs. R. B. Hills, nowise differently than in the old days before Washington. When the Coolidges came back to Northampton it was without definite intention of staying. Mrs. Coolidge’s mother was in her final illness, and H L \‘ Open Evenings All This Week Beginning Tomorrow and Continuing *Till Saturday, Dec. 21, Our Showrooms Will Be Open From 8A.M. Till9P. M. MPHREY Radiantfire month after month it was necessary for Mrs. Coolidge to be constantly at her bedside. This restricted the Cool- idges’ activities at home, while the unforeseen burden of being an n{- President was pressing upon Mr. Cool- idge at the office. The old artment at 21 Massasoit street was a snug fit for the family of four in the early days of the Coolidge occupancy. It is too snug a fit now. Mr. Coolidge cannot even gather his books about himr in the crowded sitting room. He has not accommodation to entertain his friends. His many me- mentoes of the White House days are mostly in storage warehouses. He has spoken of neceding a larger house, and somehow the word got out. and now what Mr. Coolidge doesn't know about architects’ terms and build- ers’ propositions isn't anything you can send through ‘the mail. But he is not a man to make the first move sug- gosted. ‘The question of 'a larger house is tied up necessarily with that of a larger job. It is no secret among his friends that Mr. Coolidge has hoped to find a productive occupation for himself. He has not lacked offers, and alluring ones. But Mr. Coolidge’'s own lofty concept of his position as former President of this country has been the obstacle tha: prevented his taking any one of sev- eral proffered places. Law Loses Its Appeal. Mr. Coolidge’s consclence in this mat- ter is certainly far more limiting than any criticlsm he would have any reason to expect from the American peopl Lo S S SR S SR S S SRR S SRR S S GIFT SUGGESTIONS—Not Only Appropriate | offices with Ralph Hemenway. PART ONE. He is probably unconsciously eircum- scribing the result to what the Amer- ican people expect of their ex-Presi- dents. Grover Cleveland, in a troubled busi- ness period, found a task in rehabili- tating an important business to publis confidence. Mr. Taft found a chair waiting in his own university before the Supreme Court chief justiceship be~ came vacant. Mr. Roosevelt found nothing to satisfy hig energy. Mr. Coolidge has so far lacked the luck of Mr. Taft and Mr. Cleveland. To | g0 back to the law would not appeal to him. Had he ceased being Presi- dent in 1924, the then vhcancy in the presidency of his own college, Amherst, might have filled his need for executive work with no string to it. No one who knows him belleves that he could be induced to go to the Sen- ate. He believes that his talent is executive, as his inclination is also. He goes to New York once a month to attend the meetings of the directors of a life insurance company and to the occasional meetings of the philanthropy which he and former Gov. Alfred E. Smith serve as trustees. Has Largest Room in Suite. Mr. Coolidge finds it easier than most men could to fit' himself back into a | smaller space than he has occupied. He uses the largest of the several rooms in the suite of his former partnership It was 's office, but Mr. Hemen- into the smaller one Mr. Hemenwa; has mov This office is the screen between Mr. Coolidge and the public. He has carefully selected the public events he has attended. He went to the recent New England conference because he felt he should lend such a| community effort the encouragement of his_presence. He went to the dedication of Bryant's homestead in Cummington and to an “old home day” at Southampton. Both were meetings of appropriate - interest to him in his capacity as president of | the American Antiquarian Society. It appeals to Mr. Coolidge's sense of | humor that he can say now to any one | who addresses him as “Mr. President” that he isn't president of anything— “except the Antiquarian Socie Copyright by Norih American Newsoaver | MINERS REORGANIZE. | Ohio Union Leaders Say Workers Are Dissatisfied. ST. CLAIRSVILLE, Ohio, December | 14 (#).—An attempted comeback into the Ohio mine flelds was made today | by the United Mine Workers when the | American - flag was raised over the| Union Temple at Bellaire for the first time in two years. | David Fowler, Scranton, Pa., repre- | | sentative of the United Mine Workers flq | America, announced that reorganiza- | tion would start at once in Ohio fields. | “We are going to come back into the | picture of the mining industry in Ohio,” But Something W hich Will be A ppreciated by the Whole Family! Appliances The Ideal Christmas Gift GAS 1\/:0 Cash Required—Payments Begin Next February! Come In As Quickly As Possible— Make Your Selection Your Range Will Be Delivered on Any Day N R D z 11-Pe, “Mirro” Kitchen Alumi With “Sessions” Clock FREE You Receive These Gifts FREE! &, 4" “Sessions” 8 Day Kitchen Clock Fogether Wi 11-Piece Aluminum £:¢ AT XD 5 N num Set Or a Liberal Allowance for Your Old Range Fowler sald. 25 “The miners now working are not satisfied with present conditions under the non-union system.” emz HE ideal coat for goif, motor- ing, home-wear, work, sports and comfort. Virgin woel, Comel's Hair or Angora $7.50 10 $10. Ask your sleeves, finest fir- ASKIN BROS. CO. Hanover and Redwood Sts. hone Plaza 64345 Distributors to 0 Knit Kloth Coats Baltimore DS o2 S SRS S SR SRR A S S SR S b St e e oL s phone as th>v could not do on the streey d “AT SEVENTH AND K" THE DEPENDABLE STORE are disappo O e % Miss Mae Hays, a seorctary. is gene erally in the office in the evenings. n Coolidge’s home is reached only after Miss Hays has decided it is a.call that - should reach Mr. Coolidge at home. & G The only business at home is the home making. Mrs. Coolidge has done the family marketing for supper as in- formally as in the days before Wash- ington, and she has done some Christ- mas shopping. The only bustle at home i8 to prepare for the occasional evening with friends, which is as unadvertised and as informal as though Mr. Coolidge had not yet been the mayor of North- ampton. “The only break upon the quiet of an evening at home is the cheerful chatter or song on the radio, in which Mrs. Coolidge finds endless enjoyment. | Mr. Coolidge has always been a man | who liked his home, and now It takes | & strong pull to get him out of it. Fre- quently he reads at home through the evening and makes no secret of his full enjoyment _of these peaceful periods. He is not fond of bridge or whist, and is_distinctly impatient of the endless bridge playing he sees and hears about. | Radio Fails to Charm Him. i The radio fails to charm him as it @oes Mre. Coolidge. Ho has heard about | all the speeches a man needs for one lifetime. When on occasion he goes to With every range purchased equipped with oven heat control, during our Christmas Sale, we will present to you with our com- pliments these very useful gifts: One Eight-Day *Sessions” Kitchen Clock. A guaranteed timepiece, made by one of the lead- ing clock manufacturers in the country and finished in several i celors to match your kitchen decorative scheme, together with this very A GAS REFRIGERATOR will afford the entire fam- ily years of real pleasure— always an abundance of ice cubes—frozen desserts al- way$ possible. See them to- morrow. Convenient terms arranged. ¥ ‘A Humphrey Radiantfire will take the chill off the room on the coldest morn- ' ings when the furnace fires are low. Prices range from $15 up. The gift ideal. SRR ENERNES R desirable 11-piece Aluminum Kitchen Set, made by the nationally known Mirro Company. The Tappan is a master- piece, both in design and construction. 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