What's what about Coolidge?

What's

By Jay Lovestone

Utlhoi of "/Ac o,., irifin -r/ Sf/fXi/uinili; - I'lootf *:ni S/../

Price 5 cento

i'uthshiil b\

Workers Party of America

1009 N. State Street » CUmgrn. HI.

YOU SHOULD READ

UlCaC

Books and Pamphlets

The Government — Strikebreaker

— by Jay Lcwslonr

Startling facts ahuut t lie ftovi-inmnit admins io help bitnk
<ttriko<i An aisviial of uiLiiiiiatioii (indorsed by 4 f J laln#r pi.h

htalinn-* Clolh bound - - • "P 1 5°

l*apf r hound . . . . 75

Dictatorship vs. Democracy

by l.cnn Tiotaky

A bonk that allrnricd the win Id's atwnti.ui Cloth bound ?i on
i*af>< h i hound . . c "

For A Labor Party

--by John Pciiupr

Keronl revolutionary rliAiipi's in \im ncan politico Thiid
edition, reviled .... - * ' •***

The American Foreign-Born Workers

hv UailibL S. Ware

Ibis pamnldit deals with llir qursliiMi of hue n\n born lvniltis
in Ann ru i Sututiis .mil chnits It an«wcis tin i/n ilion
Wlm are Ou* Aim-mans* What pail bus umnu-iatiou playi d in
the huililiiuc <»l Aineiiran ifi'l*inlnc4 and iiia'inr. fabulous wealth
for iIkmi iwmrs - . - l S*"

Underground Radicalism

by John IVppi'i

An opoi li-Uir 1i* Viii'i-rn- V. Dili*. Unma-.km;' (lit- Soi-iali*t-
kxplanaimu nl the Uiiih'il I'mut .... -. n*-

Blood and Steel

by Jav IjciM'sltiiif

\ liin-f i i il ihi4i lit Inl ahuut emidiliuii. in Anu-iiem -h«"l
mills; .en ••\piiHnn» dt tbi steil ti UKt- ' i.tl-r |impai$auda, a mil
no nf nib" i hi <»t Sim In mini i " iiiiiuuM m «1" i to uiyani/e

lh\ fc si it I vim ki in. iu\ « ,,K

Many irtlui turn!.* ami paniphbts cm Hm<-!>, riiuiuiiiu-s, rt'\

l" tMhiunes «■■* ni|in a »t-

1-rt us satisfy y*«n uidim; api>*-tite St ml >oiu urdeM ti>

W. P. Literature Department

KM)" N. State Street. Room J14
llmafto. III.

< IIAPTKK 1.
President Coolidge — The Hundred Percenter

JN liis bonk. "W.-i-.hii^f.in < lo-c (fp^ 1 Kdward <.. I.owiy h..- called
'"siicnt" C al I o *IMt»« "a pnli;iiia:i who d ics si- it, who will urn, who
sceiuiiitfly raimm talk.' ^

It is a ImI d\\ in Jaimaiy when in »h.Iyc- tal!^ ocurlj an- 1 distinctly
aliimt tlu* in< Meir.s iinifrr.iiti]i r - iln- c-uii-iLr\. Vd, C Kihdue's wliok: lns-
loiy- his mete .no ii.litiial rise fiom a lot d lii;uiehcad to a ii.uii-iial
figure an.] international mi] : lance -has Uou ni'.ikuL liv mu' bundled
per out loyal set vie l> Lh«- employing class ami uuiMei ruptcd liusiiliiy
to the working ami larinii...; iiuls-os. IV^j.iic President Cuuliilgc'.s much
ovoiailv-i rlised silence ai I oppie<-sivc jj< neiahyaiious ami va^atie^ -
such as ''a plan lo^tuvc f-n pcrLc:Uiriii" anl "our platform' eveiv
thread of hn political icoud is a chain forced .u'.ain-t tin- citv and
nil a) workcis.

ih.vniK ha- 1 fnrLiiiiL- .iml kiciIhc*-* thrust upon him thru I 1 !'.- death
of Tlarilm**, i i-ff-lif !&>!- has hco i.ie the ihiiiieih President uf ihe lhntc-1
Slates at a lime when the lountiy i'i mi the e\e o" quint cla.^s cunfhcln.
I hi' use of (. ooml^c, who h..s ridden into nation.il iiifaim thru ouPi^hi
sliikc-lircakiii|> activities, pui't^ys with painful claruv'ihc unli! idled
domination »f the cmpli.vm^ ol. .v. over the wo-km^ inatsis. NuiIpuk
cm clinch this truth u» loreefully ah an cxainiaatiou ■■[ the President's
iceord

His Service to Capital

When Lhe capitaliM:. were laying ihoii plain to diive the Amen a-i
workers and fanners inlu the infernal slaughter ii. Kurope the Massa
ihusetts employers did more th:ai iheir hit. And in the May State's pic
{Kiredness <hive and other acti\i(us In inline the iiKiMinum' fcjrc e to save
i)nUar-l>ein<>cracv. t'oolid^c wa*- nine than there. Savs the Republican
Campaign Text Hook for 1 f 'jO: "He. was actively instrumental in the
lead, in preparation and later in the execution of "plans which resulted
iu the Inji part Massachusetts played in tin- Work! War 11

Already the army and navy leadeis have announced thai they are
phased with t'onhdjje in ihe Presidency. These war lord a point with
joy to Kiich declarations of our new President u< follow:

"The only lu>]K k lor peace lies in the protection of the arts of wbi "
"l hie uf our lirrit duties is military training."
"We must never neglect milifarv preparedness a^aiu. 11
"The Ricat prohlem which our present experience has brought is
the development of man power."

"To a tree people the most rcaelionaiy experience, short of revolu-
tion,. t4 w;»r In order to or^auixe au<I conduct military operations a re-
version to an autocratic form of < roverumeut is absolutely necessary."

■rf' .. ■

*'■ "Nik
}■: r ^f-uL

U- lire U
' ' v '."; * L i i *"<

; ! ( r i " ; ■ i i

i'l I i , ■• \ '.* -

.-:■[■

<l . ' ' ' '■ '.} I

t s - . . ■ i i

. . r

■ 1 i.-\.r ; i'.i. ;.

!■'' J -.':ii:i; li : ;■<!.. " _

: ' !l - [ -i:'-. : -» .l.iiH.."^' voif-i; *. ./'■;= !.,.- •'.!'.■ ■:'•,- ,H' u..i * ■;..! iY>- U;.
' "" - ' E ' : ' ' * ' ' " ■ ' ' ' ' ' ■ ' i I ■ t ■ ; i i 1 ;. : ; ■ I : - - , i l i : i s ! - . \ < i , ■ : ; . .- ■■ i . ; ; ■ r ■ : ■/, | : , . ; . ■ : L ( ; ,

! "' ;| ''' i"»"-"'L -<- | "■ .fit M". I I l; I' I ■" *'.\ ' : : .t"J '■ ll:-:[-i i ..-. : ' [*> ■-. : ..i.; i- . ) ■:: .

'■•> f ' A i -:"i:!l '■> ■! i,[ f i 1 1 " i ■' - T *' I-"'. 1 'ill:. !'.-«-p, ! . J ■!=-.-. r 1 '. i.-.- it!.-., r;n,|i ;■< ,|

'■'.!'_■*■ I ■■■«■'! ^ I* '■ ■ ' ■■:■■ -"ii :] 'In 1 , i! t- I'i,-:- i ■ U : .i ,,.: . : < : ' i 1 i ' ■ J .( ■ ■- | }j-: : :ifii\

1 ; " : " ! ■ '■; ;i ! ! [ ? ' ! "' IS i " ■.' IJ •,.; -'■ l' . i ■« ■ I i: I r i ' i ■■..!! : ( ■ . ( ( , .: ' , , ; ; ,: ■ ... [, ;|ie-'f S

■ : ' I •■■■ ! -i .- : -■•■ ::;. i ,} ■; -.\ :■■ ■]'• -. . - ■■< m,-| i- , : •■ in ■ .;..-. u ; ;: .;.u i-- ,

"■'_ |' : -";' '-' ii:'." ! ■■■ [.-r-ri'l-!-! ;. ,(, ' ;;■; I ■■.,!,[ ;1 l,r| ■',,■; ,.«" . - ■_ . ^ V

■' l '' : ' l^-"'!-^- >" :-:v-^- j ,. :'h::ni > >:---;i- , ! ;.;-,.:ii.-: t ■ i * - fir. ..-i-m!

■■ ■■''"■. !-■ : ^ ;'i:i:-c .. f- ! ;--n- ,*n ■■ ■ i;i:-.i, \ _,[.!■ -m I-.. mi fii-'.; i!,,. _/., ..(,

■■ ' •' ' ;it ' ' : - ' ! ■ ■ . i ■* ' ■"'■' ; '■ - v > ; ' ; : { i- ■ ■ " ; 1 ■" ' i ": i . . ; . k ■ ■ | . ■ \. \ L', !

• ] t ■ ; [ ■ ■ . :' i "■ - '■ '• -. ! ' i ■" ..■,:■:' t , . ; i ■.[-.■

!:i: »( -,i . . | : ! .,■

■. ■ : i I i ' ■

i ;;-• Jii'l'Vil'V* ■ ii- i\ ■,,

■ ■ -. ' ■ i

.... « . } . ■ ; ■ i;
i i ; l-

■. i . - :

M'. 1 . ■ ■'■ i v.

CHAPTER I.

President Coolidge — The Hundred Percenter

I^c-Y* b °°£' " Washin g ton Close Ups" Edward G. Lowry has called
Silent Cal Coolidge "a politician who does not, who will not, who
, seemingly cannot talk/ 1 ^ ■

It is a hot day in January when Coolidge talks clearly atid distinctly
about the problems confronting the country. Yet, Coolidge's whole his-
tory— his meteoric political rise from a local figurehead to a national
figure and international importance— has been marked by cine hundred
.per cent loyal service to the employing class and uninterrupted hostility
to the working and farming masses. Despite President Coolidge's much
overadvertised silence and oppressive generalizations and vagaries —
such as "a plan to strive for perfection" and "our platform' 1 — every
thread of his political record is a chain forged against the city and
, rural workers.

t Having had fortune and greatness thrust upon him thru the death
of Harding, Coolidge has become the thirtieth President of the United
•States at a time when the country is on the eve of giant class conflicts,
fhe rise of Coolidge, who has ridden into national infamy thru outright
strikebreaking activities, portrays with painful clarity the unbridled
.domination of the employing class over the working masses. Nothing
can clinch this truth as forcefully as an examination of the President's
record.

His Service to Capital

When the capitalists were laying their plans to drive the American
workers and farmers into the infernal slaughter in Europe* the Massa-
chusetts employers did more than their hit. And in the Bay State's pre-
paredness drive and other activities to insure the maximum'torcc to save
Dntlar-nernueraey, Cooiid&e was more than, there. . Savs the Republican
Campaign Text Book for. 1920: ,r He was actively instrumental in the
lead, in preparation and later in the execution of plans which resulted
in the 1»k part Massachusetts played in the World .War/* '

Already the army and navy, leaders have announced that they -are :
plensed with Coolidge in the 'Presidency, These war lords point with
joy lo such declarations* of our new .President as follow:

"The only hope for. peace lies in the protection of the arts of war."
*'l )m: of our firnti duties is milium Iramin- "
"We must us-ver iii-^lo I inijiiLiv prepari'dii": i .i^.im."
"The £U"mA pr-ibK-ni wliieh nin pi-'s-'ut e-\pi-i ii'iii C has Urou^ht is
devehipiuc-nt nj' in. .11 power."

"To a fire i>' b i»|-ii: the ui'is: rrarliuii'uv i % \|h-i iriuc . slimi c»f n vi ]i 1—
tinn, is wai In nidcr !■> oi^;ju/.<- an-l ouidiiri nuliiarv i|i<»imii-hi.s '1 re-
version lo .111 autneraii- fnnn of < i>r> c: mm-i:'. is .ii-suhuHv nccewrv."

the

j

CHAPTER I.

e

I^Jm 3 h< ?>° 1 ^ " Washin £ ton Close Ups" Edward G. Lowry has called
hdent Cal Coolidge "a politician who does not, who will not, who
seemingly cannot; talk." ^

It is a hot day in January when Coolidge talks clearly and distinctly
about the problems confronting" the country. Yet, Coolidge's whole his-
tory — his meteoric political rise from a local figurehead to a national
figure and international importance — has been marked by one hundred
per cent loyal service to the employing class and uninterrupted hostility
to the working and farming masses. Despite President Coolidge's much
overadvertiscd silence and oppressive generalizations and vagaries : —
such as "a plan to strive for perfection" and "our platform" — every
thread of his political record is a chain forged against the city and
rural workers.

Having had fortune and greatness thrust upon him thru the death
of Harding, Coolidge has become the thirtieth President of the United
States at a time when the country is on the eve of giant class conflicts.
The rise of Coolidge, who has ridden into national infamy thru outright
strikebreaking activities, portrays with painful claritv the unbridled
domination of the employing class over the working masses. Nothing
can clinch this truth as forcefully as an examination of the Presidents
record.

His Service to Capital

When the capitalists were laying their plans to drive the American
workers and iurtners into the infernal slaughter in Europe, the Massa-
chusetts employers did more than their hit. And" in the iiav State's pre-
paredness drive and other activities to insure the maximum" force to save
Dollar-Democracy, Coolidge was more than there. Says the Republican
Campaign Text Book for .1920: "lie was actively instrumental in the
lead, in preparation and later in the execution of "plans which resulted
in the big part .Massachusetts played in the World War/*

Already the army and navy' leaders have announced that they are
pleased with Coolidge hi fhe Presidency. These war lords point" with
joy to such declarations of our new President -us follow:

"'The only hope for peace lies in the protection of the arts of -war."
"One of our first duties is military- training,'"
"We. must never neglect military preparedness again/'
"The great problem which our present experience has brought is
the development of man power. M

: ^ "To a free people the. most reactionary experience, short of "revolu-
tion^ _is war. In order to organize and conduct military operations a re-
version to an autocratic form of Government is absolutely necessary/*

After he helped smash the Boston police strike lie ran for re-elec-
tion as Governor under the slogan of "Law and Order." hi this super-
patriotic campaign of his, Coolidge was supported by the powerful
capitalist spokesmen of both parties. Congratulations and promisesof
support poured in on him from Governors, newspapers, labor-hating
agencies and Chambers of Commerce the country over.

w

Tho the Democratic Party was about to face a national election
Woodrow Wilson, then President, thus wired Coolidge on his guber-
natorial re-election: "I congratulate you upon your election as a victory
of law and order. When that is the issue all Americans stand together,"

The New York Times of November 4, 1919, said editorially: "The
one vital election, the one in which the whole country takes a keen in-
terest, is in Massachusetts. Governor Coolidge's energy and courage-
ous action in the Boston police strike gave him a national reputation
and won him national respect. He is the candidate of order, of law . . /*

And the notorious New England Red-baiter Henry M, Whitney
chimed in with this chorus of hate against the workers in this fashion:
"The principles for which Governor Coolidge stands are vital to the life,
liberty, and the pursuit of. happiness in the United States and over the
whole world."

Big Business Always with Him

When Coolidge was running f ur a second term as Governor the
big Boston bankers did their all to secure a victory for him in recog-
nition of his strikebreaking services.

Even tho .Coolidge was not yet considered marketable presidential
timber in 1920, vet the big capitalists openly invested, according to the
Senate investigation committee, from .$60,000 to $100,000 to sell Cool-
idge to the Republican voters in the primaries prior to the Chicago
National Convention of 1920.

From the San Francisco Chronicle of August 12, 1923, we learn
that Coolidge was nominated for the Vice- Presidency mainly through
■the manipulations of the California delegates. In this delegation,
according to a speech delivered hv Mr, Chas. Stetson-Wheeler of. Cali-
fornia at the 1920 Republican National Convention, there were men
representing "practically every big business interest on the Pacific-
Coast,'* There were "among them the men who dominate great electric
light and power interests and the presidents of three of San Francisco's
hirgest banks— banks whose deposits aggregate more than $240,000,000."
Coolidge** nomination as Vice-President was applauded by the
powerful financiers of the country. Typical of such whole-hearted in-
dorsement of Coolidge is the following statement made by Mr, Francis
I«, Fline, President of the First National Bank, 2 Wall St.. New -York,
and a* director and officer of the American Can Co., American Cotton

Oil Co., United States Rubber Co., and at least a dozen -other banks,
insurance, trust, and public utility corporations

"As for Coolidge, 1- think also the choice is excellent. He lends
great strength to the ticket, and I think it a pity that a greater respon-
sibility does not fall to the office of the Vice- Presidency with such a
man nominated. ,T

Alvin W. Krech, President: of the Equitable Turst Co., 37 Wall
Street, New York, and a director or officer of a least twenty-eight more
banking, ice, coal, railwav, lumber, iron, cotton oil, and power lighting
corporations ; and Mr. Walter E. Frew, President of the Corn Exchange
Bank, 13 William Street, New York, and a director or officer of at least
eleven more banking, land, soap and insurance corporations, were among
the first to express great pleasure at Coolidge \s being on the Republican-
ticket.

Closely associated with these men in business are such finance and
industrial magnates as Walter C. Teagle, President of the Standard
Oil Co. of New Jersey, Paul D. Cravath, Otto H, Kahn. Fredrick K.
Coudert, Edward R. Stettinius, T. W. Lamont, Frank A. Vauderhp,
and J. Pierpont Morgan. .

Now that Coolidge is President, the big bankers and industrial
magnates are lauding him to the heavens. The Wall Street Journal has
recently said that "Calvin Coolidge is considered a sound and conserva-
tive man. 1 ' Chairman Robert S. Lovell of the Union Pacific Railroad and
director of at least twenty-live more banking, railway, and steamship cor-
porations has said: "The country is extremely fortunate m having such
a clear-thinking, level-headed man as Mr. Coolidge, who stepped into
the office in such a great emergency/' Also, Elbert H. Gary has rushed
in to pat Coolidge on the back with a statement the the new < President
"lias demonstrated on many conspicuous occasions that he is ahve to
the Financial, commercial, and industrial needs of the country, and ; that
he stands for protection of properly and -welfare of individuals .alike.

And when he was less than three weeks in office, President Cool-
idge had an official tete-a-tete with such overlords of industry and
finance as; fulius II. Barnes. President of the United States Chamber
of Commerce, A. l'\ Bedford "of the Standard Oil Co. of New jersey.
Lewis E, Pierson, President of the Irving Hank, Columbia 1 rust Co.
of New York, Chas. 1C Weed. Vice-President of the First National
Bank of Boston, Willis II. Booth, Vice-President: of the Uuarantee
Trust Co. of New York and Is j. Kent. President of the bankers
Trust Co. of New York..

DyedUin~the~Wool Reactionary

That Coolidge is a dyed-in-the-wool out and out reactionary is
evident from his "following" words and deeds:

5-

Delivering- an address on Founders Day at the Carnegie Technical
Institute in Pittsburgh on April -28, 1921, Coolidge spoke of Andrew
Carnegie us "a man who represented American ideals/*

How closely President Coolidge is living up to the late Steel King's
"ideals*' is seen from tiie following portion of his address to the Massa-
chusetts State Legislature inaugurating his second term as Governor:
"It is fundamental that freedom is not to he secured thru disobedience
to law. Government must govern. To obey is life. To disobey is
death.

"We need to change our standards, not of property but of thought.
If we put all the emphasis on our prosperity, that prosperit,y will perish,
and with it. will perish our civiliation. Employer and employed must
find their satisfaction not in a money return but in a service rendered."

In answer to the vice-presidency notification speech of Gov. Edwin
P. Morrow of Kentucky, in 1920, Pres. Coolidge further said: "No
one in public life can lie oblivious to the organized efforts to undermine
the faith of our people in their Government, foment discord, aggravate
industrial strife, stifle production, and ultimately stir up revolution.
These efforts are a great public menace, not thru danger of success, but
the great amount of harm they can do if ignored. The first duty of the
government is to repress them, punishing wilful violations of law, turn-
ing the full light of publicity on all abuses of the right of assembly and
free speech. '*

What the Government's proper functions are in the eyes of Cool-
idge was made clear in a speech he delivered at the commencement
exercises at the Holy Cross College, on June 16* 1\)20; President Cool-
idge said in part: "Unless property owners had proper safeguards of
constituted authority, trans| notation would clash, industry would shrivel
up, all property be destroyed., and all incentive to effort perish. All
our freedom comes from the support of the constituted authority."

Doesn't Want Woxn&n Suffrage

When Coolidge was approached by advocates of woman suffrage
to aid their cause by using his influence to have other States act favor-
ably on the ballot for women. Coolidge replied, June 25, 1920, that he
"will not interfere with other Slates" on the suffrage issue.

-Furthermore, in one of his campaign speeches, delivered on Octo-
ber 20, 1920, at New 'Castle, Tennessee, Coolidge went on to say: "I
don't know how you folks up here in Tennessee feel about -suffrage,
but I know- .how it was in tny own family. My wife originally didn't
want suffrage. Something far back in her New England ancestry per-
haps revolted against it. But when it came, like the rest of the women,
she was strongly for it/'

Where our new President stands in so far as Soviet Russia is con-
cerned can be seen from this gem culled from his speech delivered be-
fore the Vermont Historical Society on January 18, 1921 : "Russia is
under a despotism more despotic, than ever was administered by a Czar."

So energetic a "Red-baiter" was Coolidge that he even took it
upon himself to write a series of articles captioned "Enemies of the
Republic" in that well-known barbershop and kitchenette journal the
"Delineator/' This was supposed to be a series of articles, commencing
June, 1921, and exposing the "Reds" in the American colleges and
universities.

Little need be said in reply to or quoted from this excursion of
our President into such noble efforts at saving the Republic. The best
characterization of this series in behalf of the "Fatherland" is found
in the following telegram sent to Coolidge by the State Board of Ad™
ministation of North Dakota on July 9, 1921: "We are surprised that
a man of your exalted position should give currency to a story which
has been proven false."

President Coolidge had quoted Congressman O. B. Burtress re-
garding the placing of radical books in circulation in school libraries.

Hastens to Free Rutin Thieves

There are many representatives and champions of Labor impris-
oned today because of their loyalty to the working class. President
Coolidge has not raised a finger towards releasing these innocent work-
ers. Coolidge has now announced that; he will follow the policy pur-
sued by Harding of -not granting amnesty to all of them, hut of ex-
amining each of the cases separately.

In the meanwhile, in less than two weeks after his taking over the
Presidency, Coolidge has already hastened to .pardon criminals. On
August: 1C* he gave freedom to "John J. Walsh and James McT/aue,
sentenced to from five to seven years in Atlanta Prison in connection
with the theft of a $1,000,000 consignment of liquor from the Black
Rock Yards of the New York Central Railroad. Walsh was a Sergeant
and McLane a Lieutenant in the New York Central Police Iforce/'

CHAPTER II.

|NE of our leading- financial papers recently labelled "Cal" Coolidge
"the Sphinx of the White House." In "this there is not a hit of
truth. To the financiers and industrialists of the country Coolidge is
anything but a Sphinx as far as Labor goes; and that after all is. the
most decisive gauge of a man in public office today. See where a man
stands on the Labor problem, the class struggle, and you know where
he is fundamentally lined up on the various issues con fronting the
country at any particular moment.

The whole record of President Coolidge betrays an unmitigated
hostility to the. working class and its struggle for the improvement of
working and living conditions. It is in this light that the following
estimate of our President by Mr. C. W. Barron, owner of the Boston
News Bureau and Wall Street Journal and publisher of Barron's Week-
ly, is of import :

"No man is better fitted or equipped to lead the United States in
its present commanding position before the whole world. . , . The
business interests of the country will go behind him as they went up
behind Harding/'

The Textile Strike of 191®

In February, 1919, a committee of textile strikers from Lawrence
protested to Coolidge, then Governor, against the savage brutality of
the mounted police in the strike. On, Feb. 18th this Committee sought
an audience with Governor Coolidge to lay be fort; him the highhanded
conduct of the Lawrence city authorities in refusing the workers the
right to hold parades and meetings j the 'outrages committed by the
Cossacks; and to request his appointment of an impartial committee
of investigation*

The Governor, Coolidge, refused even to see this committee of
workers*. His answer was merely an act of heaping insult upon injury
in so far as the striking workers were concerned, Coolidge said that
the matter of -granting permission to parade was entirely in the hands
of local authorities, 1 lis letter went on in the familiar strain of the
capitalist sanctifiers of the law and order of profits:

"If the police have assaulted any persons without warrant -of law
the matter should be brought to the attention of the criminal court.
The results which you will secure from the great war- and from your
residence in America will be exactly what j'ou desire to make them.
It is my desire that each citizen of Massachusetts should have the equal

.■8 "

state and nation to this end.

Thus did the aspiring- Governor tell the workers to look for solace
trom the very courts that swung the heavy club of injunctions against
them, and thus did Coohclge plainly tell the striking workers that they
should shut up and put tip, as a matter of gratitude to the country,
with the Government acting as a protector of the "lawful" occupation
of strikebreaking.

The Boston Police Strike

Many liberals, semi-Socialists and so-called Socialists have, since
the ascendancy of Coolidge, to the executive chair of the Presidency
passed sleepless nights pondering the legal formal responsibility of
Coohdge in the 1919 Boston Police Strike. These lovers of the pure
• truth of the law and adamant adherents of abstract justice, whatever
that may be, have been saying that it's all a lie, that Coolidge never
broke the strike of police, that he is getting away with credit which
is not due him, and that he has therefore been "made by a myth/'

All of this might be splendid stuff for filling the columns for the
liberal gulhbles while the reactionary press is rejoicing at the advent
of a sworn enemy of the working class into the dominating position of
the Government. A brief analysis of the Poston Police Strike shows
that Coohdge was the man behind the guns and that whatever strike-
breaking was done he must be given the discredit for it. Let us turn
to the now famous Boston City Doetfment Number 108. This is the
report on the police strike made by the "citizens* M committee appointed
by Mayor Peters.

The Police Department of "Boston i.s part of the State and not
part of the municipal Government. The Police Commissioner is ap-
pointed by -Jind responsible to the Governor. In August, 191 9 t the
Boston policemen began to talk strike because of the wretched conditions
and low pay to which they were subjected. The police began to talk
of affiliating their organization with the American Federation of Labor
m order to rally the maximum support of organized labor behind
them in their fight. No sooner was strike talk in the air than Coolidge
hastened to assure the Mayor and Police Commissioner of his support.
Apropos of this phase of the strike, Barron's Weekly for August 27,
lv23, said :

"But long' before the strike the Governor told the Police Commis-
sioner that he would back him absolutely in bis enforcement of the
regulations of the service and the laws "of the Commonwealth He
brought troops into the city t nominally for drill, and quartered them
at the South Armory and 'the Cadet Armory; there they were held at

9

Hie call of the proper officer. The officials immediately in charge could
get the Governor, the Attorney General, the Governor's secretary, in
five mimites by telephone,"

When it appeared that trouble was in the air the Police Commis-
sioner pinned his faith in Herbert Parker as his counsel to answer the
attacks of the policemen. This Mr. Parker, it is interesting to note,
was formerly a State Attorney General, an intimate friend of'Coolidge,
and a graduate of the same school of corrupt vicious politics headed
by the late Senator Murray Crane,

What is more, when Mayor Peters appointed his Citizens Com-
mittee to make a report on the strike situation lie picked those bankers
and big business men closest to Cooliclge so that all would work smooth-
ly in the process of impartial investigation. At the head of this Com-
mittee stood James j. Storrow of the internationally known banking-
firm of Lee, Higginson and Co. Mr. Storrow is also a director and
officer of the Columbia Rope Co., the Essex Co., the Fairbanks Morse
Co., Franklin Foundation, Galveston Houston Electric Co., La Fayette
Motors Co., Nash Motors Co., Railway and Light Securities Co., Spring-
field Railway Co,, United States Smelting, Refining and Manufacturing
Co., W. IL McElwain & Co., and Wm. Underwood & Co,

Among his associates were such powerful bankers and manufac-
turers high in the confidence of Coolid^e as George E. Brock, President
of the Home Savings Bank and Director of the Boylstnn National
Bank of Boston, Market Trust Co., and the New England Mutual Eife
Insurance Co.; Mr. R. Preston (lark, director of B. C. Clark and Co.,
Treasurer, Cohasset Water Co., Vice-Pres., Plymouth Cordage Co., and
member of the Executive Committee of the * United States Smelting,
Refining and Manufacturing Co.; John R. Maeomber, a director of at
least seven hanking- and commercial organizations; Patrick A. O'Connell,
a director of at least ei^ht hanking and commercial organizations; James
J. Phelari, of H ornhlower and Weeks, ami an officer of batiks, lumber
companies, msunmee, and trust companies; A. C. Ratshesky, the well-
known Boston banker; and Fred S. Snyder of the Boston Chamber of
Commerce and banker.

Coolidtfc's game here was to waif: for the decisive moment and then
hit hard. Says the Report of the Committee: "In justice to the Gov-
ernor it should he stated that at all times lie assured the members of
your committee that whenever called upon for a military force he
would procure sufficient- men— if they could -he. secured— to maintaii
law and order/ 1

am

G

When the local constituted authorities had done all they could,
roolidge came in to clean up. He forthwith issued his order calling

.10

out the entire State Guard of Massachusetts and assumed full authority
ot the strike situation as commander in Chief of the State forces. Thi
stake was -broken thru the display and employment of the militarv

forces. J

Then Coolidge followed up his strong-arm, strike-breaking tactics
by denying the policemen even the limited i%ht to organize that the
Hankers Citizens' Committee accorded them. In his reply to Gompers
^IISJ 1 re ^ ns tatement o* the striking policemen Coolidge said:

There is no right to strike against the public safety by any-

in the execution of law and order."

It was this browbeating attitude of Coolidge that was - responsible
for the local authorities refusing to reinstate policemen who had struck.
It was this dictatorial procedure on the part of Coolidge that uprooted
even the faintest semblance of organization that the Bankers/ Committee
would allow the men.

t Because of the policy of the mailed fist pursued by Coolidge, the
big capitalists from coast to coast placed laurels on him and sang his
praise to the tune of. "Thank God for Coolidge." The employers re-
joiced and the workers gnashed their teeth. It was Coolidge's unyield-
ing hostility to unionism that made him a national hero of the enemies
of labor.

Workers Know Coolidge as Enemy

In explaining his refusal to reinstate "the policemen Coolidge
boasted :

"There is an obligation to forgive, but it does not extend to the
unrepentant. To give them aid and comfort is to support their evil
doing and to become an accessory before the fact. A government which
does that is a reproach to all civilization and will soon have on its hands
the -blood of its citizens. I have resisted and propose to continue in
resistance to such action/'

Such bitter hatred did this revengeful attitude of Coolidge engen-
der among the workers that on July 21, 1920, the .Executive Board of
the Boston Telephone Operators' Union voted, in special session, not to
-participate in any .Labor Day'. parade which was to be reviewed by the
Governor. The workers expressly .stated that thev took this attitude
because of Coolidge's conduct in the police strike,"

The capitalists on the other hand forthwith "showed theif apprecia-
tion of the strikebreaking services rendered them bv the .President. At
the Massachusetts State Convention of the Republican Party a special
resolution lauding Coolidge was passed on October 4, 1919. During
the sessions of the Republican National Convention in 1920 "Big Busi-
ness" paid its tribute to him. Gov. Morrow, of Kentucky, was chosen
to notify Coolidge of his nomination as Vice-President. It is interesting
■to note that this Governor Morrow is himself a strikebreaker of the

ii

irst: order. He made his reputation in the following manner, indicated
3y a telegram sent to the late President .Harding by Representative
Herman CJ. Thompson on February 5, 1922:

"Governor Morrow has sent troops to our town, shooting and kill-
ing-men and women. Please act."

It wits indeed fine strategy to have a man who lias used tanks and
machine guns to mow down striking steel workers, at Newport, Ky.,
be the one to make the notification speech for a man who rode into
power because of his prowess in crushing a strike.

And in the Republican Handbook for the 1920 campaign, describ-
ing Cooiidge's fitness for the job of Vice-President, we find the follow-
ing paean of praise sung of him by the President of a railroad:

"If X bad a dispute with ray men and Coolidge was the arbitra-
tor, I wounl 'be glad to have the men be represented by any lawyer
that they chose; and I would be willing: to leave my side of the case
in his hands without making a plea at all.'*

Coolidge has not changed his stripes since then. Addressing the
"Boston Business Men'* in November, 1920, he boasted that his election
was the best proof of the fact that "Labor'* has been laid low in its
aspiration to power, lie reminded his friends, the Boston Bankers,
that in January, 1920, he had, in an address before the Dartmouth
Alumni/ warned organized labor to keep in mind that: it; could not
live without the law and that the election results bore out his contention
one hundred percent.

Finally in the recent anthracite coal miner's strike. President Cool-
idge pursued the same strategy he followed in the Boston Police Strike,
II is first step was to appear impartial. His second step was to have
the nearest local authorities exhaust every possibility of avoiding a
strike. Then he was prepared to step in as the hero of the hour and
by a great fanfare and military display and threat to use force and
violence he would attempt to cajole the strikers into submission.

Failing in threats, Coolidge would not: have hesitated to pit all the
military and judicial and -financial resources of the most powerful strike-
breaking Government on earth against the' workers struggling for im-
proved conditions.

12

CHAPTER III.

e

HO.EVKR thinks that Qil Coolidge \s rise to the Presidency wah

realty meteoric,, has got another guess coming- to him.

Our thirtieth president has been in practical polities for almost a
quarter of a century. During this period, Coolidge has gone thru the
school of political hard knocks and has made the most of his bumps
and successes.

The President is a graduate of the well-known school of practical
American politics headed by the late Senator Murray Crane, of Massa-
chusetts, who was one of the most skilled political jobbers and horse-
dealers Washington has ever seen. This Bay State Senator was a high
grade specimen of the ex-Senator Lorimer type of legislator; except
that Crane put it over and delivered the goods with such skill as to
avoid the fate that befell the Illinois man.

Protege of Murray Crane

It was Senator Crane who projected Coolidge into national politics.
The late Senator built up a powerful machine in Massachusetts and
was always on the lookout for promising political prospects. Crane
picked up Coolidge, polished -his rough edges, taught him the tricks of
the game and turned him out the finished product that he is today.

Indeed, . so finished a product did Coolidge turn out to be that
Judge Field, his law partner hi Northampton and a first-rate politician
himself once said: "Calvin Coolidge is a shrewd politician. He has
learned the game of politics from the bottom up."

A Machine Mar*

./President Coolidge is a firm believer in the party machine and
party loyalty* In actual every day life, loyalty to the Republican and
Democratic Parties means loyalty to the employers and financiers who
operate and finance them.

Commenting on the importance of this attitude of Coolidge, a Bos-
ton publication, "Practical Politics, " sometime ago wrote: "lie knows
how to hustle for votes and realizes what the party owes "to men who
give their time and energy to party work*"

And while he was governor Coolidge dropped the following sig-
nificant remark to a prominent New York newspaperman : "We have
a government of parties. We must recognize the party, A man ought
to he loyal to those who have been loyal to him."

^ This policy was vividly reflected in President Coolidge*s recent ap-
omtment of Campbell Bascom Slemp as his secretary. Mr. Slemp,
t Virginia, is the only Republican to have been sent to Congress from
.ic South in the last fifteen years. He is a notorious political pawn-
broker. As State Chairman of the Republican Committee of Virginia
slemp solicited contributions and collected money from aspirants to
iflice in his State while he was a member of the House of Representa-
aves. Here we have an open indorsement of political office jobbers
on a grand scale.

Coolidge — the Bankers* Pet

With the advent of Coolidge into the Presidency the newspapers
opened a strong barrage to prove that "Cal" is a poor man. In order
to appease ^the discontented farming population, Coolidge was even
baptized a "rock*' farmer whose forefathers blasted the "rocks to get
breach

Tho Coolidge may not be as wealthy as his predecessor, Harding,
yet he is where he is today primarily because of his powerful hanker-
friends who have influenced, guided, and made his policies for years.

There is one friend of whom Coolidge prates a good deal and of
whose friendship lie is particularly proud. This friend is none other
than Dwight Morrow, of the firm of J. P. Morgan & Co, This noted
banker was a schoolmate of "Cal" at Amherst, and Coolidge never
fails to acknowledge his debt to Mr. Morrow,

Apropos of the inestimable value of this "friendship," Barron's Na-
tional Financial Weekly said on August 27, 1923: "That friendship
probably now will prove valuable. The President is reported to think
highly of the judgment and foresight of 'Tom* Lament (of the firm
of J. P, Morgan and Company), but their contact has been entirely
through Morrow as an intermediary."

Since the days of MeKinley and" America's entry into world polities
as a full-Hedged imperialist power every president Is said to have had

Marina/ 3 Harding had his Daugherty. Coolidge has
*t\ Frank W. Stearns, the wealthy Boston banker ant!
merchant is the chief confidant of the president. * Mr. Stearns has for
years pushed Coolidge for the presidency. At the Republican Conven-
tions of 1916 and 1920 Coolidge was Stearns' man.

The. sort -of influence Stearns has had on Coolidge is best under-
stood thru a consideration of Mr. Steams' standing in business circles.
Frank W. Stearns is Chairman of the Board of Directors of R. H,
Stearns & Co M millionaire wholesale and retail dry goods merchants.
Among his co-directors in this firm are such well-known New England
financiers and industrialists as R..W. Mavnard, Athertoh Clark, W,
B. Mossman, A. -B-- Chapin, and W, IV Wood of the Wool Trust,

. *4 ■ ■

his own "Murk
his Stearns.

Mr. Stearns is director and member of the executive committt :e
of the American Trust Co. which reported, in March, 1923, total re s-
sources of $30,413,000; a surplus of $2,000,000 and undivided profit s
of $1,049,000. This giant bank works hand in glove with such inter -
nationally known institutions of finance as the Chase National Bank ■,
the Guarantee Trust Co, 3 the Continental and Commercial Bank o. f
Chicago, and the Girard National Bank of Philadelphia.

Mr, Steamy is also a trustee and member of the investment com-
mittee of the .Provident Institution for Savings, a hank whose latest
annual report shows a total of $4,147,000 in surplus- and profits and
$71,168,000 in deposits.

Another friend arid maker of Coolidge is the banker and textile
baron, William M. Butler. So great a debt does our President owe this
industrial and financial magnate that many expect Coolidge to have
him take Daugherty's place. It must be remembered that the Attorney
General is the actual liaison between Pennsylvania Avenue -in Washing-
ton and Wall Street in New York ; between the Stock Kxchange and
the White House. In so far as the assets column of the ledger goes
and in so far as profitable business connections are concerned, there is
no more lucrative office one can hold than that of the Attorney General-
ship.

Mr. Butler, a class mate of Coolidge in Murray Crane's school of
New England politics, is one of the leading textile manufacturers of
the country. He is the president and director of a half dozen mills
running about 10,000 looms and almost 500,000 spindles. The Butler
'Mill, Iloosac Cotton Mills, New Bedford Cotton Mills Corp., Quisset
Mill, Nemasket Mills, and West End Thread Co. have, according to
their latest reports, total assets of over $20,000,000. In December,
1922, in the midst of the textile strike, while the workers were fighting
against a 20% decrease in wa&es, the New Bedford Cotton Mills Corp.
declared a 200% stock dividend and the Quisset Mills a 00% stock
dividend."

Besides hoim;' a powerful textile baron, Mr. Butler is also director
of the Atlas Tack Co!, 30% of whose product goes to the shoe trade
and whose last total assets are $3,063,737, Anions Mi\ Butler's co-
direetors here are such influential men in finance and industry as II. C.
Dodtfe, W. Bancroft, C. H. Dwinnelt, W. F. Donovan, and Ralph
Hornhlower of the firm of Hornhlower and Weeks, Boston bankers.

In the Boston and Worcester Electric Co. and in the Boston and
Worcester Street Railway Co., Mr. -Butler holds the office of president,
trustee, director, and chairman of the executive committee. Mr. Butler
la also a director of the Merchants National Bank of Boston which
had t in March. 1023, an undivided surplus of $3,645,000 ; deposits
amounting to $55,913,000 and total resources of $70,096,000. .

All in all, Mi\ Butler -is interested as director, president, or in some
other official capacity incorporations and batiks whose total assets and

15

aspurces are over $93,000,000. It is this Mr. Butler and Mr Stearns
/ho are the guiding spirits of President Coolidge Meam.v

e

Harding was noted for his bavin- surrounded himself with \
^^In^l^'J^^ ° fECe - ™ ™* * tot^rmm^

!v e ° f "T 11 ™ to . )Y ork most intimately with him. Mr. Slemp is very

of the 'Zt T ■ l^r k ' S i n , tht c^° Uth - Mr " Slei "P- as President
ol lie Hamilton Realty Co. and the Slemp Coal Co. also has lar«- e land.
and coal holdings in south western Virginia.

Stock Exchange Welcomes Coolidge

is ^iv^th^T'TV 1 ^ '? thC UpCn S ; 1,OI) l ,crs and capitalist reactionaries
is given the blanket indorsement of our financial and industrial over-
lords m the following estimate of the country's chief executive bv the
president of one of New York City's greatest hanks: Sitfi a"
man with a thorough knowledge of basic economies, and in his public
life has demonstrated the fact that he is a sane and constructive force
m government. "

Under these conditions it is small, wonder* that the hankers and
manutaeturers from coast to coast are rejoicing over the rise of Conl-
Klge to th* presidency The feeling of security the big employers have
with Coohdge at the helm, is best shown by the fact that when he stepped
into his office the reactionary New York Tribune remarked- "The ■ stock-
trading simply recorded a quiet confidence that all was well— surelv
a rare tribute to President Coolidge." ,y

^' ''■()}•%

?'i; s

'•.... i ,

flfOflfiERS

t \t

T6

Request Date: 28-SEP-2009

Expiration Date: 01-OCT-2009

ILL Number:

=5»:fS|

ILL Number: 3415710
Call Number: N/A Q-(Ni(j ftC
Format: Monograph
Author: Lovestone, Jay.

Title: What's what about Coolidge?
Pub. Place: Chicago, Workers Party of America,
[1926?]

Requester: TEXAS STATE UNIV-SAN MARCOS
Interlibrary Loan

Patron Name: Wright, Jonathan
Patron e-mail:
Service Level:
Delivery Method: Library Mail

Request Note: FAX/ARIEL:512-245-3002/Ariel

147.26.108.32 OCLC Req. Ex. Source:

ILLiad

Need by Date: 28-OCT-2009
Verification Source: <TN:191597> OCLC
Supplier Reference:

TGQ or OCLC #:

TGQ or OCLC #: 57920040
ID: TX1

ISBN/ISSN:

Address: 64 SATvia

TEXpress/AlkekLibrary/Interlibrary
Loan/Texas State University-San
Marcos/60! University Drive/San Marcos,
TX 78666

Service Type: Loan
Max Cost: USD50
Payment Type: IFM

Supplier Reference: I LLNUM: 57920040
Owned By:

Copyright Compliance:

Requester Symbol: OCLC:TXl

Return To: ILL SHIELDS LIBRARY / UNIVERSITY
OF CALIFORNIA, DAVIS / 100 N.W.
QUAD / DAVIS CA 95616-5292 / U.S.A./
ARIEL: 169.237.75.50 /FAX
530-752-7815/
shieklsinterloan@ucdavis.edu