SILENT CAL AND THE CRAFT

President Calvin Coolidge had the reputation of being a person of few words. One time while attending a public function he was told by a young lady, "Mr. President, I made a bet that I can get you to say three words." To which he replied, "You lose."

Although not a Mason, he was not stingy with words when he talked about Freemasonry. While Governor of the Bay State, he addresses the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts and said: "It has not been my fortune to know very much about Freemasonry, but I have had the great fortune to know many Freemasons, and I have been able in that way to judge the tree by its fruits. I know of your high ideals. I have seen that you hold your meeting in the presence of the Bible, and I know that men who observe that formality have high sentiments of citizenship, of worth, and of character. That is the strength of our Commonwealth and Nation."