Date: February 2, 1931
Location: Northampton, MA
Summary: Coolidge praises the friendly relationship between the U.S. and Canada.
(Original document available here)
The visit of Prime Minister Bennett of the Dominion of Canada to Washington emphasizes the friendly relations of two American nations. He reported to the press that he had no important business to transact with our government. There are no serious disputes between the two countries. Such diplomatic exchanges as are necessary are in the nature of communications between merchants who buy from and sell to each other. The Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence are common natural resources from which mutual advantages will be secured by future development. The only indication of a frontier of three thousand miles between the United states and Canada is the places where exports and imports are supervised. Yet we are two separate people with a strong and distinct national spirit.
In recent years many delegations have come from foreign countries to study our industrial development. It might be profitable for an international delegation to study the manner in which two great and competing countries in North America maintain friendly relations without any fortifications or any armed forces at their borders. If such a secret could be discovered and applied it would be the greatest blessing that could be secured by many foreign people.
Citation: Calvin Coolidge Says: Dispatches Written by Former-President Coolidge and Syndicated to Newspapers in 1930-1931 (Calvin Coolidge Memorial Foundation)
The Coolidge Foundation gratefully acknowledges the volunteer efforts of John Sullivan III who prepared this document for digital publication.