Date: March 28, 1931
Location: Northampton, MA
(Original document available here)
Far out in the islands of the Pacific the soul of Brother Joseph Dutton has been released from the limitations of this earth. Bearer of an old New England name, born in Vermont in 1843, captain of a Wisconsin company in the Civil War, novice in a Trappist monastery in middle life, voluntary missionary to the lepers of Molokai for over forty-four years, dedicated to poverty, surrounded by hopeless misery, yet joyously consecrated through the years to the things of the spirit, this man died a saintly figure.
Amid all the pretentions of the present era, the pride, the guile, the strife, here was a reality. Wherever his story is told men will pause to worship. His faith, his works, his self-sacrifice appeal to people because there is always something of the same spirit in them. Therein lies the moral power of the world. He realized a vision which we all have. The universal response to the example of his life is another demonstration of what mankind regard as just and true and holy. He showed the power of what is good and the binding force of the common brotherhood of man.
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 Robert Manchester who prepared this document for digital publication.