Calvin Coolidge was laconic in both private and public statements. He deserves to be remembered for his handling of the strike by Boston Police.

The police of Boston had grievances over pay, hours of work, and working conditions. Receiving
little satisfaction from the city, they affiliated with the American Federation of Labor (AFL), and
when 19 local police union leaders were suspended from the force, the police voted to strike. Their
walkout brought disorder to Boston. Coolidge did not step into the strike until peace had been
largely restored, when he took command of the various forces that had been introduced to bring
order. He denied the right of the strikers to return to their jobs, and defended the city's and state's
actions in a telegram to Samuel Gompers, president of the AFL, in which he asserted: "There is no
right to strike against the public safety by anybody, anywhere, any time." Coolidge received the
acclaim of the nation, including that of President Woodrow Wilson, for meeting a dire threat to
public safety, and that fall he was reelected governor.

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