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Lot 23
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Calvin Coolidge as Pres. About Joining the World Court
Calvin Coolidge as Pres. About Joining the World Court
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Description:

Calvin Coolidge
Washington, D.C., January 17, 1927
Calvin Coolidge as Pres. About Joining the World Court
TLS
A typed letter signed by President Calvin Coolidge to the Editor of the Ladies Home Journal about joining the World Court. 1p, measuring 8" x 10.5", Washington, D.C., dated January 17, 1927. On White House stationery, signed "Calvin Coolidge" and addressed to Edward W. Bok. Beneath typed date is written in clerical hand, "Received January 18." With flattened mail folds and light toning throughout. Additional light creasing in places. With a few small spots of soiling. Boldly signed.

Reading in full:
"The State Department is of the opinion that the draft of the treaty and your comments thereon reveal the profound thought which you have given to this subject. They report, however, that the practice heretofore followed by the Government in its treaties of arbitration has been to restrict such agreements to those questions which are legal in their character and are susceptible of the application of legal principles. This government has never been willing to submit to any form of arbitral of judicial determination questions involving national honor or which affect the vital interests of independence of the country. A treaty of the kind here under consideration covering as it would any conceivable matter of dispute would include such questions as immigration deportation or any other question whether arising under municipal law, Governmental policy, treaties or alleged principles of international law. In other words, the conduct of the Government in any of its varied activities might be called into question and subjected to review by an international tribunal at the behest of any other country party to the treaty, which might, whether justifiably or unjustifiably, raise an issue with respect thereto. They think it very doubtful whether such an undertaking would be wise and that probably it would be impossible to secure the ratification of an agreement of that nature."

The Permanent Court of International Justice, called the World Court, was established under the auspices of the League of Nations. Although a centuries-old idea, the Court was established at The Hague, Netherlands, in 1922. Initially successful, its influence waned in the years leading up to World War II and it was replaced by the International Court of Justice, established by the United Nations Charter, in 1945.

Publishing magnate Edward Bok established the American Peace Award in 1923. For his work encouraging U.S. participation in the Court, Dr. Charles H. Levermore was the prize's first recipient. Here, Coolidge's response to Bok expresses State Department concerns that a World Court might trump or U.S. law or call into question U.S. government functions at almost any level. Surprisingly, though he did not in favor America joining the League of Nations, Coolidge nonetheless advocated membership in the World Court—so long as the U.S. was not be bound by advisory decisions. After years of work by his successor, he United States finally recognized the court's jurisdiction in 1935, but the Senate failed to ratify the necessary treaty, and as a result the U.S. did not become a member of the court.

Edward William Bok (1863–1930) was a Dutch-born American editor, philanthropist, and Pulitzer Prize-winning author. He was editor of the Ladies Home Journal for thirty years, and author of over a dozen books. During his tenure, the magazine maintained a focus on Progressive social issues and was the first magazine to refuse patent medicine advertisements—as well as the first magazine to have over one million subscribers. Bok is credited with coining the term living room as the name for the room of a house that had commonly been called the parlor or drawing room.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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  • Dimensions: 8" x 10.5"
  • Medium: TLS

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