[Released February 27, 1930. Dated February 26, 1930]
I CORDIALLY approve the idea of initiating the celebration of the birthday of the poet Longfellow by the city of his birth. His songs have been a part of the fabric of American life for generations, and due honor should be paid his memory as a man of wonderful character as well as a poet of universal appeal.
HERBERT HOOVER
Note: The message, sent to Henry F. Merrill, vice president and chairman for the Maine New England Council, Portland, Maine, was read during a luncheon held by the Thirteen Club marking the 123d anniversary of Longfellow's birth.
Herbert Hoover, Message Endorsing the Celebration of the Birthday of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/211518