THE ROOSEVELTS

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 2, Issue 536, 20 May 1933, Page 5

THE ROOSEVELTS

POLITICS ARE HIS BREATH OF LIFE. REMARKABLY ADROIT. "Franklin Delane Roosevelt," we read, "who now assumes the highly responsible and far from thankful position of President of the United States. ba,s been described bv nnp whn

knows him well as 'a man of leonine courage.' That this description is justified is obvious even to the most casual observer. "To act as President of the United States at the present juncture of affairs — both national and international — is a task that milght well daunt th'e strongest and most robust, but Mr. Roosevelt, at fifty years of uge, is far, very far, from being either physically strong or in robust health. For years he has been a hopeless cripple, unable to walk more than a few steps without assistance, and quite incapable of prolonged physical exertion. This infirmity was brought about by an act of bravery on his part bordering on the heroic. He dived from the deck of his steam yacht into ice-cold water to rescue: one who had fallen overboard, Paralysis of the lower limbs ensued, and complete recovery is, apparently, not to be hoped for now. "Despite this drawback, the new President's mental qualities are as alert and vigorous ia.Si ever. Politics with him are, and have been for years, the very breath of life. In this respect he presents an ahr.ost complete "contrast to his immediate predecessor, President Hoover, to whom politics are, as he only bluntly stated, 'just poison.' "In some respects Mr. Roosevelt is decidedly deceptive; he possesses the valuable Igiift of being able to keep his thoughts entirely to hiinself. Even his wife has to confess at times that she is unable' to divine what is really in his mind. This quality he displayed to the full during the recent Presidential election, when he constantly surprjsed friends and enemies alike by his remarkable adroitness. Even today his closest political supporters and allies 'and his most intinmte friends cannot assert dogmatically what is his precise attitude even towqrds such a burning question as the future of Prohibition in the United States. Time and again he was closely ques-tioned on this point, hut though at St. Louis he stated that 'they would ha,ve to get rid of th'e Prohibition amendment,' he did not ".ndicate when or how, or go into details of any kind. "Apart from their work, both Mr. and Mrs. Roosevelt possess considerahle intellectual attainments, as the merest Igilance through their libraries will indicate. Both have studied deeply, and over a wide range of subjects. They 'are called conyersation-

alists. .Four years ago Mrs. Roosevelt received the degree of Doctor of Humane Letters from. the well-known Russell Sage College, wheni she was, with justilication, described as 'one of the ablest, most energetic, and most versatile women in American public life1."