LADY OF WHITE HOUSE

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 79, Issue 264, 7 November 1936, Page 2

LADY OF WHITE HOUSE

MRS. FRANKLIN ROOSEVELT ACTIVITIES AND INTERESTS MANY-SIDED PERSONALITY

In a citation that went with the degree of Doctor of Humane Letters she received from Russell Sage College in 1929, Mrs Franklin D. Roosevelt was described as follows, states a writer in the New York Times: — “Anna Eleanor Roosevelt, native of the State of New York, niece of the 26th. President of the United States of America, teacher, educational administrator, director of industry, guiding spirit of many civic and legislative organisations, active associate in many public and private philanthropic movements; first lady of the Empire State, Russell Sage College considers you one of the ablest, most energetic and most versatile women in public life to-day.” The citation was somewhat longer and laudatory all through, but it is recorded that Mrs Roosevelt was extremely embarrassed by such direct praise. She has always preferred to do her work without ostentation and whether this was in the home, for the under-privileged, in the political arena, or in her writings, it always has been done with thoroughness and enthusiasm. When she married Franklin D. Roosevelt on March 17, 1905, Mrs Roosevelt was given away by her uncle. President Theodore Roosevelt. Socially, it was a gala event. But the Roosevelts, both born to wealth and luxury, were indifferent to a life of this sort. She has kept step with her husband throughout his political career. Politics and Welfare Work Mrs Roosevelt was born in New York City on October 11, 1884, the daughter of Elliott Roosevelt, younger brother of Theodore Roosevelt, and Anna Livingstone Hall, a descendant of Chancellor Livingston. Both her parents died when she was 10 years old, and she went to live with her grandmother, Mrs Valentine G. Hall, at Tivoli-on-the-Hudson, near Poughkeepsie. Until she ws 15 she was educated by private tutors and governesses, nd then she went to a private school near London, where she received cultural training by Mlle. Souvestre, a Frenchwoman, who took her pupils on trips of exploration into the London slums and showed them the darker as well as the brighter sides of life. Mrs Roosevelt went back to the United States and from the start took up socialogical activities as well as schooling herself in practical politics. After their marriage, the Roosevelts lived in Washington for eight years, when Mr Roosevelt was Assistant-Sec-retary of the Navy. Later she became chairman of the women’s dimother of Wanganui.” Prior to her marriage Mrs Russell also was associated with the teaching of the school, which stood on the site in the block at the rear of McGruer’s Corner. After their marriage, Mr and Mrs Matthew Russell resided at Wellington for some years, but moved to Wanganui nearly 40 years ago, and since then had been, associated with the development of the city. A lover garden, Mrs Russell endeared herself to a wide circle of friends by her quiet and unobtrusive generosity and sweet disposition, and many took the opportunity to pay tribute to her memory by attending at the funeral service and at the graveside at Aramoho. Mrs Russell leaves three sons— Mesrs J. M. Russell (at present in Sydney), Mr W. L. Russell, of Wanganui, and Mr A. H. Russell, of Kaitaia, North Auckland—and one daughter, Mrs J. S. Hanna, of Wellington. KNOWN BY ITS LABEL If you require the medicinal virtues of a good gin, look for the White Heart Label—that’s genuine J.D.K.Z. Gin. Distilled with the berries of Italian Juniper. Sold in flasks, pints, and quart bottles in all hotels and bottle stores.—Advt.

vision of the New York Democratic State Committee and remained as such for five yers until 1928, when she became a member of the advisory committee in charge of women’s activities of the Democrat national campaign committee. Partner in Business Venture For several years Mrs Roosevelt has been vice-principal of the Todhunter School for Girls, 66 East Eightieth Street, New York City, where she teaches English and American history. She has been a partner with three other women in the ValKill furniture shop at Hyde Park, New York, which they established in 1925 to encourage rural industry and, incidentally, to help the farmers to reproduce the hand-made early American furniture. The venture has proved to be profitable and exhibitions have been held periodically in New York City and elsewhere. As a member of the Housing Association for New York, Mrs Roosevelt frequently visits the city to inspect the tenement areas, to make recommendations for their improvement,

and to fight to have them carried out. She has been active in numerous organisations; has delivered as many addresses as Mr Roosevelt, if not more, and has spent her summer vacations with him in inspecting State institutions. She frequently has contributed to magazines and only recently she became editor of a Bernard Macfadden periodical called “Babies: Just Babies.” In 1931, Mrs Roosevelt wrote a magazine article in which she listed the 10 rules which in her opinion govern a successful marriage. They were as follows: 1. Have a plan, some central idea, as definite a pattern for your life as possible, and a clearly understood object for the joint project. 2. Remember that sooner or later money is apt to be a cause of friction. Keeping a budget is a practical way of eliminating the irritations and dissatisfactions that come to married people over the outlay of money. 3. Apportion your time and energy, allowing each his share of the joint home-making duties, as well as for individual responsibilities. 4. Let neither husband nor wife strive to be the dominating person in the houshold. A victory for either in this respect means failure of the partnership. 5. Expect to disagree. Two people .may hold entirely different views on many subjects and yet respect and care for each other just the same. Necessity for Honesty 6. Be honest. Each must be honest with himself and with the other, not trying to think and be things he is not. 7. Be loyal. Keep your differences Ito yourselves. The less said about your married troubles, except be--1 tween yourselves, the better. The | feeling that many young people have, that they can complain to their par|ents when things do not go just right, is bad for them and brings more serious trouble later on. 8. Talk things over. When hurt do not keep it to yourselves, brooding over it. Meet every situation in the open. Troubles that seem momentous quickly vanish when frankly dealt with. 9. Avoid trivial criticism. Grumbling and complaints use up the vital forces of man or woman. 10. Keep alive the spirit of courtship, that thoughtfulness which existed before marriage. Look for traits in the other that can be admired and praised. You can accomIplish much by stimulating self-confi-|dence in your partner. For one who i reacts to encouragement with “But | I’m afraid I can’t” there are ten who .feel “I’m quite a fellow after all! I mustn’t let her (or hifn) down in what he (or she) expects of me.” Mrs Roosevelt is a fine equestrienne, swims, plays tennis and loves ' the out-doors. She has managed the Executive Mansion at Albany, their country estate at Hyde Park, and their town house on Sixty-fifth Street. She has guided their four sons and daughter, considering no duty more important. For relaxation she knits and she reads. Although an abstainer by personal conviction, Mrs Roosevelt does not see eye to eye with the advocates of prohibition. In 1930 she said: “When this law went into effect I confess I looked to it with great hopes. But when one sees the terrible things that have grown out of it, such as graft and bootlegging, one begins to wonder about it.”