Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-05-29
DISAPPROVING PUBLIC LIFE,
MRS. OLDFIELD WILL RETIRE
Determines to End Career in
House at End of Present
Term.
May Establish Home in Kan
sas City to Be Near
Relatives.
BY the Associated Press.

BY the Associated Press.
Mrs. Pearl Peden Oidheld. Repre-
sentative from Arkansas and the widow
OF William A. Oldfield. the former
Democratic whip, today declared that
under no circumstances" would she
return to Congress after her present
term expires.
She has found active public life no
anodyne for her grief over the loss Of
her husband, she said, and although
she will carry on for the remainder of
her two-year term, which follows her
election to fill the unexpired term OF
her late husband, she will do so simply
in the spirit of taking care of things
for her husband. Then she will gladly
retire to the sphere in which she be-
lieves woman belongs-her home.
Holds to Belief.
IT came back to the Office to look
after things before any one was mere
to keep things going she said, refer
ring to her election to fill out her
husbands term, land I accepted the
nomination believing I should serve only
few weeks. Before the special cleo
ton announced by old-fashioned be-
lief about women and the home, and
that belief still hold"
Then Mrs. Oldfield observed that In
fact she has no nome to which to re-
tire. For 81 years she lived in WASH
ington with her husband, returning to
their home in Batesville, Ark, for oc-
casional visits until IL years ago, when
her elderly mother came to live with
them. Since then she has not been
willing to leave her mother alone--and
few years ago the home in BatesVllle
was destroyed by fire.
May Select Kansas City.
Probably. she said. she will establish
home for herself and her mother IN
Kansas City when she retires, and there
they viii be near her brother and mis-
son and daughter.
These children, she said, are one OF
the few vital personal interests she
possesses. She pointed to photograph
of battleship hanging in her Office
the cruiser to which her nephew was
attached last June when he graduated
at Annapolis. He will be at home III
Kansas City during leaves, she said,
and the niece will be with them dur
ing college vacations.
But despite her personal diStaSte
for public life. Mrs. Oldfield has estab-
lished a record for faithfulneSs on
the job. She has never been absent
from a session of the House. Slight
of figure. grey-eyed, her hair tinged
slightly with gray and invariably dress
ed In black with string of pearls
at her throat, she is always to be found
in her Office during the morning.
Il suppose take everything serious
ly," she explained.
She has attended every conference
Of her State delegation and she has
given up all duties in the apartment
she shares with her mother-though
formerly she found trying out new
recipes entirely delightful"
When she was in the Capital, she
said. she found the social life inter-
esting but later she spent most of her
evenings at home. Since she has
been a member of the House, she has
given many evenings to studying the
Congressional Record, which she reads
from cover to cover.
But when the House recessed, be-
fore the special session." She added,
II took another kind of receSs-I went
to news stand and stocked with every
woman's magazine I could fluid. I'm
looking forward to reading them again
when the session is over"
Before her husbands death, she said
she considered adopting child, but
she has given up this plan and will
devote herself after her retirement to
! her niece and nephew and to doing
things for children" whenever oppor-
| tunity arises.