Evening star., 1932-11-09
EMBRACED DEMOCRACY
DURING HIS STUDENT DAYS
Grover Cleveland Among Eminent Men
Who Gave Their Blessings to Boy
Destined to Greatness.

uuiiliS lOEt IOf Ine SeA, Mr. ROOSee
velt has been interested especially in
naval postmarks. and he Is constantly
on the watch for Civil, Spanish and
World War cancellations Of this char
acter. In 1918, while In London, he
talked stamps with King George. the
dean of British philatelists During
his illness, Mr. Roosevelt had time TO
put his collection in order. A collector
Tor AZ years, he Is member OF the
Fort Orange Stamp Club of Albany and
OF other p1ilatelic societies.
Mr.. Roosevelt's personal wealth has
been va1ously estimated He is nat
uraily thrifty. as his father was before
him. II not multi millionaire, he u
at least very comfortably circum-
stanced.
Last year, when planning his pre-
convention campaign, Mr. Roosevelt
requested the director Of the New York
Academy Of Medicine to appoint q COM
mittee Of specialists to examine him.
DR.. Samuel w. Lambert. DR.. Russell A.
Hibbs and DR.. Foster Kennedy were
named. They reported: I'VE have today
examined Franklin D. Roosevelt. We
find that his organs and functions are
sound in all respects. There Is no
anemia. The chest Is exceptionally
absolutely normal; all its segments are
in perfect alignment and free from dis
ease. He has neither pain nor ache at
any time. Ten years ago Gov Rooss-
welt suffered an attack of infantile par
alysis, the entire effect of which was
expended on the muscles OF his lower
extremities. There has been progress
sive recovery Of power in the legs since
that date; this restoration continues
and will continue"
Splendid Physical
Specimen.
Dr. E. w. Beckwith, medical director
OF large insurance company, later ex-
amined the Governor. His report was:
1t has rarely been my privilege
to see such splendid physical specimen
as yourself This physician said that
his examination disclosed conditions
comparable to man Of 80 and little
The President-elect has given Of his
blood for the relief Of children suffering
with infantile paralysis.
At present he cannot rise from .
sitting position or walk without support.
Customarily, one Of his stalwart sons
assists him. the Governor leaning heavi-
ly upon the supporting arm and main
tanning his balance by the use Of q
stout cane. His lower limbs are en-
Cased in steel frames, which he hopes
eventually to be able to discard
Mr.. Roosevelt's capacity for labor
witnesses to his constitutional robust
ness. While at Albany his DAY conven-
tionally has begun at 8 am. with
breakfast and the perusal of his mail.
and continued until after midnight He
has daily dictated several score OF let
ters, conducted numerous formal and
informal conferences, and made exacting
studies of legislative matters, taxation
reports and administrative detail. He
has written many magazine articles and
made frequent radio speeches. He has
Travelled from twenty to thirty thou
sand miles annually. 1t IS reported that
he exhausts those who go with him.
but that he never exhausts himself
Mrs. Roosevelt is supposed to have said:
II paralysis could not kill him, the
presidency cannot"
A personal physical resemblance be-
tween Franklin and Theodore Roosevelt
has been noted by persons who have
known both men. In the formers
countenance many Of the typical Roose-
velt family characteristics have been
discovered. The Roosevelt eyes are blue
and deep set The Governor has "the
long. inQuisitive nose" Of the clan. His
smile is supposed to be like that OF
IT. R."
A curious parallel has been traced in
the lives OF the cousins. Both served as
Assistant Secretary Of the Navy and as
Governor of New York Both cam
paigned for the vice presidency and
both reached the White House. Both
had devastating illnesses and recosered
from them. Both have been distin-
guished for their tirelessness. their en-
thusiasm and their Joy in living. Both
have loved the outdoors. Both have
been famous for their conversational
powers and for their wealth OF general
knowledge. Both suffered the pain OF q
break with dear friend-Theodor
with William Howard Taft, and Frank
lin with Alfred e. Smith Both have
been temperamentally independent and
progressive. Both have hated bosses"
and special privilege"
1t is worthy OF note that only three
American families have contributed
more than one individual to the Presi.
dency John Quincy Adams was the
son OF John Adams; Benjamin Harri-
son was the grandson of William Henry
Harrison; Franklin and Theodore Roose-
fcll are llItu COUSINS.
Numerous stories are told about Mr..
Roosevelt. One concerns Gov Cox, his
running mate in 1920. The Governor.
never having met President Wilson and
being only moderately interested in
international affairs. suggested that
the League Of Nations issue be aban-
doned by the Democratic organization
Mr.. Roosevelt decided that the most
effective answer to that argument
would be meeting between Mr vii.
son and the Governor. He took the
latter to the White House. The spec.
tacle of Mr. Wilson's determination and
OF his broken physical condition was
enough. The Governor agreed with
Mr.. Roosevelt that out Of respect To
the dying leader the fight must Be
made, despite the tide Of public opin-
ion running against 1t
1t is related that when the Demo-
cratic leaders. in 1928, appealed to Mr..
Roosevelt over the telephone to accent
the nomination for Governor, one Of
them suggested: And there is every
likelihood that you will be elected" Mr..
Roosevelt's reply was: "Yes, that's the
hell Of It,"
When it first was suggested that Mr..
Roosevelt should be nominated for the
piColucllCy, llc WhS IlOSlue 10 the lQen.
On November 7, 1890. and again on
March 81, 1881, he gave to the Asso-
ciated Press definite statement to the
effect that he would not consider the
suggestion. He declared that he wished
to devote himself to his duties at Al
bany. and insisted that he would give
no consideration or thought or time
to anything except the duties Of the
governorship." Mrs Roosevelt and Mr..
Farley are supposed to have persuaded
him to abandon his attitude of resist
ance
At the opening Of the 1882 cam
paign. January is last. Mr.. Roosevelt,
the potential choice Of his party" was
the guest Of honor at Q victory ban
quet" in New York City. On that
occasion he said: "The President OF
the United States and hts associates
have perhaps shown incspacity to con-
tribute leadership In the solving Of Q
national crisis, but democracy can
never tolerate abuse against the person
Of the President of the United States. /"
He regretted, he declared. that there