Evening star., 1932-11-20
ROOSEVELT BARES
PART over THERE.
President ELECT Visited Ma
rines at Chateau Thiery,
Says Autobiography.
BY FREDERIC WILLIAM VILE.

BY FREDERIC WILLIAM VILE.
! Nearly everything about his past life,
private and public, has been published
| to the world during the past year, but
it has remained for President-elect
Franklin Delano Roosevelt himself to
tell the story of his World War record.
Most Americans know Of his connec-
ton with the administration of the
Navy Department during the years be-
tween 1913 and 1921. But few are
aware that the President-elect saw the
wind-up of the gallant action which
began at Chateau Thierry in 1918-the
beginning of the end 'over there"
Gov. Rcosevelt'S narrative of those
days is contained in a brief auto
biographical sketch prepared for the
year book of his Harvard class (1904.
1t reads as follows:
"The Vera Cruz episode and the out
break of the European War kept me
much occupied with naval affairs
during 1914. In March, 1915, I was
appointed National Commissioner to
the Panama-Pacif1c International Ex-
position, and visited San Francisco and
the San Diego Exposition in company
with the Vice President, and on the
same trip inspected various naval
property and ships on the Pacific
Cast. The year 1915 was wholly oc-
cupied in doing what was possible
under existing law in getting the Navy
Department prepared for the threat
ened hostilitics.
Trip in January, 1917.
early in January, 1917, went to
Cuba, Haiti, and Santo Domingo to in
aspect the work of the Navy and Ma
-iYan IL = Il. II
across Haiti, and while in the center
of Santo Domingo, was recalled by
radio to Washington, owing to the sew
ering of diplomatic relations with Ger
many
From that day on, every moment
was spent in putting the Navy into the
war and keeping it there. First, the
planning, then the actual mobilization,
then the active operations. From a
S15O,OO0, ,O00-a-year concern the Navy
jumped to $4,000, 100000 basis: from a
personnel of 10000 to one of 504000;
from q few navy yards to hundreds
of industrial establishments at home
and dozens of operating stations on
foreign shores.
In early July, 1918, I crossed the
ocean on the U. S. S. Dyer, one of
the new destroyers, escorting huge
troop convoy part way across, then
stopping at the Azores to inspect the
American Naval Base, and landing fin
ally at Portsmouth, England. The next
month and half waS taken up with
inspection trips to all United States
Navy activities in England, Ireland,
Scotland, France, and Italy, including
the Grand Fleet, the destroyer and
Subchaser forces, and the aviation and
bombing stations. / was fortunate
enough to be able to visit the Marine
Brigade on the French front, to follow
up the advance during the end of July
north of Chateau -Thierry, and to visit
sectors Of the British and Belgian
fronts during the active operations at
the beginning of the great advance. I
returned to the department in october,
and was about to return to France as
an officer attached to the 14-inch Naval
Railway Battery under Admiral PUNK
EFT when the Armistice put an end to
my hopes for active service.
Another European Mission.
"On January /, 1919. 1 sailed for
Europe again, charged with demobiliz-
ing the United States Navy stations,
material and personnel in European
waters. 1t was purely business trip.
except for a delightful run of four
days through Belgium to Cologne, and
up the Rhine to the headquarters of
the Marines at Neu Wied returning
to Paris by the Moselle Valley. Luxem-
bourg, and the Champagne battle fields
I returned with the President on the
U. S. S. George Washington the end
of February.
Since then I have been occupied
with the difficult and uncongenial task
of putting the Navy back on a peace
footing and getting rid of contracts
Clfrf1lIIC tnTio1 hox
tainly been five years of extraordinary
interest"
= In a subsequent edition of the Har-
= ward '04 year book, Governor Roosevelt
t under date of June, 1929. writes intro
!, spectively of his poSt-college career
2 The first six years after graduation,
he says, were devoted in part to law
0 but I am afraid I then formed the
! habit of trying my hand at the avoca-
tions of life which have always in
= terested me more than specialization
} III a profession. Philanthropic wors
), and a great interest in public questions
a led me to run for Office, with the re
g suit that three years in the State Sen
ate proved to my satisfaction that
e am not intended for a legislator.
y Since then I have been practicinl
law. and also am actively in the surety
4 business. With Mr.. Hoover in 1923
= helped to organize the American Con
It struction Council and have been it!
r president ever since. On the side I havt
C served as an overseer of Harvard, anC
r am now trustee of Vassar: also a!
head of the Boy Scout Foundation o
e Greater New York since 1922 I hav
II had interesting work in helping to built
up this very large organization.
Warm Springs Foundation.
u During the past three years I hav
q devoted much time to the establishment
:. of the Georgia Warm Springs Founda
- ton for the treatment CT infantil
- paralysis, arthritis, etc, and the result
70 obtained seem to be increasingly salts
IL factory.
,e I'm home affairs I have been yer
n happily married since 1905 and tn
circle includes a daughter. four strap
~ ping sons and one granddaughter, VIII
N must be very nearly, if not quite, tn
# eldest grandchild of the class. fin
time at home to practice forestry, as
To- would rather plant trees than cut ther
Il down. also to collect books. manuscript
ct and prints, and to delve into naval his
N tory and the local records of my HON
"a county. Outside of two slim volume
i and various magazine articles 1 hav
N deferred serious writing until after tn
class Of 1904 has had its fiftieth re
W union. I may have more leisure tim
l. then"
IS President-elect Roosevelt will find
Te considerable sprinkling of his Harvar
h classmates in Washington, several {
foar1 in ho COyaTy,r1neY1t cnryica Ap,o1,