The Washington times., 1933-03-31

neither of these positions held
any special interest for Frank
lin. he asked that no further
consideration be given the
appointments. However, quite
by accident, he ran into jose
phus Daniels who during the
pre-convention months had
grown to have a high regard
for my boy. So when he asked
my son whether he would not
like to work with him as
Assistant Secretary of the Navy,
Franklin, with his inherent
love of the sea and ships,
hesitated only long enough to
say II would"
Not long after that the
appointment was approved.
Franklin submitted his resig-
nation as State Senator and
prepared to move to Washing
ton into the little house he
and Eleanor had leased from
her Aunt, Mrs. Cowles. In
short order they arrived bag
and baggage, the children in
tow, and on March II, 1918,
the anniversary of his wedding,
at the age of thirty-one, he
took the oath of office.
Rapid Adjustment
His was a rapid adjustment
to the new environment in
which he found himself, prob
ably because neither he nor
Eleanor allowed it to make the
slightest difference in their
attitude toward life or their
manner of living. Neither OF
them had ever had any interest
in society as such, and although
they were hurtled into a
veritable maelstrom of formal
receptions, dinners and parties,
they consistently declined the
proffered invitations and con-
tinued to lead the comparative
ly simple existence they had
always preferred. Very soon
they formed their own little
coterie of friends with whom
they had much in common,
and with, think, the Frank
lin K. Lanes, che William
Phillips, the Adolph C. Millers.
banded themselves into a sort
of supper club and met at least
once every two weeks for a
Sunday night buffet party.
They took turns in inviting
one couple from the outside
for each meeting, but the
gathering was never allowed to
exceed ten, for they were deter
mined to keep it informal and
intimate.
They had wonderful times on
these occasions and many others
like them, but what primarily
intrigued Franklin about Wash
ington was his work.
Inability to Swim
When he had been in office
only a little time he found
that there was an unwarranted
number of deaths among sailors
due to drowning. The cause
he found upon investigation
was nearly always their in
ability to swim, so Franklin
established a trophy to be
awarded each year to the
winner Of the swimming con-
tests he inaugurated for officers
and their crews.
To the CONSERVATION Of
Washington officialdom he in
dulged in wholesale criticism
of his department. He was
determined that the Navy should
not be the government stepchild
and harped on its deficiencies
so vigorously that some effort
was finally made to remedy
them.
The pride he took in the
fleet transcended patriotism or
mere love of his job and he
bitterly resented anything that
in any way reflected upon it's
credit. For that reason when he
found during his term of office,
that there were magistrates
who were giving miscreants
suspended sentences on con-
dition that they enlist in the
Navy, he refused to condone
such a practice and broadcast
the statement that "the Navy
is not a Reform institution.
We cannot and will not in
such action jeopardize the
morale of the Naval Service of
the U. S."
Amusing Experiences
Intent though Franklin was
upon the serious aspects of his
work he recalls any number of
amusing experiences that pro-
vided a welcome interlude.
There was, for instance, the
time before our entrance into
the war when the Navy was
particularly anxious to obtain
a certain kind of Diesel engine
that could be made only in
Zurich. Putting through an
order was simple enough but
installing an officer in Switzer-
land who would act as in
Spector during its construction
presented a more difficult
problem. Under the law there
was no way in which one could
send a man and provide him
with funds adequately to cover
lodging and salary unless one
listed him as a Naval Attache.
Now Franklin knew that if it
got around that we were send
ing a Naval Attache to Swift