The Washington times., 1934-01-30
LINKED To HIM
STEADFASTLY
SINCE 1920
Edwin C. Hill Tells of Their
Abiding Faith in Chief;
Dozen in Group Now

By EDWIN C. HILL
(Staff Writer of The Washington
Times and Noted Radio
BrOadcaSter)
Copyright, 1894, by International
News SerVice)
Six thousand public parties will
be held tonight, all over the coun-
try, in honor of the fifty-second
birthday Of the President of the
United States and to raise money
probably two million dollars
for the infantile paralysis cura-
tive sanitarium at Warm Springs,
Ga, which is so near to his heart.
To Franklin D. Roosevelt will
come by air and wire warm and
gracious echoes of this colossal
series of celebrations for the
birthday of a President-the first,
so far as this writer knows, that
was ever held in the history OF
the country.
kilograms will flash in upon
him by the thousands-letters by
the bale-gifts by the ton. But of
all the celebrations the one which
will touch him most deeply and
intimately will be the dinner party
tonight. in his own private quar-
ters in the White House for the
Roosevelt boys and girls"
Faithful Crew of Twelve
Perhaps you don't know about
this company of men and women
who have followed the fortunes Of
Mr.. Roosevelt since the days he
ran for Vice President in 1920. 1t
isn't topic the President is much
given to talking about. and the
boys and girls themselves-some
of them a bit gray on the top
nowadays-are not exactly loqua-
cious on the subject.
But there they are. This group
of IL or Is who have believed all
these years that F. D. r. is just
about Gods greatest gift to hu-
manity in modern times and have
spent half a generation in burn
ing loyalty to the chief Of their
devotion.
They are in the White House
today because of that faith, affec-
ton, and loyalty-Col. Louis NC
Henry Howe, Marvin Mcintyre,
Steve Early, Margaret Lehand-
others of the faithful crew.
The intimate association began
back in 1920, when Woodrow Will
son lay helpless in the White
House and Cox, of Ohio, and
Roosevelt, of New York, took the
road to make the fight of democ-
racy against the confident masses
of Republicans.
Howe First on List
Howe, that strange, loyal,
shrewd, humorous, understand
ing little man, the Medieval
Gnome," came into the picture
away back beyond 1920. For
F. D. r. was his personal discov-
cry as far back as 1911, when
young Roosevelt, independent
Democratic State Senator from
Dutchess, was baking the ambi-
ton of Leader Murphy, of Tam
many, to place in the United
States Senate his fair haired boy,
blue-eyed Billy Sheehan.
It was in that bitter fight over
the Senatorship that Louis Howe,
then a correspondent for a New
York newspaper, Benefits old
Herald, sensed the conner in the
long, lank, earnest youth from
DutcheSs county. 1t was then
that Louis Howe hitched his
wagon to the Roosevelt star and
began to call his boss Frank
lin"-about the only person that
does so today outside of the
Roosevelt family.
So Louis Howe is the dean, if
you like, of the Roosevelt boys
and girls-the shock troops of the
Roosevelt career. The others
came later-Miss Margaret Le-
hand. the Presidents personal
secretary; a charming lady, gen.
tie. soft voiced, beautiful with her
lovely dark eyes and the black
hair into which the gray is barely
creeping; wise, patient, observant:
the perfect private secretary-the
Presidents right hand in those
10000 details of existence through
which he must go daily.
Then as now. Margaret LIE
Hand was his personal secretary.
At his New York headquarters or
with him on the campaign trains,
when he went speeding about the
country preaching the gospel of
democracy.
Also on the campaign train was
young Steve Early, grandson of
that redoubtable old Confederate
(COnIinued on Page S, Col. y
Liverpool Spots