Evening star., 1935-08-25
what the President thinks about each

what the President thinks about each
of the congressional performances.
Really the mind-reading by dis
tinguished writer's OF the thoughts,
impulses and purposes Of the President
Of the United States is an amazing
development in political journalism.
mo personal contact with the sub
ject is involved. For example, Mr..
Frank Kent of the Baltimore Sun,
! who could hardly be classed as one
of the White House intimates, will tell
you any morning that the President
regards a Supreme Court decision as
personal challenge. and will go on
to explain in detail Just what Franklin
Roosevelt is going to do about it.
ANY other morning Mr.. Mark Sulli-
van will reveal to you that the Presi-
dent is requiring Congress to pass
laws he knows to be unconstitutional
in order to arraign the people against
the Supreme Court Mr.. Sullivan also
explains that the holding companies
bill represents feud by Mr.. Roosevelt
against certain individuals in the
holding company business.
Now these distinguished column
lists do not say they think this. or have
been advised that, or have heard the
other, but state fatty the inner secrets
of the Presidents mind
Those of us who have closer con-
tact with the Chief Executive are
envious of this capacity to know so
much, and know it so positively.
Really, the matter Of thought trans
ference, as exemplified by such writer's,
ought to be looked into by those soci-
eties devoted to psychical research.
Mind Reading Amiss.
"For example, Mind Reader Kent
the other day. after looking into a
crystal ball, or perhaps studying the
tea leaves in his cup at some S o'clock,
revealed that there was no whisper
ing campaign against the President,
but that the campaign emanated
from the White House, seeking to set
up a straw man to be knocked down
for campaigning purposes. True. a
little later on, the propaganda artist
who recommended the campaign to
the holding companies turned up on
the witness stand before the Lobby
Investigating Committee of the Sen
ate. He was confronted with his let
ter, obtained presumably from the
files of the recipient, and was forced
to admit that he had proposed 'whis-
pering campaign-using those very
words-conveying to the public that
the President of the United States was
losing his mind. There had showed
up chain letters, carrying this idea.
Zone Of the numerous crew of buSi-
ness letter writer's who affect to tell
firms and corporations the low-down,
deep inside, of what Is going on in
Washington, included the story Of the
Presidents mental and physical break
down in one Of his confidential tips to
his clients. The tale was so generally
circulated that finally one of the reg
ular press correspondents brought it
up at the semi-weekly conference
which President Roosevelt holds with
the newspaper men.
Ahc 1AcsAucht, SitIulS at Ills ucSA
among the men who see him con-
stantly. bronzed and hearty. smiled
back at the newspaper group that had
been bombarding him with questions
for half an hour, and asked them
what they thought about his health.
Expressions of Horror.
"Then there Is the persistent bar
rage by Republican speakers, and the
spokesmen Of their afilisted agencies,
like the Liberty League. expressing