Evening star., 1935-05-12
About Well-KnOWn Folk
In Books, Art, Politics
Authority on Reporter System
In Campaigning.
BY ROBERT CRAWFORD.

BY ROBERT CRAWFORD.
Congress was all a-twitter the other
day when 1t was found that Represent
ative Edith Nourse Rogers of Massa-
chusetts did not vote for the Patman
bonus bill. The why and wherefore
was to many a mystery, that the
woman whose work for the World
War veterans, and particularly for
the disabled men, should so vote. She
has been so outstanding, beginning
with her Red Cross work, for the boys
overseas in 1917, continuing down and
through her service in the Congress
as a member of the committee for
World War veterans legislation.
She was appointed a personal rep
resentative for the care of disabled
veterans by President Harding in
1922, and reappointed for that work
by both Presidents Coolidge and Hoo
yer. She has visited every veterans
hospital in the United States and
whenever abroad compared methods
there with those in America. The boys
in the hospitals had become so used
to seeing Mrs. Rogers, in her uni
form and gray veil, that when she
ceased wearing it they did not at
first recognize her-until they looked
into her eyes. The merry twinkle
was unmistakable, and they knew she
was the one who always helped them
to worry along bit and find a way
out.
Sometime, somewhere and somehow
the plucky woman from the Bay
State-my, how she loves twill tell
at length why she did not vote for
the Patman bill, or any other bonus
legislation looking toward payment
of the bonus at this time. Standing
on the balcony near the entrance to
the floor of the House the other day
and looking far out over the city, Mrs.
Rogers very freely discussed the bonus
and showed her wide knowledge of the
efforts made toward recovery at this
time and her appreciation of the feel
ing throughout the country. But, of
the record-off the record-one thanks
thee. Mr.. President. and also Mrs.
Roosevelt, for those words. There are
times when one speaks audibly, but
to ones self.
Representative Rogers may be called
petite until she begins to express
her convictions on subject in which
she is vitality interested, and then she
looks almost feet. Maybe you
may have wondered about that twin
king witchery in her eyes. Well, its
quite naturally so. because one of her
ancestors was Rebecca Nourse, the last
witch to be executed in the New
England colonies in the latter part
of the seventeenth century. Some one
suggested to Mrs. Rogers not long
ago that If Rebecca we're living now
she would very probably be taken to
clinic and be examined by DR.. Will
liam White, or some other distinguish
ed psychiatrist. And perhaps they
would decide that the sticking of pins
In the little girl when a mile away,
and who gave the last-minute testi-
mony against Rebecca, was more in
need of observation than the accused
witch. 1t will be recalled that Re-
becca was game to the last-and so
is Edith Nourse Rogers. And then
that other ancestors of hers. Priscilla
Alden-"speak for yourself, john"
Educated in Lowell, Mass-her own
bailiwick-and in Paris. the Repre-
sentative early found times and ways
Of helping the forgotten man, and dur
ing the years her husband, the late
John Jacob Rogers, was In Congress,
she kept the home fires burning and
was known throughout his district
for her sympathetic understanding of
the problems confronting an industrial
people. When she succeeded her hus-
band in the House in 1925, people
thought lust courtesy to a much
liked citizen but she has been up and
coming ever since. AS the first wom-
an on the Foreign Relations Commit
tee, sincere advocate for higher tar
ifs, she has been signally honored,
standing for the good of the diplo-
matte service at home and abroad
not forgetting the forgotten wives of
some of the foreign consuls, who we're
said to have to bake and sell cakes to
piece out revenue during those lean
years of depression.
What treat that was Lord Duveen
had the other day when he was al
lowed to peep at Mr.. Melons glorious
pictures somewhere in the Corcoran
Gallery. At the income tax hearing
he said they were the finest collec-
ton of old masters in the universe"
Think of 1t! And all to be given to
the Government for the asking, and
q gallery to put them in as we'll. His
lordship offered to pay Mr.. Mellon
$750,000 for a picture that cost the
Pittsburgh art lover only s503, 900, and
then added. ITS worth a million dol
lars" Lord Duveen's my word, by
jove and my Clark" were frightfully
amusing to the counsel at the tax
hearing. 1t was almost like an old
fashioned Sothron comedy.
BY jove, word comes from Phila-
delphia that the only portrait of
George Washington, painted from life.
by Rembrandt Peale, is now in the
Historical Society of Pennsylvania, as
. bequest from the painters great
granddaughter. Mrs. Clara Reeves
Henry of San Mateo, Calf. Peale
kept this portrait until his death, and
1t later came into the possession of
Mrs. Henry, never having been sold
out of the family.
It appears that Peale painted rs
portraits of Washington, but only
one from life. The others were copies
or studio creations, based on the orig
inal. This recent acquisition to the
historical society, Mr.. Mantle Fielding,
an authority on Washington portraits.
describes as the most important of
all the scores of portraits of Washing
ton painted by Rembrandt Peale''
Mr. Peale was boy of II when the
first President of the United States
gave him three sittings of three hours