The Waterbury Democrat., 1936-06-17

N9~@NH VI They were rather modest,
 But when you have inherited the characteristics of the most active woman in America, and of Q father who even today is full of restless, driving energy, then it must be doubly tough.
 Jimmy Roosevelt, 28, eldest son of the President, hasn't fully realized this yet--though he should. He has been to enough places, seen enough things to realize 1t. But for him, life is stili just Q bowl of cherries. And he has been very busy plucking them.
 There have, been infrequent times, of course, when the ex- uberant Jimmy thought life was Q little hard. One of these was when he was just out of Har- ward, newly married, and anxious to make . living. His father was then governor of New York, and offers from New York business houses literally were thrown at Jimmy's head. He could have had . salary of 925,OOO for the asking.
 But the governor put his foot down. Salaries of that figure were not paid to a 22-year old boy for nothing. Jimmy went off to live in Boston chiefly be- cause his wife's father, pr. Har- vey Cushing, famous brain special ist, lived there.
 Insurance Fortune
 So Jimmy studied law and simultaneously launched himself in the insurance game.
 About mid-sUniner of 1882, as 1t became increasingly certain that his father would be elected Presi- dent, Jimmy suddenly woke up to the fact that the old adage "All that glitters is not gold" was not, in his case, true at all. A great deal glittered in those days, and almost everything he touched turned to gold.
 His first discovery of this came when he sold . $2,600,0OO life insurance policy to George Washington Hill, president of the American Tobacco company.
 After that, all kinds of insur- ance came his way. No great salesinanship was necessary. It was only natural that when rates are standardized, as in insurance, people should buy where they thought 1t might get them some political advantage.
 That Jimmy ever promised them any favoritism is not known, and is doubtful. The furthest he Is ever known to have gone was to invite certain people to the White House. They were people whom the President prOfited by meeting, but there iS no doubt Jimmy did it for business reasons.
 Jimmy got into all sort of deals in those days. He was made 6 director of the Boston Metropoli. tan Building Corporation. He sold insurance to National Distillers and the New England Power O., and he even acted as an agent for Schenley's when the first ship- ments of liquor were made into this country after repeal.
 FOR A YOUNGSTER IN HIS TWENTIES, JIMMY BECAME EXTREMELY WEALTHY.
 Political Cxar
 Simultaneously, Jimmy went even deeper into politics. His father and Jim Farley did not like Senator Walsh and Governor Ely of Massachusetts, who had backed Al Smith, and although they wanted to work with Mayor Curley, they did not particularly trust him. So they made Jimmy, then only 26, patronage czar of Massachusetts.
 As such, Jimmy probably made as many political enemies as 1t was possible for one human being to make.
 He was very, young, lacked judgment, was flush with the newness of power, and inotivated chiefly by the spirit of anything gOes''. He appointed John D. Donahue, drug store clerk, as receiver of the Essex National Bank in Haverhill, and sent to Washington, to be assistant at torney general, George 0. Sweeney who did not at first know enough to take the oath of office and begin drawing salary.
 Jimmy urged the passage of . bill permitting pari.mutuaI bet- ting on Massachusetts horse races. He came out emphati- caIIy against the Constitutional Amendment on Chiih Labor, even refusing to alter his stand at the request of his mother, thereby contributing to the amendments defeat in the Massachusetts legislature.
 Tn fact, there seemed to be nothing which the exuberant Jimmy would not tackle. During the campaign he had told vest ern audiences that Al Smith waa a truly great American" de-