Evening star., 1936-04-19

project too precipitately, Howe thought.
So even when he approved the plan
Howe often opposed it in inner coun-
cils in order to bring out every weak
ness in. advance. He kept up that
business to the end. 1t became
almost a game between them. AS
presidential secretary, Howe often
described himself as the no" man
OF the New Deal.
And he was no" man on one very
big point in the Roosevelt career.
He did not see prospects of advance
ment toward the White House in
Mr.. Roosevelt's acceptance Of his
partv'S vice presidential nomination
in 1920. with certain defeat for the
ticket ahead. Yet with the decision
made, planning of the campaign.
picking up campaign aides was Howe's
lob. How we'll satisfied Roosevelt
was with that planning and picking
is shown by the fact that two of the
men then picked to help that cam
paign. Marvin MacIntyre and Stephen
T. Early. became Howe's associates
in the White House secretaryship in
1888 when Mr.. Roosevelt became
President.
Rarely Left White House.
In the wake Of that campaign came
the stroke that seemed to have
wrecked finally Franklin Roosevelt's
political career From the hour word
of that disaster reached him, Louis
Howe abandoned his own affairs, his
own home almost to stand at his
friends side. He became an inmate
of the Roosevelt home, committing as
chance offered to his own home. That
continued through the subsequent
Roosevelt governorships and after
Mr.. Roosevelt's inauguration as Presi-
dent. Howe was more than secre-
tary to the President. He was resi-
dent secretary, living in the White
House and rarely leaving it.
While Roosevelt was Governor
Howe held no title. He was carrying
forward the work of the State Crime
Commission Mr.. Roosevelt had taken
over before his State election. He
lived in the Roosevelt home in New
York City and had his own room in
the executive mansion in Albany.
But wherever he was, whether mas
ter-minding with Jim Farley at
State Central Committee headquar-
ters or bustling back and forth be-
tween New York and Albany, he was
working always on the presidential
possibilities the situation held for
"the boss"
Howe never figured at national
convention until that in Chicago
which nominated Roosevelt. Prior to
that when, after the defeat of 1928,
a special session of the Democratic
National Committee was called In
Washington to map party plans,
Howe came to Washington to guide
the action of Roosevelt supporters. It
was a touch-and-go moment with
his hopes for 1882 nomination. Yet
Howe never appeared in the Ma
tional Committee hotel center. He
had a modest room in distant hotel,
where he kept wire open to Albany.
He passed along word on committee
strategy to such Roosevelt stalwarts
in the committee gathering as Cordell
Hull or Henry Morgenthau. ST. And
a notable Roosevelt victory. paving
the way for his nomination, came out
of all that, although few recognized
1t at the time.
Washington Contacts.
Before the committee broke up,
Howe had vanished, gone back to
New York. Not even the press knew
he had been in Washington or why.
He similarly engineered as time rolled
on toward the Chicago convention
unheralded contacts in Washington
between party groups that had lot
to do with what happened in Chicago.
At that convention Howe moved In,
but in hiding. Only the initiated
knew where his room was; yet it was
the nerve center of the Roosevelt
campaign. Perhaps the only per-
sonal appearance Louis Howe ever
made publicly in a political setting
was when he stood on the platform
with Mr.. and Mrs. Roosevelt. just on
q plane from New York, to share n
the conventions greeting to It's noni5-
nee. ..
Howe was not well then. AL that