Evening star., 1939-01-05

Mrs. Roosevelt at her conference
today indicated that The Star knew
that Joseph Measell, 16, and Miss
Beatrice White, is, who crashed"
the White House New Year eve, were
going to do it before it occurred.
She intimated that was the only
way the story could have appeared
on page one of The Star when 1t did.
She advanced as proof the fact
that the Washington Post called the
White House to verify the story
while the boy and girl were still
being detained in the usher's Office.
The fact that The Star had the
story when it did. she declared, was
the most interesting part of the
situation.
Pictures on Page One.
She said the incident happened
after 11:30 pm, which. she under
stood, was after the time The Star
went to press.
The cards autographed by the
President and herself. she declared,
appeared on page one of The Sun
day Star although The Star had
gone to press before the incident
occurred.
Mrs. Roosevelt added these re-
marks after retelling the incident
at the request of a reporter, saying,
the two youngsters involved were
lucky to escape serious injury.
The Presidents wife expressed re-
gret that the incident had been re-
garded as joke in some quarters.
She said it was miracle that MOTH
ing happened to the pair.
She was afraid, she said, that
what Joseph and Beatrice did would
be repeated by some one else with
disastrous consequences.
Said They Were Expected.
Recounting the incident, she said
the young pair had been asked by
the guard and the doorman If they
were expected and had responded
that they were Mrs. Roosevelt de-
clared the two were put in the Red
Room to await word from the usher
and while there, the girl wandered
around the room to hold the atten-
ton of the doorman while the boy
came up the back stairs where no
one could have seen him.
Only some one who had been told
the layout of the house and knew
that the usher would be occupied
upstairs in turning on the lights at
the conclusion of motion pictures the
family had been watching could
have accomplished that feat, she
declared.
Had a Secret Service man been
on the back stairs at the time, she
added, and seen a stranger going up
to the family's quarters, he would
have shot or beaten up the youth
without hesitation.
The assurance of the boy when he
entered the room where the family
was gathered kept them from sus-
pecting he was an unlimited guest,
she said. It was not until the girl
was questioned later that any one
discovered the truth, she added.
The misunderstanding about the
boys identity, she said, came from
the fact that she thought he had
been invited there by the President,
while the President thought the boy
was a friend of one of his guests and
wanted the autograph to raise
money for infantile paralysis VIC
Tins. The boy, she said. had not
mentioned. such benefit to the
President, but Mr.. Roosevelt was
under that impression.
Commenting in vigorous terms on
what she termed the lack of rever-
ence of the couple and the bad man
ners shown in going any place un-
invited, she said the incident would
make necessary even closer super
vision Of the White House.
She said she had received a note
OF apology from the girls mother,
and added that she didn't blame
the parents, but only the children
Tor their lack of regard for the con-
sequences to themselves or others
from their adventure.