Evening star., 1939-10-10
Mrs. Roosevelt
Denies Tea Guests
Were Communists
Tells Press She Did
Not Select Group
For Discussion

Not Select Group
For Discussion
Mrs. Roosevelt, discussing charges
made before the Dies committee that
a Communist tea party" had been
held at the White House. told her
press conference today she couldn't t
remember who had attended the tea,
but all the individuals she knows
among student groups are definitely
not Communists"
She specifically mentioned Will
liam Hinckley. whom she said she
remembered was at the tea party to
which the Dies Committee referred.
She said she could vouch for the
fact that Mr.. Hinckley. whom she
called Bill. is not a Communist.
She also insisted that another
young man mentioned before the
Dies Committee, Joseph Cadden, was
not Communist.
The tea mentioned, she said, oc-
CURED several years ago after the
first meeting OF the American Youth
Congress held in Washington. She
was asked to speak at the meeting,
she said. and went there knowing
that several things she had to say
about a youth bill the group was
planning to put before Congress
would not be approved by the young
people at the meeting Aubrey Will
liams. she said, spoke at the same
meeting.
Invited Group to Tea.
After her talk, she said, several
people started questioning her, and,
because she felt the matter needed
talking over without benefit of the
press. she invited a group of them
to tea.
The ones who attended. she said.
were selected by the group, not by
herself. She insisted she couldn't
remember just who had attended.
She vigorously denied that the
Dies Committee revelations would
result in any censorship of her guest
list and added that there was no
reason why representatives of any
group should not come to the White
House. So many people came. she
said, that in many cases she had no
idea what their Affiliations were.
However, she pointed out, she OBJ
jected to their using the invitations
as implying anything as to what
she believes.
On the occasion that she has at
tended meetings of your groups, she
went on. she has never heard any
discussion that might be termed
communistic.
When asked what she thought of
Representative Woodrums attack
on Representative Fish for allegedly
propagandizing to keep the United
States out of war, she turned the
question on the reporters and asked
them If they thought any one in
this country needed to be persuaded
to keep America out of war.
Refuses Comment on Europe.
She refused to comment on the
possibility of the President offering
his services as mediator of the
European War or to prophesy as to
whether the United States could
continue to keep out of war, but
she said that looking at circum-
stances as they are now, she would
say the United States should and
could keep out of war. She added.
however, that nobody can know how
they can feel or act If circumstances
should change.
She reiterated her denial that she
was no longer pacifistically inclined
by saying that she was only trying
to think beyond the moment Of
necessity.
Every one must be concerned with
what is going on in the rest of the
world, she said. because "a breach
OF peace anywhere is a menace to
peace everywhere. At the same
time, however, she warned that al
though the war has great bearing
on our domestic life, it is necessary
for people in the United States to
keep their balance and not let the
war swamp everything else.
In discussing peace, she asserted
that women who live in a country
which is not menaced by war cannot
achieve a great deal by talking
among themselves and passing reso-
lutions. She indicated that peace
organizations must be international
in scope If they would expect any
successful action.
Tomorrow viii be Mrs. Roosevelt's
55th birthday anniversary, but As
far rs she's concerned, it's just an
other day. As usual, she will have
81 candles on the birthday cake
served at dinner. The fact that two
Of her sons, James and Elliot, are
in town, is just q coincidence, she
said, and not particularly for her
birthday.