Evening star., 1940-08-11

Cost of Dressing
Presidents Wife Discussed.
Even in this day and time when
women are forging ahead beside the
men in public life, the eternal FEM
inine was in evidence over at one
side of the big room, where several
women were discussing what it costs
to dress a Presidents wife. The gen.
eral opinion seemed to be that it
costs from three to four thousand
dollars year. Of course, if the
lady of the mansion has no private
income, the figure would necessarily
be less, as in the case of the first
Mrs. Woodrow Wilson and Mrs.
Coolidge. 1t was agreed that Mrs.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt Is the all
around best dressed woman the
White House has had in many
years. Mrs. William Toward Taft
had perhaps the rarest collection of
jewels, and Mrs. Herbert Hoover had
the reputation of raising the sagging
cotton market by wearing cotton
frocks and cotton evening gowns.
Secretary Hull Adds
To His Popularity.
AS usual, Mr.. Cordell Hull, Sec
retary of State, covered himself and
his country with glory at the re-
cent conference at Havana, and add
ed new meaning to the Monroe Doc
trine-in which he is firm believer.
1t is doubtful if the United States
has ever had Secretary of State
who appealed so strongly to the Sis
ter republics to the south as has
Mr.. Hull with his home-spun diplo-
macy and forth right manner of
meeting each problem as it arose.
Mr.. Hull and the President have
been of one mind relative to the
good neighbor attitude. AS much
could not be said of President Wash
ington and Mr. Monroe, who diff
fered as to their foreign policy.
There is in the library at Har-
ward University a rare and curious
copy of critical book once the
property of President Washington.
and written by James Monroe, later
the fifth President of the United
States. In 1894 he was envoy to
France, but was recalled by Mr..
Washington, who must have felt
that although Mr.. Monroe was
warned against entangling alliances
he had embraced the French as
brothers, and had gained the ILL
will of the British-besides causing
misunderstanding with France. BY
the time Mr.. Monroe was called
home the United States was en-
gagged in an undeclared war with
the French Republic.
Frank Exposition of
Monroe's Opinion.
The title of that most interesting
and amusing book in the Harvard
library is, View of the Executive
in the Conduct of the Foreign AZ
fairs of the United States" 1t is
a frank exposition Of Mr.. Monroe's
opinion of Washington-and it was
poor opinion, indeed.
The book, which seemed to have
had a wide circulation, must have
riled President Washington no lit
tie, for he came back at Monroe
in the most delightful marginal
notes or annotations in this volume.
"The fluctuating state of the ex-
ecutive mind" wrote Mr.. Monroe.
'The Executives mind never fuctu-
ated moment" replied Mr.. Wash
ington, in the f1ourishing strokes OF
his quill pen. Extraordinary" OBJ
served Mr.. Monroe. mo one else
will think it extraordinary" retorted
Mr.. Washington. And further on
the first President wrote of Mr.. Mon
roe: "Impudent, weak, and vain,
curious and laughable, extraordi-
nary, indeed" and there followed
more spicy comments on the argu-
ment, which turned largely on
diplomacy.