Evening star., 1940-11-03
Roosevelt Repeated
'Misquotation' Of
Speech, Lawyer Says
PhiIodeIphion Denies He
Made Remarks Referred to
In Brooklyn Address
- ~ Associated Press

- ~ Associated Press.
PHILADELPHIA, Nov. 2.-Robert
r. McCracken, lawyer, identified
himself today as the prominent
leader of the Philadelphia bar" re-
fefred to by President Roosevelt at
Brooklyn Friday night and said the
President had repeated IAN ,abso-
lutte distortion and misquotation of
q speech which made in Philadel-
phia last Monday"
President Roosevelt told his
Brooklyn audience:
I'm a Republican campaign speech
-t The other day, a prominent leader
of the Philadelphia bar delivered
himself in those words, quoted in the
New York Times.
"'The Presidents only support
ers, he said land I Quote), are pau
pers, those who earn less than 81 zoo
q year and aren't worth that, and
the Roosevelt family"
In its account of the Brooklyn
address this morning, the New York
Times said parenthetically that the
Presidents reference was Ito quo
tation in Arthur Krock's column
published in yesterdays New York
Times"
Letter Made Public.
The Krock column of the previous
day had attributed the statement to
Robert McCracken
In a letter to Mr.. Krock made pub
he here today, Mr.. McCracken said
the reference came from what he
called 4 "misquotation" of q speech
he made before an audience of Re-
publican women.
That distortion" he wrote Mr..
Krock, was first made by the Phila-
delphia Record, a newspaper in this
city supporting his president
Rooseve1t'D candidacy for q third
term. 1t was referred to by you in
yesterday mornings New York
Times. -
"Of course, I never made any such
statement"
0n New York City, Mr.. Krock
said he made thorough check
of the quotation in question and
confirmed it through a Phila-
delphia reporter who said he
heard the McCracken address.
("When I arrived in Philadel-
phia many persons reported to
me this quotation Mr.. McCrack-
en- is alleged to have made"
Mr.. Krock said. Il then read
the quotation in the Philadel-
phia Record. Then I checked
the language of the quotation
through Joseph Miller, political
reporter for the Philadelphia
Enquirer, who told me he heard
the address and confirmed the
language as published.)
Repeats Remarks.
IN his letter to Mr.. Krock, Mr.
AcCracken continued:
What I did say was that in view
Of the tremendous issues of this
campaign I could not under
stand any thinking American vot-
ing for q continuance of the present
administration except those in
cluded in three classes: First, those
unfortunates who saw no way Of
obtaining tom orrow morning S
breakfast except by going to an
ONCE and drawing down Sill, $13 or
SIS per week relief funds, which
they believed came from the ad-
ministration's beneficence. I said
that . vast number of these people
eagerly desired to obtain re-em-
ployment and thus to again support
themselves, and that I did not know
how these were likely to vote, AS
that unfortunately . great many
had fallen into the habit of ex-
pecting support from the Govern
ment as their due and seemed con-
tent to continue receiving it. This
latter group, said, had by this sys-
TEN been placed in the position Of
paupers-people regularly subsisting
on public charity. '''
The second group to which I re-
ferred were the Federal employees,
vastly increased in number during
the past seven years, holding posi-
tions commanding salaries of $1,000,
5000, $1,000, even $4,000 per year.
! said that many of these people
had never earned over $1,000 year
In private employment, and that If
they lost their present positions they
might have to again seek employ
ment at some such wage. OF course,
these people do not want a change
of administration. They want to
keep their jobs. They will vote for
the reelection of the President. I
said I thoroughly understood that.
Other than that I said nothing
about people who earn less than
81 200 per year.
IT then said that the third class
vas very small. 1t consisted Of the
President and the members Of his
family. -"
~