Evening star., 1942-01-05
Mrs. Roosevelt 10 Gel
Assistant 10 Direct
Civil Defense Office
Denies Thot She and
Mayor Ia Guordio
Will Quit Posts

Nuyoi III Suuiu'o
Will Quit Posts
Mrs. Roosevelt disclosed today that
the Budget Bureau had approved
appointment of an Office of Civilian
Defense administrative assistant to
handle community planning.
At the same time, she said that
as far as she knew there was no
truth whatever to published predic-
tions that she and Mayor La Guar
dia, director of the Office of Civilian
Defense, were resigning from their
jobs.
The new assistant would be Mrs
Roosevelt's second-in-command and
would coordinate the work of all
her divisions in one general plan.
Asked at her press conference II
she had decided on the appointee,
she responded that Paul Kellogg of
Survey Graphic was now acting
as an adviser to a provisional COM
mittee surveying volunteer partici-
patton.
Committee to Fill Job.
The committee, an ad interim
group which will make the appoint
ment, includes Mrs. Roosevelt, Mrs.
Henry Morgenthau, jr.; Mrs. Ernest
K. Lindley, Miss Molly Flynn. bor-
rowed from the Farm Security Ad-
ministration: Miss Mary Dublin,
from the Tolan committee. and
Judge Justine Wise Polier of New
York, who has been making a sur
vey of Mrs. Roosevelt's divisions.
Mrs. Roosevelt also scotched ru-
mors that the Army might take over
the protective side of civilian de-
fense. She explained that the
Budget Bureau. after canvassing the
work Of o. c. D., had become con-
vinced that the well-being of COM
munity could not be separated from
its protective aspects.
Enlarging on this idea, she said
that local wardens, part of the pro-
tective side. would be called on to
meet welfare problems in the homes
they visit and would have to refer
these problems to the correct COM
munity agencies.
AS an example. she cited a warden
going into home where a needy
woman was about to give birth to
q baby. The wardens, she said, would
have to take care of such problems.
In a broad defense of the work of
the Ofice of Civilian Defense, Mrs.
Roosevelt said there had been
great deal of unnecessary and unfair
criticism OF both the division and
its chief, Mayor La Guardia, because
Of lack of uniformity in various
State setups of civilian defense. This
she attributed to the fact that the
o. c. D. could only make sugges-
tions, not give orders.
Cites Clamor Over Schools.
She admitted. however, that there
had been confusion in the advice
given the o. c. D. by experts, citing
what to do with school children as
an example. 1t probably would have
been better, she said, if it had never
been announced that children
should be sent home from school in
event OF an air raid, but there
would have been a clamor if the
question of school children had not
been answered. The mayor. she
said. merely took the first recon-
mendation.
At a reporters suggestion that
the experiences of England might
be put to use here, she said Eng.
lands experience in many ways
was valuable. but the idea that
English methods could be used here
was fantastic" because the prob
lens of the two countries were en-
tirely different.
She also told her press conference,
the first shared with male members
Of the press and held at the Office
Of Civilian Defense, that Prime Min
lister Churchill was a delightful
guest with the most remarkable use
Of the English language she had wit
messed in long time She said she
was going to copy the siren suit"
he modelled for photographers for
the President but doubted if it would
be becoming to her.
Asked generally about women 60
ing into uniform for civilian defense
jobs, Mrs. Roosevelt reported that
the Once of Production Manage
ment had requested volunteers to
stay out of uniform except where
uniforms were necessary to the work,
as in canteen jobs and Red Cross
work. The request, she said. was
made of all organizations now put
ting volunteers into uniform and
was prompted by the need for wool.
Women enlisting in the Army, she
said, would be uniformed.