The Wilmington morning star., 1944-06-12
BY WESTBROOK PEGLER


NEW YORK-'We must not confine our eco
nonic outlook to our own, personal gain, -
Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt said in a recent mes
sage to the world.
I tried earnestly for a long time to under
stand this lady and had to give up, but I
wonder whether, in this case. she realizes
how startling is the contrast between her
preaching and the economic outlook Of her
personal and political family and her own
practices. Surely, anyone may recommend
that people put aside greed, but ordinarily we
look Tor example and performance consistent
with the sentiment expressed.
Mrs. Roosevelt is a well-born person. raised
In Historian luxury in a family circle none of
whose members ever actually worked; who
inherited a fortune herself, and married a
young man with million-dollar BACKGROUND.
Without having to turn hand, this young
couple had an income Of more than $4,000 a
year between them and lived with the hus-
bands mother in town and country dwellings
amounting to mansions at their disposal At
one stage of the young husbands career.
when he became a political lame-duck after
his campaign for the vice presidency he was
given a political job with bonding company
at $2o,UUO year, an enormous salary by any
standard at any time, just for his name and
connections. Frankly this was handout, The
young husband had no experience in the bust
ness, nor had he worked his way up to a fig
ure that is still beyond the ambitions of most
career men. This salary was their own per.
sonal gain added to the income on their in
herltance; and no biographer records that they
spurned any part of it, gave away any
more than any other pair, similarly situated.
During Mrs. Roosevelts career in the White
House she has developed personal income
amounting, in the aggregate, to another large
fortune. This was accomplished by the ex-
nj Jfofi &c H.
problems and anxieties of the people who
had elected Mr.. Roosevelt President. It is
not harsh to put the matter so, because it is
fact that her income from journalism, books
and lectures on the platform and on the air
Increased enormously and abruptly after the
election of 1892 Her friends have said that
she gives much of this income to charity
We just know that her own, personal gain has
been great and that she has beeA free to
do with it as she pleased.
Meanwhile, others close to Mrs. Roosevelt,
personally and politically have prospered as
few have in the same time. Her uncle, Forbes
Morgan, treasurer of the Democratic National
Committee in the 1882 campaign, which re-
suited in repeal was given a whisky trust
sinecure at $4,000 year.
Harry Hopkins, a career man in profess
sional charity, and never very prosperous,
went to the White House in the role of the
and lived on there for years better than he
he'd ever lived in his life before, and got more
pay. Nevertheless, for his own, personal gain,
Mr.. Hopkins sold ghosted magazine articles
based on his intimate knowledge of the war
on want and the war on Fascism. And HAIR
old Ickes, who, like Mrs. Roosevelt has pro-
fessed Indifference to personal gain, also sold
articles and developed profitable practice
as a public speaker. By the precedent OF Will
liam Jennings Bryan, who was ever mindful
of his own, personal gain, and often left the
State department uncovered to pick up lee
ture fees, this was respectable practice, but
the profit motive certainly was not absent.
And Mr.. Ickes and others although thriving
financially, were still so frugal that when
they were ill they put themselves away IN
government hospitals at the nominal .rate OF
1925, and largely as the guests OF the tax
payers, when a room on an INSIDE court III "a
second-rate Washington hotel would have cost
S. day without meals.
I realize that greed is unpleasnant Out
personal gain is the economic outlook OF al
most all mankind and the very basis OF the
labor policy of the Roosevelt government and
of the devotion of those workers VINO think
the Preslent has put money IN tnelr pockets
| and ths !ore praise his name am the more
3uzzlej |py Mrs Roosevelt's remark because
I can think of no ruling family or admlnlstra-
ton whose members were more conspicuous
" devoted to the pursuit Of easy money.