Evening star., 1953-01-25
Mrs. McCuffree Is New Power
By IsobeIIe Shelton


the post of White House social
secretary, she says definitely.
There will be q social Secre-
tary appointed ct some time in
the future, she added. Mean
while, Mrs. McCaffree is doing
her best to carry on most Of the
social secretary functions with
one hand while doing her real
job-as personal secretary to
Mrs. EiSenhower-with the other.
She has lot Of help in both
roles, needless to say. Under her
immediate supervision are three
permanent White House en-
ployes who formerly worked un-
der Mrs. James M. Helm. Mrs.
Truman's social secretary, plus
two new staff members brought
by Mrs. McCaffree from New
York. The holdoverS from Mrs.
Helm are Miss Edith Rowley,
Miss Irene Orndorf and Mr..
Vernon Smith. The newcomers
are Mrs. Isabel Kouri and Miss
Polly Canfield.
In addition, there is the eight.
member social Office" Of the
White House, headed by the
veteran Adrian B. Tolley who
has seen several adminiStra-
tionS come and go.
One function which it ap-
pears Mrs. McCaffree may con-
tinue to perform is the holding
Of occasional press conferences
to fill in women Of the press
on Mrs. Eisenhower'S comingS
and goings.
If she continues on the path
set at her two press conferences
last week-the first two she ever
held in her life, incidentally
the distaf side of the press
will send up three rousing cheers.
She acted with a poiSe and
polish that would have done |
credit to a veteran-even when |
one of the two masculine in
terloperS at an otherwise all
female press conference startled
everyone by asking for a de-
tailed description of Mrs. Eisen-
hower's bed Jacket and then |
demanded to know whether the
new First Lady favors a bath
or a shower in the morning.
Mrs. McCaffree willingly fur
nished the description of the
he'd jacket-blue silk with short |
eleeveS-and neatly ducked the
bathing question by declaring |
"that comes later"
NewSwomen were particularly |
delighted with her quick. frank |
answers, and her willingness to
reveal the small details-what
time the First Lady got up,
what she had for breakfast,
which houseguests were assigned
which historic bedroomS-which
the Nation likes to know about
its first family.
Interviews with Mrs. McCaf-
free aren't real substitute for
interviews with Mrs. Eisenhower
herself-which the press hopes |
will come later. But they do in
dicate that the Nation will |
know more about the day to day |
life in the White House than 1t |
has for several years.
Press Conferences ~
Mary Jane McCaffree comes
we'll prepared to her new job.
A native New Yorker who grad
uated from Hunter College with
an English major, she worked
first in 1896 as secretary to the |
general manager of the New
York Worlds Fair, later shifted |
to being executive secretary to
the fairs vice president in charge
of entertaining foreign diplomats
and state officials. Hence, she
has had some experience with |
the world of diplomacy and
protocol.
When the fair closed in 1910
she became executive secretary
to c. E. Tuttle, president of a
Baltimore steel company and well
known as a racer Of thorough
bred horses. In addition to
handling the widowed TuttleS |
office affairs, she also acted as
general manager of his 615-acre
farm, Green Spring Valley, on
the outskirts of Baltimore. This
brought a flock of thoroughbred
horses. plus many cattle and
hogs, and sizeable farm and
household staff under her gen.
eral domain. The house was
small she Says-"only 20 or
Is roomS"-which perspective
would seem to indicate that she
will take the 54-room White
House in stride.
She went back to New York
In 1914, after Mr.. Tuttle retired,
and became personal secretary
to the president of a large dis
tilling company.
After a year she moved to the
World Wide Development Corp,
an export-import firm set up at
the end of the war, working her
way up to assistant corporation
secretary.
In 1948 she accomplished the
unlikely by taking a Guatemalan
cruise and meeting the man who
the next year became her hus-
band-Dr. Floyd McCaffree, for
several years on the research
staff Of the Republican National
Committee.
She was Washington house.
wife for the first year of their
marriage, but then the itch to
get back to work overcame her.
She took temporary job with
the National Citizens for q. N.
Day, then year-long job with
the National Automobile Dealers
Association. which got her to the
dealers January, 1852, conven-
ton at the Waldorf in New York.
Here friends persuaded her to