Into History

In the mind of many a famous man lurks the question of what figure he will cut in History. That was the concern of the last bitter years of Napoleon; it worried vain Frederick the Great; it troubled Lincoln. Franklin Roosevelt, who has long had an eye on his own place in history, last week made plans to occupy it.

Into the oval study on the second floor of the White House trooped the Washington press corps, in response to a summons promising them "the greatest human interest story" in the six years of the Roosevelt Presidency. There they found Franklin Roosevelt, beaming but serious. He had just been host to an impressive array of luncheon guests: Historians Charles A. Beard, Frederic L. Paxson, William E. Dodd. Samuel Eliot Morison; President Frank Porter Graham of the University of North Carolina and President Edmund Ezra Day of Cornell; Economist Stuart Chase and Poet Archibald MacLeish; Mr. Roosevelt's biographer, Ernest Lindley, and his literary handy man, Samuel I. Rosenman; Frank C. Walker, former director of the National Emergency Council ; and the Archivist of the United States, Robert Digges Wimberly Connor; Presidential Friend Felix Frankfurter.

Without further ado the President handed out a statement:

"Since 1910 ... I have carefully preserved all of my correspondence, public papers, pamphlets, books, etc. ... It is my desire that they be kept as a whole and intact in their original condition, available to scholars of the future in one definite locality. . . .

"That part of my family's country place at Hyde Park on which we live will, without doubt, eventually go to the Federal Government to be maintained for the benefit of the public by the Federal Government. It is, therefore, my thought that funds can be raised for the erection of a separate, modern, fireproof building. . . .

"All of this has the approval and consent of my Mother, who owns the property during her lifetime. . . ."

His guests, said the President, would form a committee to raise funds for his plan, taking as their first contribution Mr. Roosevelt's earnings on his already published papers. A historical precedent will be set: Franklin Roosevelt's home becomes Government property. The homes of such predecessors as Washington, Jefferson, Jackson and Lincoln are all maintained by private organizations. The Roosevelt history trove will include the President's books and pictures on the Navy (best private collection in the U. S.) and a sizable collection on the history of Hyde Park and Dutchess County. Chief lacuna in the Roosevelt record for posterity: a diary. The President has started one on three January firsts, never kept going later than January 4.

>The President conferred with his Senatorial lieutenant, Jimmy Byrnes, about plans to revive Reorganization next session, indicated that he would probably take Senator Byrnes's advice to adopt the line of least resistance by splitting the measure into several Congressional bills.

> "I am grateful for myself and for a great many future Presidents," said Franklin Roosevelt as he accepted from Maker Theodore Steinway a new mahogany piano with legs carved like eagles to replace the gold monstrosity that has stood in the East Room since 1903.

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