Monday, Sep. 22, 1941

"Unto My Beloved Son . . ."

They buried the President's mother, in quiet dignity, in St. James's churchyard at Hyde Park, where for 41 years her husband's body had awaited her. Next day, in Poughkeepsie, her will was filed.

To Anna Eleanor Roosevelt Roosevelt, her daughter-in-law, and to her five grandchildren, Mrs. Roosevelt left one-tenth of her estate, to be divided in six equal parts. To St. James Church she gave $5,000. The rest of her estate she bequeathed "unto my beloved son, Franklin D. Roosevelt, forever."

Under the terms of his father's will, the President also inherits the sprawling, 113-year-old estate at Hyde Park which belonged to his mother until her death. With his mother's consent, in 1938 the President announced that the stately stone-&-stucco mansion, with 100 acres around it, will go to the U.S. Government when he dies. An adjoining tract of twelve acres, containing the Roosevelt Library, was formally presented to the Government in July. Rest of the 1,200-acre estate, virtually all woodland, presumably will remain in the President's family.

By the death of his mother, Franklin Roosevelt becomes a rich man. From her father, Warren Delano, who made his money in the China tea trade, Mrs. Roosevelt inherited almost $1,000,000. From her husband she received about $200,000 more. Nine years ago, when her son was elected President at the depth of Depression, friends of Mrs. Roosevelt said she was still worth more than $1,000,000.

If her estate remains intact, Franklin Roosevelt will probably get at least $600,000, after paying some $300,000 for inheritance taxes. With the $100,000 bequeathed him by his father, the $100,000 his half-brother left him, and Eleanor Roosevelt's personal fortune (which may be as much as $150,000), the President and his wife will be very nearly, if not actually, millionaires.

The Roosevelts are probably not as happy as they might be about their newfound affluence. When tax time rolls around next March, the President, like many another man of great means, will have to dig deep in his bank account to pay his income taxes. Eleanor Roosevelt is already trying to liquidate some of her assets. At her press conference this week Mrs. Roosevelt announced that both her Manhattan town houses (Nos. 47 and 49 East 65th Street) are for sale. She has also given up her hideaway apartment in Greenwich Village.

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